Toitū te Tiriti protest organiser Richard Ratahi said the essence of the protest, attended by about 200 people, was "tātou tātou" (we together).
"It’s very important we gather in unity with all the other Toitu te Tiriti protests that will happen across New Zealand today.
"We appreciate every single person that’s coming and contributing, as big or as small as it may be."
Mr Ratahi said a wide variety of community groups came to support the protest, from 7.30am to 8.30am.
Support included the Palestinian whānau, who provided kai, shelter, water, coffee, tea and also helped with the production side of things "so that we can be heard and everything’s well presented".
The next officially organised protest was planned for Waitangi Day and would start from Queens Gardens at 10am.
With Waitangi Day steadily approaching, the need to address concerns around the Treaty was greatly escalating.
Fridays for Future Ōtepoti co-ordinator Alenna McLean said the new coalition government was not serving the needs of all New Zealanders.
"Anything that impacts Māori people, tangata whenua, will impact all of us detrimentally — except the top 1% that the coalition are representing with all of their policies."
Mr Ratahi encouraged the public to show their support for what he said would be a very significant day, Waitangi Day.
"I believe it’s super important for, not just Maori, but every New Zealander living here to understand its significance and how deeply ingrained in our government and our whole culture it is."
Dunedin’s Waitangi Day protest would consist of a march through town, ending at the Octagon, where they would have kōrero (speeches) and waiata (songs) and other formalities, he said.
"We’ll be walking on the road, so ensure if you’re bringing children, that you keep them nice and safe, and we’ll also have our wardens and marshals around."
He said he hoped to "fill the whole Octagon with people".
Following the Waitangi Day protest, Maori would be following the lead of mana whenua in Dunedin, supporting whatever decision was made on how to move forward, Mr Ratahi said.
