Ngapuhi, the country's largest iwi, was seen standing united at a pre-season Super Rugby clash in Kaikohe today.
The event is seen as evidence that the tribe known for internal disputes can work together as iwi and politicians grapple with how to solve historic treaty claims.
Eric Rush said of the day, "This is an awesome day, just looking at the rugby club. The whole community's got behind it".
Despite their solidarity during the pre-season match, the tribe continues to remain divided over how to settle Ngapuhi's treaty claim.
Ngapuhi's Huhana Lyndon said, "For me, it needs to be hapu - led with full consent from the whanau, hapu and iwi".
A recent Ngapuhi vote rejected a mandate for the tribe to negotiate with the Crown, leaving some concerned a settlement was lost.
Treaty Negotiations Minister Andrew Little said, "There's definitely an agreement about redress that benefits all of Ngapuhi. What that looks like is what we've all got to figure out".
The minister's meeting with iwi leaders to push for negotiations follows the lead up to Waitangi Day, with the process highlighting the rise of young leaders.
"I really appreciate the hapu space because they acknowledge us and our generation and enable us to help the hapu," Ms Lyndon said.
"At the end of it, we're going to have to drink to the chaos. We're all whanau here - this is not personal for me, this is iwi politics," Ngapuhi's Penetaui Kleskovic added.
However, today's meeting also helped reinforce that the established names who've led the push to settle aren't going anywhere.
"I keep putting my name up and people keep putting me in these positions. I'm not going to step aside for two to three people - a handful of people who try to circumvent the situationa and get from the bottom to the top," Sonny Tau said.
But for those still fighting on, there's still hope.
"That's always going to be part of our history - the fighting part - and it's good to have that fighting spirit, but those times are gone so we got to learn how to fight in different realms now - business and family and all that. That's the fight now," Mr Rush said.
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