Students from a Maori college in New Zealand performed a traditional haka last Sunday to show support to a Native American tribe which has been protesting against the construction of an oil pipeline in North Dakota.
One class demonstrated the traditional war cry on the campus of the Maori educational institute, Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi, in Whakatane.
Members of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe, along with environmental activists in the United States, have been protesting against the project for months, saying it threatens local water supplies and sacred tribal sites.
Tylee Hudson, who shared the video online, told Reuters that students performed the haka to show solidarity with the Native Americans.
"The name of the haka is 'Utaina' and it symbolises unity and work together as one," Hudson said. "The tribes I belong to, Ngati Awa and Tūhoe, have also experienced their fair share of colonisation and oppression in the past, so it's something we relate to."
The oil pipeline issue has prompted indigenous groups all over the world to show their solidarity with the protesters.
