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Ethics, tikanga and consent

Ethical Māori GIS practice is broader than an individual consent form. Personal information, interviews, photographs and identifiable whānau material may involve individual consent, while other spatial knowledge can also carry collective relationships, whakapapa, tikanga and responsibilities.

Useful questions around a kaupapa include:

  • Why is the information being collected or mapped?
  • Whose whakapapa, whenua or kōrero is involved?
  • What relationships or responsibilities sit around it?
  • What tikanga or local process shapes the mahi?
  • Who needs to be part of decisions about later use or publication?
  • What responsibilities continue after the immediate project ends?

A form is only one part of that picture.

Relationships first​

Where work involves iwi, hapū, whānau or knowledge holders, the quality of the relationship matters as much as the technical process.

The practical questions are usually about how the project has come to the kaupapa, who is involved, what each party expects, and what role the GIS work is meant to play. The tikanga and relationships appropriate to the people and place already provide that context. A GIS team does not need to invent another ceremonial layer around it.

For information supplied by or about an identifiable person, useful things to make clear include:

  • what is being recorded
  • why it is being recorded
  • where it will be held
  • who may see or use it
  • whether it may be mapped or published
  • whether photographs, audio or quotes may be reused
  • what happens if the project changes
  • how concerns or withdrawal will be handled where withdrawal is possible

The aim is clarity about the actual kaupapa, not a blanket permission statement that tries to cover every possible future use.

Collective knowledge​

Knowledge about an urupā, wāhi tapu, mahinga kai or whakapapa-linked place may sit within wider whānau, hapū, iwi, marae or kaitiaki relationships. One person's contribution does not necessarily answer every later question about use or publication.

Where the position is unclear, the useful response is usually to return to the people and relationships connected to the kaupapa rather than treating a GIS form or database setting as the answer.

When the kaupapa changes​

GIS projects often change. A layer collected for restoration planning may later be proposed for a public StoryMap, research project, AI workflow or council system.

That is a useful point to revisit the original kaupapa and relationships, particularly when:

  • the audience changes
  • precision increases
  • information is combined with another dataset
  • a public output is proposed
  • a new organisation receives a copy
  • AI or automated analysis is introduced
  • the project becomes an ongoing service
  • the information is proposed for a purpose not originally discussed

This is less about repeating consent paperwork and more about keeping the relationship around the knowledge visible as the work changes.

Sensitive information​

Sensitivity is contextual. Wāhi tapu, wāhi tūpuna, urupā, mahinga kai, taonga species, cultural landscapes and whānau information may be treated differently for different kaupapa.

Useful considerations include:

  • exact location
  • attributes and descriptions
  • photographs or attachments
  • combination with other public data
  • a map extent or title that reveals the place indirectly
  • onward sharing outside the original relationship

Some kōrero may be discussed but not recorded. Some may be recorded but not mapped. Some may be mapped precisely for one purpose and represented more generally for another.

Reciprocity and benefit​

The value of the mahi can also be judged by what remains useful afterwards. That may include maps and data that stay accessible, skills being shared, local priorities shaping the analysis, results being returned in useful forms, and clear handover when a project ends.

Accountability continues​

A map, database or contract ending does not necessarily end the relationships around the information.

Keeping enough context about the kaupapa, source, decisions and later changes helps future kaimahi understand why the data exists and how it has been used.

Practical check​

Before collecting, digitising or sharing Māori spatial information, these questions can help:

  1. What is the kaupapa?
  2. Whose relationships, whenua or kōrero are involved?
  3. What tikanga or decision process already applies?
  4. What needs to be recorded, and what does not?
  5. Is GIS the right form for this information?
  6. Who is the intended audience for this version?
  7. What will remain useful to the people connected to the kaupapa?
  8. What happens if the purpose or audience changes later?

See Who has authority?, Should this be mapped? and Kaitiakitanga and responsibility for related discussion.

Last reviewed: 25 August 2026

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