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StoryMaps

He kōrero tō te mapi, he horopaki tō te kōrero.

A StoryMap can keep maps close to kōrero, images and context. That can be useful when a place cannot be understood through geometry alone.

But the platform is still a publishing system. It does not turn Māori knowledge into content, and a well-designed digital story does not create authority to tell a story that is not yours to publish.

Start with the kaupapa and relationship​

Before opening the builder, ask:

  • What kaupapa is this StoryMap serving?
  • Whose places, kōrero, images or knowledge appear in it?
  • Who has mandate to approve this form of publication?
  • Who is the intended reader, and who else could realistically reach it?
  • What should remain outside the story?
  • What obligations remain once material is online?

A target audience and a project owner are not enough if the story depends on Māori-held knowledge.

When StoryMaps are useful​

StoryMaps can work well for:

  • explaining a kaupapa and its relationship to place
  • bringing maps, images and text together without making the map carry the whole story
  • showing change over time
  • publishing approved ingoa wāhi and place narratives
  • sharing environmental or restoration mahi
  • providing context around a public map or decision

They are a poor fit where:

  • exact data must remain tightly controlled
  • the knowledge should not be public or digital
  • the story depends on stripping kōrero from the relationships that give it meaning
  • a simple PDF, hui or local archive would better serve the kaupapa

Authority to publish the kaupapa​

Confirm who or what process can decide that the story, maps and underlying knowledge may be published in this form.

Depending on the kaupapa, that may involve whānau, hapū, iwi, a marae body, a rūnanga, named kaitiaki or another mandated process.

If the story includes photographs, interviews, quotes or personal material, obtain appropriate consent for that use.

Individual consent to a photo does not settle collective authority over a wāhi, whakapapa account or hapū narrative. Likewise, collective mandate does not remove the need to treat identifiable people properly.

Structure the story around the kaupapa​

Do not feel obliged to use a conventional background → methods → results → conclusions research structure.

A useful structure may instead move through:

  • people and place
  • why the kaupapa matters
  • what has changed or what needs attention
  • the kōrero and evidence that help explain it
  • choices, mahi or responses
  • what happens next

For another kaupapa, a chronological journey, awa journey, maunga-to-moana sequence or collection of places may make more sense.

Choose a structure that serves the meaning rather than a template.

Maps inside the story​

Build a publication-safe map for the StoryMap rather than embedding the operational source map.

Check:

  • restricted layers are absent
  • popups contain only approved fields
  • internal identifiers and notes are removed
  • attachments are safe
  • scale ranges do not expose unnecessary detail
  • labels use appropriate ingoa wāhi
  • the map does not imply hard boundaries or certainty the kaupapa does not support

If a precise restricted record exists, keep it separate and publish only the approved derivative.

A map does not need to show the exact place​

If the kōrero refers to a sensitive wāhi, the StoryMap may use:

  • a broader locality
  • a landscape photograph without precise geolocation
  • a generalised area
  • a route or contextual view
  • text without mapped geometry

The story can still be meaningful without disclosing the coordinate.

Images, scans and video​

Media can carry whakapapa, identity and location as strongly as a GIS layer.

Before publishing, check:

  • who or what is shown
  • whether the image was supplied for this purpose
  • captions and names
  • identifiable backgrounds
  • embedded GPS metadata
  • archival or cultural conditions
  • whether the image itself reveals a sensitive place

For historical scans, keep source and date visible and do not imply survey accuracy where it does not exist.

Provenance should travel with the story​

Include source notes that distinguish:

  • Crown, council or research datasets
  • historical imagery or archival sources
  • Māori-held knowledge or iwi/hapū sources
  • derived GIS analysis

Where public provenance would expose sensitive people or knowledge, keep the fuller record in a controlled project archive and use an appropriate public source statement.

See Attribution, whakapapa and sources.

Accessibility​

A StoryMap should be usable by more than the people who built it.

Check:

  • readable contrast
  • headings and logical reading order
  • alt text for meaningful images
  • captions that carry necessary context
  • mobile layout
  • maps that do not rely on colour alone
  • text that can be understood without GIS jargon

Accessibility is part of manaakitanga to readers, not a final compliance exercise.

Review different things separately​

A practical review can include:

  • technical review: maps, links, embeds and mobile behaviour
  • kaupapa review: does the story serve the intended mahi?
  • meaning review: are places, names and kōrero represented appropriately?
  • sensitivity review: what can be inferred directly or indirectly?
  • publication mandate: is this version authorised for this use?

Do not call a general content sign-off a substitute for these different questions.

Sharing settings​

For ArcGIS StoryMaps, review the sharing of every dependent item.

A private story can still expose information if:

  • an embedded web map is public
  • a feature layer allows export
  • an attachment is directly accessible
  • a linked document is open

Test the final story as a user who does not have your administrative access.

Long-term care​

A public story can outlive the project team.

Keep:

  • final text and media in a controlled archive
  • source and provenance notes
  • publication decision or mandate
  • update history
  • review date
  • a plan for removing or updating material if the kaupapa changes

If the platform disappears, the organisation should still be able to recover the substance of the story.

Final check​

Before publishing, ask:

  • Does the StoryMap strengthen the kaupapa or mainly display the platform?
  • Is it our story to publish in this form?
  • Have Māori-held knowledge and public datasets been distinguished clearly?
  • Does any media reveal more than the map itself?
  • Could a reader mistake a technical representation for cultural authority?
  • Is there anything that would be better held in kōrero rather than online?
  • Who carries responsibility for the story next year?

A StoryMap is useful when technology helps the kōrero travel without stripping away the relationships that give it meaning.

Learn from existing spatial stories​

Browse Māori StoryMaps and interactive examples before designing the structure, use Cartography and map communication for the maps themselves, and see ArcGIS StoryMaps for the tool workflow.

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