Every story is rich in whakapapa and mātauranga. Join us for a powerful wānanga exploring how intellectual property can protect, strengthen, and preserve Indigenous storytelling across stage, screen, and beyond.

We welcome you to a wānanga that unpacks the foundations of intellectual property through both legal and tikanga Māori landscapes. We will explore the concept of story sovereignty and discover practical ways to protect your cultural expressions from their earliest beginnings through to contracts, collaborations, and future opportunities. In the growing world of artificial intelligence, we’ll also examine how intellectual property can be used not only as a legal tool, but as a pathway for creatives to maintain tino rangatiratanga over their taonga katoa. Facilitated by Māori creatives and lawyers Hariata Moriarty and Jorja Heta with guest speaker, leading expert on indigenous intellectual property rights and Tumuaki of Kāhui Legal, Lynell Tuffery Huria, this will be a dynamic session where law and art intersect.

Whether you're an artist, filmmaker, writer, performer or simply passionate about knowing more, this wānanga will inspire meaningful kōrero, build practical knowledge, and empower you to confidently protect the stories that shape who we are.

Please note, all attendees must be Ngā Aho Whakaari members (sign up, it's free!)

About Jorja Heta

Jorja Heta (Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri) is a lawyer, poet, screenwriter and human rights policy advisor/analyst driven by an ethos of social justice and truth. Her creative works explore Māori identity, spirituality and the lived realities of wāhine māori. She is the first in her whānau to attend University and holds a Bachelor of Laws and Arts from the University of Auckland (admitted to the High Court in 2025). Jorja has worked for Amnesty International Aotearoa, leading research submissions on Government Bills, briefing international diplomats and writing national reports on the justice system. She received the 2024/25 Prime Minister’s Scholarship, during which she provided commercial legal services in Thailand. In Aotearoa, Jorja has provided legal aid for Waitangi Tribunal claims and facilitated social justice wānanga at Parliament, centring the voices of those with lived experience of incarceration. She has undertaken research positions examining intellectual property in NZ and is interested in developing legal frameworks that preserve taonga katoa guided by tikanga. Passionate about Māori storytelling, Jorja has been published in Māori journals Pūhia and Awa Wāhine, and most recently co-wrote the short film Kikokiko, directed and written by Matariki Bennett and produced by Hariata Moriarty, which received the 2025 New Zealand Film Commission He Kauahi Catalyst Funding. She is the current Tuia recipient for Wellington City Council, a mentoring programme that supports young Māori in developing their leadership skills and contributing to their communities. She hopes to continue blending her creative expression and legal pūkenga to serve communities and empower mana motuhake of iwi, hapū and whānau.

About Hariata Moriarty

Hariata Moriarty (Ngāti Toa Rangatira, Ngāti Koata, Ngāti Kahungunu ki te Wairoa, Ngā Puhi) is an actor, writer and producer whose practice is grounded in the Theatre Marae framework of Te Rākau. Raised within this kaupapa, she grew up immersed in a model of theatre as both creative expression and community transformation. For seven years, her whānau opened their home to rangatahi from CYFS (now Oranga Tamariki), where she witnessed firsthand the healing power of storytelling and its capacity to strengthen identity, connection and social change and has since dedicated her practice to kaupapa Māori storytelling.

With nearly two decades of experience across stage and screen, Hariata has established herself as a versatile performer. She is the co-creator and performer of the acclaimed theatre work Waenga, developed alongside her brother Tamati Moriarty. On screen, she has appeared in Cousins, Red, White and Brass, Belief, Te Kohu and Untold Tales of Tuteremoana, spanning both independent and large-scale productions. She has recently appeared in the solo production Not in Our Neighbourhood at Circa Theatre produced by Taki Rua.

Hariata is also co-founder of Hurō Productions, a whānau-led company dedicated to championing Māori storytelling. Most recently, she produced and acted in Kikokiko, directed by Matariki Bennett and written by Bennett and Jorja Heta, with producer Jane Holland.

Alongside her artistic practice, Hariata holds a Bachelor of Laws and is completing a Master of Māori Laws and Philosophy through Te Wānanga o Raukawa. She is particularly passionate about intellectual property and the protection of Māori taonga through stage and screen, exploring how creative practice and legal frameworks can work together to uphold cultural integrity. Guided by Te Ao Wairua, she views storytelling as a vehicle for cultural preservation, knowledge sharing and social change, creating work that centres kaupapa Māori values and resonates with audiences both in Aotearoa and internationally.

Contact the host of IP Wānanga - Tāmaki Makaurau

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