Theme
Explore iwi-led mapping, whenua and land information, Māori place names, cultural heritage, environmental planning, data sovereignty and the communities who developed practical Māori GIS in Aotearoa.
The historical account
Long before GIS, Māori geographic knowledge was held through whakapapa, oral histories, journeys, place names, maps and relationships with whenua and wai. Survey and land-court records introduced a different administrative record, important for understanding the history of land interests but not interchangeable with iwi or hapū knowledge. The history of Māori GIS includes how mapping was used to document land loss and claims, as well as how Māori organisations subsequently built and governed their own spatial information.
The Māori Land Information System was being digitised by April 2002. On 4 March 2011 the Māori Land Court launched its GIS Project, allowing users to view, search and download geographic information about Māori land blocks, including an interface available in te reo Māori. It drew on LINZ data and Google mapping technology; the published launch is evidence of the service at that date, not proof that every underlying ownership or boundary question was resolved.
A 28 June 1996 Wellington conference on Mapping Māori Land and Resource Aspirations provides an early dated marker for GIS-related debate over whenua. In November 2003, the Motueka Iwi Resource Management Advisory Komiti (MIRMAK) began an iwi-led GIS information project involving Te Tau Ihu iwi and Manaaki Whenua research support. Its documented purposes included environmental management, consenting, planning and cultural records.
The Motueka work drew a distinction between environmental information suitable for broader exchange and cultural information requiring restricted access. That distinction remains important: availability of public maps and government datasets does not imply permission to publish iwi-held knowledge, wāhi tapu locations or other sensitive material.
Ngāi Tahu's Kā Huru Manu Cultural Mapping Project built a research-led geospatial record of names, routes and places. A 2005 Kāi Tahu ki Otago pilot and mapping hui from 2007 preceded the public atlas launched in 2017. The project linked archival work, community review and a place-name information system to digital mapping; the public atlas contains material approved for release, not the full iwi knowledge base.
The distinction between public interpretation and iwi-controlled source material is as important to the history as the software. GIS and digital archives can help reconnect places with narratives, but context, accuracy and mana whenua decisions govern how such information is represented.
Māori GIS practitioner conferences in 2009 (Christchurch) and 2010 (Lower Hutt), followed by online practitioner networks, formed part of the move towards peer learning and applied Māori GIS capability. The former Māori GIS Facebook group was later deleted after being hacked; its history should not be mistaken for a current public group.
From October 2020, LINZ reported fortnightly online Ngā Poutama Matawhenua mapping wānanga delivered with Te Kāhui Manu Hōkai and supported by Journey GIS. The programme subsequently continued as monthly sessions covering whenua, mapping tools, historical aerial imagery, coastal information, environmental monitoring and 3D storytelling. The collaboration received the 2021 Community Impact Spatial Excellence Award at the 2022 award ceremony.
Māori data sovereignty is not simply a software-access question. Te Mana Raraunga, formed in 2015, articulated principles of Māori authority, collective benefit and responsibilities in relation to data. GIS work involving iwi knowledge requires decisions about consent, storage, provenance, access rights, ownership, interpretation and reuse.
The examples in this collection distinguish openly licensed government geospatial datasets from restricted Māori information. They describe public historical evidence and do not reproduce protected whakapapa, wāhi tapu information, unpublished iwi maps or community knowledge that has not been approved for public release.
Dates follow published source records. Select an event to see the complete timeline account and its evidence.
A Wellington conference addressed Māori land and resource aspirations; Critchlow Associates issued the proceedings.
MIRMAK initiates iwi-led geographic-information work in the Motueka catchment.
Practitioners and researchers exchange iwi/hapū GIS work in Christchurch; a Massey research record documents a paper.
A Māori GIS conference includes Simon Bickler's paper about the ArchSite GIS database.
Participant histories describe a Māori-focused online practitioner group sharing GIS questions, events, maps and peer support.
Ngāi Tahu publishes a Papatipu Rūnaka-approved selection of cultural mapping material in a public digital atlas.
Existing site evidence records fortnightly online sessions from October 2020, delivered by LINZ with Te Kāhui Manu Hōkai and support from GIS Journey Limited.
The 2021 Spatial Excellence Community Impact award recognised the practical mapping wānanga collaboration between LINZ, Te Kāhui Manu Hōkai and GIS Journey Limited.
Duane Wilkins demonstrated historical imagery resources including LINZ layers and other imagery archives for Māori mapping work.
