Māori GIS Mapping in Aotearoa

Māori GIS mapping brings together Western geospatial technology and Māori worldviews. It supports iwi, hapū and whānau to record, understand, and manage whenua, taiao, and cultural knowledge using maps and spatial data. This work is grounded in tikanga and kaitiakitanga, and reflects a holistic Māori understanding of place that connects land, people, history, and responsibility. A defining feature of Māori GIS is data sovereignty. Māori GIS projects prioritise Māori control over data about Māori, including how it is collected, stored, analysed, and shared. Maps are not neutral technical products. They carry mana, express rangatiratanga, and assert mana whenua. Decisions about access, visibility, and reuse are part of the mapping process itself. An example of iwi-led digital mapping is Kā Huru Manu, a Ngāi Tahu cultural mapping project that documents and publishes traditional place names and narratives across Te Waipounamu through an online atlas.

Key principles

Māori GIS mapping is guided by Māori values, rights, and responsibilities. Māori Data Sovereignty recognises that data relating to Māori people, lands, and knowledge should be governed by Māori. This extends beyond national data sovereignty by asserting Indigenous rights over data regardless of where it is held or who collected it. Rangatiratanga underpins Māori GIS practice. Iwi and hapū determine mapping priorities, methods, and outcomes, rather than having these imposed by external agencies or technologies. Mana whenua must be respected. Spatial data is tied to specific places and authorities, and maps should reflect the correct iwi and hapū relationships to land and resources. Tikanga guides practice. This includes how data is gathered, how sensitive information such as wāhi tapu is protected, and how knowledge is shared. Some information may be mapped but not made public, or may only be accessible to approved users. Kaitiakitanga shapes use. Māori GIS is often focused on long term stewardship of whenua and taiao, supporting decisions about land use, environmental protection, climate resilience, and cultural revitalisation.

Tools and platforms

Māori GIS practitioners use a mix of open source, commercial, and Māori led platforms depending on needs, capacity, and governance requirements. QGIS is a free, open source desktop GIS used widely across Aotearoa. It supports map production, spatial analysis, and integration with many data formats. Its lack of licensing costs makes it well suited to iwi and community led work. ArcGIS Online is a commercial cloud based GIS platform that supports web maps, dashboards, and StoryMaps. It is commonly used by government agencies and some Māori organisations, particularly where integration with existing Esri systems is required. Takiwā is a Māori led web GIS platform designed around Indigenous data sovereignty principles. It enables cultural, environmental, and planning data to be held together, with access and sharing controlled by data owners. It is used by Māori landowners, researchers, and national programmes working directly with iwi and hapū. OpenStreetMap provides open base data for roads, buildings, and infrastructure. It can be useful as a background layer, but Māori projects need to take care with accuracy, naming, and cultural appropriateness.

Data sources and basemaps

Māori GIS work commonly draws on national and local open data sources, combined with iwi and hapū held knowledge. The LINZ Data Service provides authoritative national geospatial datasets, including topographic maps, property boundaries, elevation models, hydrography, and aerial imagery. These datasets form the backbone of many Māori GIS projects. Data.govt.nz is the central catalogue of New Zealand government open data. It indexes thousands of datasets from central government, councils, and other agencies, including many that are relevant to Māori land, environment, and communities. Stats NZ publishes official geographic boundaries and census data. The Geographic Data Service provides spatial files, while the Aotearoa Data Explorer supports analysis of demographic, social, and economic information that can be linked to maps. Te Mana Raraunga provides frameworks, principles, and guidance for Māori data governance. While it is not a spatial data source, its resources are central to ethical Māori GIS practice. Local council GIS portals, iwi projects, and kaupapa specific platforms such as Kā Huru Manu also provide important spatial data that may not be available elsewhere.

Example GIS data sources

Data source	Provider	Notes
LINZ Data Service	Toitū Te Whenua Land Information New Zealand	Official national spatial datasets including topography, parcels, elevation, and imagery
data.govt.nz	Government of New Zealand	Catalogue of open data from central and local government
Stats NZ Geographic Data Service	Statistics New Zealand	Census geographies and official boundary files
Aotearoa Data Explorer	Statistics New Zealand	Interactive access to demographic and socio economic data
Takiwā	IDSov Aotearoa	Māori led cultural and environmental GIS platform
Kā Huru Manu Atlas	Te Rūnanga o Ngāi Tahu	Iwi authored cultural mapping of place names and narratives

Reference catalogue

Te Mana Raraunga is the Māori Data Sovereignty Network. It defines Māori data sovereignty and provides tools, charters, and guidance to support Māori control over data. Mana Raraunga is a Royal Society Te Apārangi report that outlines Māori data sovereignty concepts and their relevance to research, policy, and data systems in Aotearoa. Landcare Research publications from the early 2000s document iwi led GIS case studies and show how tikanga based approaches were combined with western spatial technologies. Kā Huru Manu demonstrates a large scale iwi led cultural mapping initiative that makes selected knowledge public while retaining iwi authority. Takiwā provides an example of Māori owned GIS infrastructure designed specifically to support Indigenous governance and storytelling. QGIS and the LINZ Data Service represent widely used open tools and data that support Māori GIS practice when used within appropriate governance frameworks.

Glossary

Term	Definition
GIS	A system for collecting, managing, analysing, and displaying geographic data
Iwi	Māori tribe or large kinship group
Hapū	Sub tribe or clan within an iwi
Whānau	Extended family
Whenua	Land, including ancestral and spiritual connections
Kaitiakitanga	Guardianship and stewardship of land and resources
Mana whenua	Authority and rights over a specific area of land
Tikanga	Customary values, practices, and correct ways of doing things
Māori Data Sovereignty	The principle that data about Māori should be governed by Māori
Indigenous Data Sovereignty	Indigenous peoples’ rights to govern data about themselves
Data sovereignty	The concept that data is governed by the authority under which it is held