Thousands of protesters including Māori warriors in traditional dress marched on New Zealand’s parliament Tuesday in opposition to a draft law that they say would erode the rights of indigenous people.

Tens of thousands of people have marched on the New Zealand parliament in Wellington to protest against a bill that critics say strikes at the core of the country’s founding principles and dilutes the rights of Māori people.

Hīkoi mō te Tiriti, the protest, started in the far north of the country nine days ago and made its way to the capital after traveling the entire of the North Island.

Police say tens of thousands of people have arrived at New Zealand’s Parliament in protest of a proposed law that would redefine the country’s founding agreement between Indigenous Māori and the Briti

A proposed law that would redefine New Zealand’s founding treaty between the British Crown and Māori chiefs has triggered political turmoil and a march by thousands of people the length of the country to Parliament to protest against it.

The Treaty of Waitangi, which is the focus of the proposed bill, dates back to 1840 and is considered New Zealand's founding document. The agreement was signed by Māori chiefs and the British monarchy and focused on rectifying wrongs done to the indigenous people when the country was colonized.

A nine-day march to protest race relations laws in New Zealand ended Tuesday with a rally of more than 40,000 perople in the capital, Wellington. Introduced last week by New Zealand's center-right government,