Understanding Te Tirti

Roimata Smail (Ngāti Maniapoto, Waikato-Tainui, England, Scotland, Ireland) is a lawyer specialising for two decades in Te Tiriti o Waitangi.  She represented lead claimants in the Waitangi Tribunal inquiry that led to the watershed Hauora Report and the establishment of Te Aka Whai Ora, the Māori Health Authority. She also acted on claims about Māori in prison, pēpi and children removed by Oranga Tamariki and the Crown response to Covid-19 as well as representing the first iwi to receive an offer of Customary Marine Title from the Crown.  From a family of teachers, she has a passion for education, running workshops on Te Tiriti.