Prime Minister Christopher Luxon will pay his respects as more guests arrive at Dame Tariana Turia's tangi.
Thousands have been welcomed to Whangaehu Marae, near Whanganui, over the past few days.
Luxon will be there on Monday afternoon with a group of government representatives.
"Dame Tariana was a principled leader, never swaying from her values and doing what she believed to be right," he said.
"She was a tireless advocate for the betterment of Māori. Among many contributions, she will be remembered for her work establishing the Whānau Ora programme to improve Māori and community wellbeing."
Luxon will be joined by Ministers Tama Potaka, Mark Mitchell, Nicola Willis, Louise Upston, Shane Jones and Andrew Hoggard.
Dame Tariana Turia died on Friday after suffering a stroke. Photo: MAORI PARTY
Former prime minister Bill English is also joining them.
Whanau kaimahi Tamahaia Skinner told Morning Report the number of people showing up to pay tribute to his nan had been overwhelming.
He estimated 2000 people had already gone through the marae, with another 800 to 1000 more expected today.
Today is the final opportunity for the public to mihi to Dame Tariana before her burial on Tuesday.
Skinner, who is helping with preparations for the tangi, said it had been a big operation.
Politicians, iwi leaders and others had been coming from as far away as the Far North down to Te Waipounamu.
"It's been beautiful sitting and observing and listening to the korero that's been unfolding on the marae over the last few days ... We're overwhelmed by aroha."
It demonstrated how much mana Turia had built up around the motu, he said.
At least 150 volunteers were working behind the scenes to ensure tasks such as cooking were completed smoothly.
"It's big big mahi at the moment."
Invitation to hīkoi supporters
Hīkoi mō te Tiriti organisers are asking supporters to join them in honouring their inspiration, Dame Tariana Turia, as her tangihanga enters its third day.
The co-founder of Te Pāti Māori died on Friday and is lying in state at Whangaehu Marae near Whanganui before her burial on Tuesday.
Eru Kapa-Kingi, one of the organisers of November's Hīkoi mō te Tiriti, said he and fellow organisers would be congregating at the marae gates ahead of Monday morning's pōwhiri.
Anyone else wanting to pay their respects should join them, he said.
"We put out a social media announcement ... to put the tonu out there for anyone else who might be looking for an opportunity or an iwi to join to honour whaea Tariana as well as the kaupapa she carried."
November's hīkoi in opposition to Act's Treaty Principles Bill, which culminated in 40,000 people descending on Parliament, was inspired by Dame Tariana's advocacy for Māori rights, Kapa-Kingi said.
Dame Tariana is perhaps best known for her split from Labour over the Foreshore and Seabed Act, which led to a protest march on the Beehive in 2004.
A host of flags accompanied the many thousands of marchers protesting against foreshore and seabed legislation in 2004. On the right is the first New Zealand flag; also prominent is the tino rangatiratanga flag, a flag of self-determination, designed in 1989–90. Photograph by Michael Hall. Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, MA_E.003515. p285 Photo:
She resigned her seat and left the Labour Party before winning the subsequent Te Tau Hauauru by-election and returning to Parliament representing the newly formed Māori Party, as it was then known.
That took courage, Kapa-Kingi said.
"I am absolutely obligated to honour and to pay tribute to our whaea because without her example, without her bravery, there's no way we could have even imagined the action that we took recently."
Visitors and dignitaries from around the motu were welcomed onto Whangaehu Marae over the weekend.
The marae opened to the motu on Sunday, with Te Arikinui Kuini Nga wai hono i te po, the Māori Queen, leading manuhiri (visitors) in a pōwhiri in the morning.
Sir Pita Sharples, who co-founded Te Pāti Māori alongside Dame Tariana, would arrive on Monday, whānau spokesperson Che Wilson said.
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