"We are under a dictatorship and that is why we are out here again, we will carry on as long as it takes," he said.
"The most honourable thing they can do is to resign. If they don't and they carry on then this sort of action (protests) will also carry on and it will simply get worse and worse."
Te Uru Taumatua released five videos on its Facebook page last week featuring Rūātoki rohe leaders sharing their response to "misinformation recently broadcast to the world" by the kaumātua protesters.
The videos mostly address concerns raised by kaumātua that Te Uru Taumatua blocked individual hapū from accessing Provincial Growth Fund funding to upgrade their marae.
Those featured in the videos say the tribal authority was simply acting on hapū concerns that they had not been consulted when the PGF applications were submitted.
Those in the videos also say the tribal authority is treating hapū who have left the authority unfairly by denying them access to things like education grants and marae assistance. They say any hapū who left would no longer have access and it was a choice hapū made.
The videos highlight some of the work Te Uru Taumatua and the Rūātoki tribal group Te Komiti o Runa have been doing to clean up the Ōhinemataroa River, including the removal of 15 rusted out cars.
These cars were on display outside the tribal offices during the protest on Monday.
Nikora said he was unimpressed with the videos released by the tribal authority and those speaking in the videos were directly employed by the authority.
However, he has welcomed a recent decision by the Māori Land Court that determined elections held in 2018 and 2019 for two trustees were not conducted correctly and that elections must be held again within the next six months.
The court noted there was no evidence the two trustees had acted inappropriately, rather the election process conducted by TUT was incorrect.
"If those elections are run transparently and those same people are re-elected then we will accept that and will comply," Nikora said.
Tūhoe artist Tame Iti was also at the protest. He had planned to hold an art exhibition outside Te Uru Taumatua during the protest featuring 70 empty chairs to represent lost hapū voices and to explore the symbolism of power in a post-settlement landscape.
However, 60 of his 70 chairs were stolen from a house in Tāneatua the night before.
"I wanted to create a space for us to have a conversation; the iwi can't create that space without throwing rocks at each other," Iti said.
He said the most powerful thing the iwi could do was to listen and talk about behaviour and attitudes rather than arguing and debating.
During the protest, held on Te Uru Taumatua property, Te Uru Taumatua staff told media present that if they took photographs or filmed the action they would be trespassed.
This angered protesters who told the young staff members that Te Uru Taumatua land was their land too and they wanted the media to record what was happening.
Local Democracy Reporting has chosen not to publish any photos taken on land owned by Te Uru Taumatua.
Te Uru Taumatua was approached for comment but did not reply in time for publication.
