ROOTS OF A REVOLUTION
She’s 23, but her fight is 185 years in the making.
Born in Huntly, Waikato, in September 2002, Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke is the living embodiment of tino rangatiratanga – absolute Māori sovereignty. Her whakapapa weaves through five iwi: Waikato, Ngāpuhi, Ngāti Porou, Te Āti Awa, and Ngāi Tahu. Her great-great-great-great-grandfather Wi Katene was New Zealand’s first Māori MP in the Executive Council (1872). Her grand-aunt Hana Te Hemara delivered the 1972 Māori Language Petition that saved te reo Māori from extinction. Her grandfather Taitimu Maipi helped topple the Captain Hamilton statue in 2020 – a colonial monument to invasion.
“My kuia was beaten for speaking te reo. Today I speak it in Parliament. That’s not progress – that’s survival.”
— Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke, 2023
Raised in Rāhui Pōkeka along the sacred Waikato River, she learned early: power grows from the whenua (land). At 17, she self-published Maahina – a lunar wellness guide based on maramataka (Māori lunar calendar). She co-founded a community garden teaching kai sovereignty, and drafted Aotearoa’s first Food Sovereignty Policy.
FROM GARDEN TO PARLIAMENT
Youngest MP in 170 years. Elected at 21.
In 2022, a 20-year-old Maipi-Clarke stood on Parliament’s steps during Te Wiki o te Reo Māori and demanded the Crown honor Te Tiriti. Te Pāti Māori took notice. Her 2023 campaign was brutal:
- Stolen election hoardings
- Suspicious car outside her home
- Alleged burglary – reported to police as targeted intimidation
She unseated Labour’s Nanaia Mahuta with 20.6% of the party vote, becoming MP for Hauraki-Waikato and the youngest since 1853.
THE HAKA THAT WENT VIRAL
November 14, 2024 – Parliament, Wellington
The Treaty Principles Bill – a coalition attempt to dilute Te Tiriti into “equal rights for all” – was up for first reading.
Maipi-Clarke rose. Tore the bill in half. Launched into Ka Mate – the haka of Ngāti Toa chief Te Rauparaha.
“This is not intimidation. This is tikanga. This is how we speak when words fail.”
— Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke, post-haka interview
200 million TikTok views. Shared by Jason Momoa. Echoed from Kanaky to Palestine.
The Hīkoi mō te Tiriti followed:
- 1,000km march from Cape Reinga
- 42,000 people at Parliament on November 19
- 200,000 petition signatures
April 10, 2025: Bill defeated 112–11.
SUSPENDED, NOT SILENCED
June 5, 2025 – Longest suspensions in NZ history
For the haka, Maipi-Clarke was suspended for 7 days. Co-leaders Rawiri Waititi and Debbie Ngarewa-Packer got 21 days each.
Her final speech before suspension:
“The rules don’t see us. They don’t fit us. But we will never be lost.”
She boycotted the Privileges Committee hearings, calling them a “kangaroo court” that barred tikanga experts.
HER FIRST BILL: A COUNTER-REVOLUTION
May 20, 2025 – Treaty of Waitangi (Parliamentary Responsibilities) Bill
Requires every MP to:
- Uphold Te Tiriti
- Learn its history
- Create a Māori strategy for health, climate, housing
Backed by Labour & Greens. Still in select committee.
GLOBAL RECOGNITION
2024–2025 Accolades
- One Young World Politician of the Year (Sep 2024)
- BBC 100 Women (Dec 2024)
- TIME100 Next 2025 – “She shook the world with a haka”
- U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland: “A link in the chain of activists who sacrificed for us and inspire us every day.”
THE NEXT CHAPTER
At the Māori King’s tangi (2024), she watched young girls’ eyes light up during Queen Ngā Wai Hono i te Pō’s anointing.
“I will hold space for future wahine Māori. That’s my promise.”
Her wrist tattoos – koru spirals of whakapapa and strength – trace the arc from Wi Katene’s 1872 seat to hers today.
2025 marks:
- 50th anniversary of Hana Te Hemara’s language petition
- 1st anniversary of the hīkoi victory
THE REAL SHE POWER TAKEAWAY
Hana-Rāwhiti Maipi-Clarke isn’t “the future.” She’s the now.
She’s proof that wahine power isn’t polite applause.
It’s the haka’s stomp.
It’s the bill’s tear.
It’s the bill’s bold rewrite.
Te Tiriti isn’t a relic – it’s a living covenant. And she’s its youngest, fiercest guardian. Join the dance. The maramataka is calling.
