Maori MPs perform war chant in parliament (VIDEO)

Lawmaker Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke has been removed from New Zealand’s legislature for preforming a Haka

New Zealand’s parliament was suspended on Thursday after lawmakers from the Maori Party tore up a copy of a controversial bill on tribal rights and performed a traditional war chant in the legislature.

For nearly two centuries, the 1840 Treaty of Waitangi has guided relations between New Zealand’s native Maori people and its white settlers. The treaty promised the natives that they would keep their lands and customs in exchange for accepting British rule, and has since been interpreted by parliament and courts to guarantee the Maori a broad range of rights – including hiring quotas and financial reparations.

The libertarian ACT party, part of the country's governing coalition, has argued that the treaty discriminates against non-Maori people, and has put forward a bill that would dramatically narrow its interpretation.

During a vote on the bill on Thursday, Maori Party MP Hana-Rawhiti Maipi-Clarke tore up a copy of the legislation before breaking into a Haka, a traditional Maori war chant. Maipi-Clarke’s colleagues rose from their seats and joined in the chant, as did opposition lawmakers and spectators in the gallery.