Protecting Our Dark Skies: Indigenous Knowledges and the Law
The Manfred Lachs Centre for Space Law
together with
the Institute of Law
Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences
cordially invites you to attend a seminar entitled:
Protecting Our Dark Skies: Indigenous Knowledges and the Law
Panelists:
Dr Shea Esterling is a Senior Lecturer Above the Bar in the Faculty of Law at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch,
The seminar, held in English, will take place on December 17th, 2025, at 10:00 PM
online and in room 15, Krakowskie Przedmiecie 1.
The Manfred Lachs Centre for Space Law at the University of Warsaw and the Institute of Law
Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences cordially invite you to a meeting with Dr. Shea
Esterling from the Faculty of Law at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, Aotearoa New Zealand.
The meeting will focus on the legal regulation of dark skies—specifically, how dark skies may be
appropriately used for scientific and commercial purposes—and the promotion and protection of
indigenous knowledges, with particular attention to the knowledges of indigenous women.
Dr. Esterling will present the findings from the first phase of her research project on the protection
of dark skies and indigenous knowledges in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, funded by the Borrin Foundation.
She will outline the results of interviews conducted at International Dark Sky
Places in Australia during August and September 2025, detailing the nature and motivations of
key stakeholders (i.e., rights bearers and duty holders) as well as the social institutions and legal
frameworks—both domestic and international—relevant to Australia in the context of promoting
and protecting dark skies and indigenous rights. Her presentation will also evaluate what has
worked well and what could be improved in the promotion and protection of dark skies and
indigenous rights in Australia, aiming to minimize drawbacks and maximise opportunities for success.
The presentation will conclude with observations on these successes and challenges,
which will inform the development of the governance of dark skies and mātauranga Māori (Māori Indigenous knowledge)
in Aotearoa New Zealand in which partnerships between indigenous and non-indigenous stakeholders is prioritised.
Dr Shea Esterling is a Senior Lecturer Above the Bar in the Faculty of
Law at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, Aotearoa New
Zealand. She is the most recent outgoing Co-Chair for the American
Society of International Law (ASIL) Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Interest Group (2021-24) and the current Chair of the ASIL Cultural
Heritage and the Arts Interest Group (2024-27). She also serves as
co-editor of the new book series ‘Culture, Heritage, and Legal
Governance: Comparative, Regional and International Perspectives’,
released by Amsterdam University Press (imprint: Central European University Press).
In 2022, Shea was awarded a Canterbury
Fellowship at the University of Oxford where she completed her first
manuscript, Indigenous Cultural Property and International Law:
Restitution, Rights and Wrongs (Oxon: Routledge 2024). Her current
research looks at the protecting the cultural value of dark skies and is
funded by the Borrin Foundation of Aotearoa New Zealand.