The wānanga showed coastal geospatial information supporting Takutai Moana research and applications.
The Ngā Poutama session demonstrated maps, photos, data and kōrero in 3D StoryMaps for kaupapa Māori mapping.
Documentary video archive
16 individually identified recordings and conversations, with publication dates and presenter names where the published sources establish them. This curated catalogue is not claimed to contain every older video in the YouTube playlist. Duane Wilkins is a documented facilitator of the series; other presenters are credited to their particular recording.
Esri StoryMaps, sidecars, 3D fly-throughs, before-and-after swipe maps and map tours for iwi and hapū storytelling.
LINZ publication; individual presenter not established.
Duane Wilkins discusses safer AI use for Māori GIS, data stewardship, autonomy and practical research workflows.
LINZ video description explicitly names Duane Wilkins as presenter.Read the related history passage →
Connected entries: Duane Wilkins
GeoNet earthquake and earth-science data for whenua, marae planning and Māori geographic projects.
LINZ description identifies Jonathan Hanson, GeoNet Data Manager, Earth Sciences New Zealand, as presenter.Read the related history passage →
Connected entries: Jonathan Hanson
Bay of Plenty Regional Council maps, consents, BayHazards, historic imagery and accessible council data services.
LINZ description identifies Georgia Edwards, Bay of Plenty Regional Council GIS Analyst, as demonstrator.Read the related history passage →
Connected entries: Bay of Plenty Regional Council
Southern Institute of Technology micro-credential, practical GIS learning and options for iwi and hapū learners.
LINZ description identifies SIT programme manager Jordon Traill as the speaker.
Tiakina Kauri information system, ArcGIS mobile field capture and controlled access to kauri health information.
LINZ publication; an individual presenter is not named in the public feed description.
A practical offline hapū GIS, adding point, line and polygon records while keeping locally held knowledge under whānau control.
LINZ wānanga recording; individual presenter not identified by the public feed.
Install free desktop GIS and work offline with LINZ data, Māori land blocks, basemaps, aerial imagery and a starter kete.
LINZ wānanga recording; individual presenter not identified by the public feed.
Keith Holswich discusses Ngāti Rāhiri hapū GIS, historical aerial photography, Māori Land Court data and cultural records. The session was held 13 June 2025.
LINZ recording and July 2025 Te Pokapū newsletter identify Keith Holswich (Ngāti Rāhiri, Te Ātiawa, Taranaki) as the presenter.Read the related history passage →
Connected entries: Keith Holswich
Karl Majorhazi demonstrates Kōrero Takutai data for Takutai Moana applications and Tania Te Hira discusses practical mapping support.
LINZ published video description names Karl Majorhazi and Tania Te Hira; this is not footage of an earlier coastal mapping event.Read the related history passage →
Connected entries: Karl MajorhaziTania Te Hira
Duane Wilkins demonstrates LINZ aerial resources, Retrolens, Esri Wayback imagery, Google Earth and historical change mapping.
LINZ published video description explicitly identifies Duane Wilkins as presenter.Read the related history passage →
Connected entries: Duane Wilkins
Holden Hohaia (Ngāti Maru) demonstrates QGIS mapping with census and environmental information; Tania Te Hira joins for Stats NZ Census data questions.
LINZ description names Holden Hohaia as the featured practitioner and Tania Te Hira as available for data questions; the roles are distinct.Read the related history passage →
Connected entries: Holden HohaiaTania Te Hira
LINZ 3D basemaps, historical imagery and mapping stories for whenua, awa, environmental restoration and community projects.
LINZ publication; individual presenter not established in the accessible description.
Open GIS datasets for emergency response, climate resilience and sustainable whenua management.
LINZ publication; individual presenter not independently established.
Duane Wilkins, Roland Pomana and Matt Grose discuss the practical Māori GIS learning initiative and its early implementation.
Public video description explicitly identifies Duane Wilkins (LINZ), Roland Pomana (Journey GIS) and Matt Grose (DOC).Read the related history passage →
Connected entries: Duane WilkinsRoland PomanaMatt Grose
Practical workflows for researching, documenting, managing and mapping significant sites.
Linked in MāoriGIS.nz Ngā Poutama resources; presenter and original upload date not verified.Browse all sixteen verified recordings →
Thumbnails are loaded from YouTube, not downloaded or republished as project assets. YouTube retains the original recordings. See LINZ’s programme information ↗.
