Bringing the data and mapping of ancestral marae back to Aotearoa is now a reality for Māori Maps (www.maorimaps.com).

After a six-month project with Orbica, the Ōtautahi/Christchurch-based digital geography specialist, www.maorimaps.com now has data hosted in New Zealand. This marks an important step to protecting marae data sovereignty.

In place of the Google Maps platform that has served the site well through its first ten years, Orbica (https://orbica.world) has created an intuitive mapping solution with Mapbox and OpenStreetMap.

This new platform has enabled a Māori place names layer on the map, helping complete full interactivity in te Reo or English.

Along with greater ease of browsing and faster loading speed, the site restores access to the Māori Land Online database, so that land blocks can be displayed in relation to marae locations.

“Reenabling the land blocks is a key factor in helping our users track their connections to land interest, since data associated with the blocks provides extensive information on whānau names,” comments Māori Maps kaiwhakahaere Hirini Tane, who led the project with Orbica.

He adds, “For the more than 20,000 visitors to the site each month the site will feel very similar. Our early supporters might also recognise the reappearance of our original marae icon.

“We hope that their experience will now be richer and easier.”

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