Māori Maps helps to connect Māori descendants with their marae, and enable visitors to make appropriate contact with these centres of culture - in particular, linking Māori youth with their ancestral identity.
Te Potiki National Trust, a charitable company founded in 2007 by Dr Paul Tapsell and Rereata Makiha, administers Māori Maps. Paul is now Professor in Te Tumu School of Māori, Pacific & Indigenous Studies at the University of Otago; Te Potiki’s other directors are Dr Christine Woods (senior lecturer in the Faculty of Business & Economics at the University of Auckland), Dr Dee Sciascia (senior research officer, AUT University), and Peter Dowling (managing director, Oratia Media); Peter acts as the trust’s kaihautu.
An advisory board established by the late Sir Paul Reeves, former governor-general of New Zealand, guided the establishment of Te Potiki National Trust. Sir Mason Durie then led this advisory group until early 2014, and the board is now chaired by Sir Tumu te Heuheu with members Ngapare Hopa, Renata Tane, Rereata Makiha and Tahu Potiki.
Krzysztof Pfeiffer, an internationally renowned photographer, is responsible for photography of marae. Media and content generation was overseen by Digital Content Manager Mike Hennessy. Design and programming of the website is by Zest IT, Auckland.