//054 Awatea Mita

Awatea Mita (Ngāti Pikiao, Ngāti Porou) is a justice advocate speaking out for equitable outcomes in the criminal justice system. She is also a passionate advocate for Indigenous rights. Her current advocacy projects are around repealing the Bail Amendment Act 2013 and increasing the use of restorative practice alternatives to harm. Much of this drive came as a result of her own 22 month incarceration in 2015 and seeing first hand the vulnerability and strength of our wāhine Māori under punitive state control. She wants to help create a system that restores balance while keeping the mana and dignity of whānau intact. In this episode we talk about her childhood and the integral part her whānau played in sharing the stories of resistance in Aotearoa. We discuss her experience in the prison system and how the death of her son, while she was incarcerated, changed her forever. Awatea also shares her current journey and the possibility of one day, lending her voice to represent our people in our highest office.