The presentation highlights the urgent need for local councils to embed Māori values, Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and data sovereignty governance across. With the introduction of AI and other emerging technologies, it warns of digital colonialism and algorithmic bias that marginalise Māori when technologies are developed without Māori or data representation. Drawing on WAI 2252 and WAI 262 findings, it affirms Māori data and mātauranga Māori as taonga requiring protection under tino rangatiratanga and tikanga Māori. The presentation proposes a Te Tiriti-focused AI and Data Governance Model and ethical use framework for Data and generative AI, calling for co-designed Māori Data Governance systems and sovereign AI infrastructure to safeguard Māori and national interests in the digital age.