Connecting Indigenous knowledge systems and GIS to present Māori values: a cross-cultural ocean knowledge exchange platform example.

Abstract:

As Indigenous knowledge is situated within Indigenous knowledge systems, it is often omitted from modern marine management for being too difficult to include. Using maps as a more widely accessible means to explore Māori knowledge was investigated. Based on the Muaūpoko tribe’s sites of significance map developed through the analysis of their lullaby: Oriori mo Wharaurangi (Haunui a Nanaia), it was decided to create a cultural marine values map for the eastern Bay of Plenty tribe, Whakatōhea (http://www.whakatohea.co.nz/), derived from the Whakatōhea pātere (chant) titled Maruhia atu, as part of the NZ Moana project (www.moanaproject.org). This aligns the knowledge with the Takiwa data analytics GIS platform (https://takiwa.co/) which Whakatōhea are currently using to overlay multiple sources of data relating for management purposes. Training in the use of Takiwa and ARCGIS Storymaps was undertaken. Maruhia atu was analysed following the Hudson et al. (2019) draft guidelines for working with mātauranga Māori (Māori knowledge and knowledge systems). Under the guidance of a Whakatōhea cultural advisor, the Maruhia atu Storymap was developed to present significant sites. The Storymap includes images of sites and descriptions of their significance. As a means for protecting the knowledge, Traditional Knowledge (TK) and Biocultural (BC) labels are being applied to the Storymap to indicate who the information belongs to, how it can be used, and who to contact regarding approval of its use. This creates a means for the information to be more readily included in tribal management of their marine territory (rohe moana) with Māori knowledge and values as the foundation and protection around the use of the knowledge. This process also increases Māori, and specifically Whakatōhea, capacity in using GIS and as the project team are all descendants of Whakatōhea, also maintains Indigenous data sovereignty.