A vote in New Zealand’s parliament was suspended and two lawmakers ejected Thursday amid debate over a controversial proposed law redefining the country’s founding agreement between Indigenous Māori and the British Crown.

The proposed bill could redefine the country's relationship with Indigenous people Māori lawmakers performed a traditional haka dance to protest a New Zealand bill. On Thursday, Nov. 14, Parliament was suspended after opposition lawmakers performed the dance while the bill was read,

Indigenous Maori lawmakers disrupted New Zealand's parliament with a stirring "haka" dance, voicing opposition to a race relations bill that has ignited protests across the country. Thousands have joined a "hikoi" protest march travelling the country to drum up opposition,

New Zealand's parliament was brought to a temporary halt by MPs performing a haka, amid anger over a controversial bill seeking to reinterpret the country's founding treaty with Māori people.

Nearly ten thousand people took to the streets in New Zealand to protest the introduction of the controversial Treaty Principles Bill in Parliament. Critics said the bill, if passed, could reverse the rights and other protection mechanisms for the Indigenous Māori people.

New Zealand's parliament was briefly suspended on Thursday after Maori members staged a haka to disrupt the vote on a contentious bill that would reinterpret a 184-year-old treaty between the British and Indigenous Maori.

New Zealand’s parliament descended into chaos as Maori members staged a haka in protest against a bill that would “reinterpret” the country’s founding treaty.

A vote on the bill was suspended when opposition parties and people in the public gallery joined in the haka, led by Patri Maori MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke, who also ripped up a copy of the bill.

The Treaty Principles Bill seeks to revise New Zealand’s foundational agreement with Maori people and is hugely unpopular, with even the prime minister deriding it.