(Bloomberg) -- Ngati Toa, an indigenous tribe in New Zealand, denounced a group of anti-vaccine protesters for performing a ceremonial Maori dance known as the Ka Mate haka during a demonstration in Wellington on November 9th.
“As the descendants of Te Rauparaha, we insist that protesters stop using our taonga immediately,” said senior member of Ngati Toa Taku Parai, in a statement on Radio Waatea this week. “We do not support their position.”
Last week, thousands gathered across New Zealand to protest Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's vaccine mandate, which requires all healthcare and education workers be fully vaccinated. An estimated 3,000 marched to the Wellington parliament building last Tuesday demanding an end to vaccine mandates and Covid 19 lockdowns. During those demonstrations, some performed the Ka Mate haka, a dance used before some rugby games.
The Maori Party, which has two members of parliament, has criticized the government for opening too quickly, while vaccination rates are still relatively low among indigenous people in the country. Only 61% of Maori are fully vaccinated, compared to roughly 80% of people nationwide.
Read more: New Zealand's 90% Vaccine Target Could Still Leave Maori Exposed
New Zealand has only had 34 deaths from Covid throughout the entire pandemic, but data from March showed more than half of people who landed in intensive care units with the virus were Maori, despite the group making up just 17% of the population.
Ardern wants to open the country's borders once 90% of the population has been vaccinated. A Maori leader called that a “death warrant” for the community. Indigenous vaccination rates remain lower because of lack of access to shots and mistrust in government — easing restrictions too soon could exacerbate long-standing health inequalities, Maori leaders have said.
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