Te Kātipa signed the Waikato-Manukau sheet of the Treaty of Waitangi in late March or early April 1840 at Waikato Heads, and again on 26 April at Manukau Harbour. In 1858 he played a part at the king-making ceremony at Ngāruawāhia, delivering a speech after Pōtatau had consented to be King. He also spoke at the Remuera Kīngitanga meeting. His son, Maihi Kātipa, was captured at the Battle of Rangiriri in November 1863, during the Waikato War.
In 1899 Te Kātipa was the kaihautū (helmsman) of the Paparata waka (canoe) at the Ngāruawāhia regatta. He was described as a ‘grizzled, gaunt old rangatira from Rangiriri, flourishing a fine “mere-pounamu” [greenstone club]’. [1]