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Practical Māori GIS Mapping

This site is a practical guide to using Geographic Information Systems in Māori contexts in Aotearoa New Zealand. It is written for iwi and hapū staff, Māori organisations, and practitioners who work with Māori communities and need GIS as part of everyday mahi. It is not an academic text and it is not software documentation. It is a working guide for getting useful, safe results with real tools.

GIS can support rangatiratanga, kaitiakitanga, and better decisions, but only when the data and outputs are handled with care. In Māori contexts, the technical work sits alongside tikanga, consent, and governance.

Who this is for​

This guide is for people who need practical GIS that fits real constraints.

  • Iwi and hapū staff who use GIS alongside many other responsibilities
  • Māori trusts, incorporations, PSGEs, rūnanga, and kaupapa Māori organisations
  • Council, Crown, and consultancy staff working directly with Māori communities
  • People new to GIS, or with basic skills who want to work more confidently and consistently
  • Project managers and operational teams who need maps for planning, reporting, and kōrero

You do not need a GIS qualification to use this guide. You do need a willingness to work carefully and document what you do.

What you will learn here​

This guide focuses on the kinds of work Māori GIS is used for in practice.

  • Mapping whenua, rohe, and land interests, including Māori land record context
  • Supporting taiao projects, monitoring, restoration planning, and reporting
  • Working with place names, ingoa wāhi, and local naming practice
  • Managing sites and areas of significance in a careful and controlled way
  • Producing maps for governance, reporting, funding applications, and engagement
  • Sharing and publishing maps, web content, and StoryMaps safely and appropriately
  • Using common tools like QGIS, ArcGIS Online, Google Earth Pro, and field collection apps

Examples are based in Aotearoa and align with common datasets and agencies, including LINZ and councils.

What makes Māori GIS different​

GIS is not neutral. Choices about what is mapped, how it is stored, and who can see it are choices about authority and responsibility.

In Māori contexts, GIS work often includes:

  • Whenua with whakapapa, long histories, and ongoing relationships
  • Knowledge that may be accurate but still inappropriate to share widely
  • Information that is taonga and needs to be treated with care
  • Multiple audiences with different rights and responsibilities
  • Boundaries and names that may be contested, layered, or context dependent

This guide treats tikanga, consent, and governance as part of the workflow. It is handled as normal GIS practice, not as an add on.

How to use this site​

A practical way to move through the content:

  • Start with Principles and responsibilities to set safe defaults for access, sensitivity, and publishing
  • Go to Tools overview to choose a tool chain that suits your organisation
  • Use the Data in Aotearoa section to find the right datasets and services
  • Use Mapping work pages to build repeatable workflows for whenua, taiao, and sites
  • Use Publishing and sharing when you are ready to produce outputs for others

If you are starting from zero, begin with QGIS and Google Earth Pro. They are strong for beginners and work well for offline kete based workflows.

A simple promise for this guide​

This guide aims to be:

  • practical and time aware
  • clear about what to do next
  • careful about what not to share
  • grounded in Aotearoa data sources and real tools
  • respectful of mātauranga, tikanga, and local authority

If you use GIS to support kōrero and decisions, this guide is for you.