If you’ve been active on TikTok, Instagram, or X in the past week, you’re probably familiar with “the haka heard across the world.” On Nov. 14, a video of New Zealand’s parliament session getting interrupted by a powerful and moving haka went viral, bringing awareness not only to the reason the haka was performed, but also to one person in particular: parliament member Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, who led the now-famous haka.
The haka — a traditional ceremonial dance of New Zealand’s indigenous Māori people — was performed in protest to the Indigenous Treaty Bill, which aims to reinterpret a nearly 200-year-old treaty between the British and New Zealand’s indigenous Maori, which many believe would unfairly limit the rights of these people.
During a discussion of the bill amid a parliamentary session, when it was Hana-Rawhiti’s turn to share how her political party, Te Pāti Māori, would vote on the bill, she stood up from her seat, deliberately tore up what appeared to be a copy of the bill, and started performing the haka. She was soon joined by other members of parliament. According to The New York Times, the parliamentary session was suspended due to the interruption, and Hana-Rawhiti was suspended for 24 hours.
Hana-Rawhiti has had eyes from all over the world on her since. But there’s more to Hana-Rawhiti than this one protest — in fact, her advocacy for indigenous rights goes back years, and she’s only getting started. Here are some key things to know about the young lawmaker.
She’s only 22 years old — and was elected at 21.
Hana-Rawhiti is the youngest member of New Zealand’s parliament since James Stuart-Wortley, who was elected at the age 20 years and 7 months way back in 1853. He also lied about his age, though, so Hana-Rawhiti is the youngest legally elected member of New Zealand’s parliament ever. Trailblazer!
Before her election, Hana-Rawhiti was already pretty accomplished. At age 17, she published a book titled Maahina, about the Māori lunar calendar, which encourages young people to utilize the moon and stars to heal them and help them with everyday issues, such as studying. In 2023, she gave a training course to the New Zealand Warriors, a professional rugby league based in Auckland, New Zealand, about the Māori lunar calendar and New Year.
She opened her first-ever parliament speech in December 2023 with a Māori Haka.
Hana-Rawhiti didn’t just start using hakas as a way to speak her mind in parliament — in fact, she opened her first-ever parliament speech with the traditional war cry, and she went viral for that too. The war cry signifies to parliament that she is not only proud of her heritage, but also that she’s ready to fight for her people.
She’s made a name for herself by unapologetically fighting for the rights of the Māori.
Hana-Rawhiti is only 22, but she’s already made herself an important figure in the championing of Māori rights. She’s made it her mission to act as a guardian for the Māori people by sharing her heritage on the world stage, and showing that she will not be messed with, and neither will her people.
Hana-Rawhiti comes from a long line of Māori activists, including her great aunt and her grandfather. Her great-great-great-great grandfather was even the first Māori MP to be promoted to the Executive Council — but it’s clear that Hana-Rawhiti is blazing her own path, and she’s doing it well.