{"id":775682,"date":"2026-11-01T18:59:30","date_gmt":"2026-11-02T02:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/?post_type=arcnews&#038;p=775682"},"modified":"2026-10-30T16:39:56","modified_gmt":"2026-10-30T23:39:56","slug":"maori-scholar-maps-a-more-resilient-future","status":"publish","type":"arcnews","link":"https:\/\/www.esri.com\/about\/newsroom\/arcnews\/maori-scholar-maps-a-more-resilient-future","title":{"rendered":"M\u0101ori Scholar Maps a More Resilient Future"},"author":5752,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"sync_status":"","episode_type":"","audio_file":"","transcript_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","castos_file_data":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[422802,24972,472991],"tags":[157432,493406,35362,338472,486082],"arcnews_issues":[493590],"class_list":["post-775682","arcnews","type-arcnews","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-conservation","category-faces-of-gis","category-gis","tag-arcgis","tag-culture","tag-data-driven-decisions","tag-engineering","tag-indigenous-knowledge","arcnews_issues-november-2026","arcnews_sections-gis-people"],"acf":{"short_description":"For Haukapuanui Vercoe, Indigenous knowledge, engineering analysis, and ArcGIS technology come together to protect M\u0101ori meeting grounds.","pdf":{"host_remotely":false,"file":"","file_url":""},"flexible_content":[{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Every map is shaped by the perspective of the person who makes it\u2014who decides what story to tell and how to tell it. That perspective is its strength. For University of Auckland PhD researcher Haukapuanui Vercoe, Indigenous knowledge, engineering analysis, and ArcGIS technology come together in research aimed at protecting marae. These traditional meeting grounds are a vital component of cultural infrastructure for M\u0101ori, the Indigenous peoples of New Zealand.\r\n\r\nVercoe grew up at Pounamunui and \u014ch\u0101k\u012b, two historic marae near the New Zealand North Island town of Rotorua, and spent his schooling immersed in te reo M\u0101ori, the M\u0101ori language. His upbringing shaped his perspective on engineering\u2014a perspective that places cultural, social, and environmental considerations alongside technical and economic ones."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":775683,"image_position":"right","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"In M\u0101ori culture, an individual\u2019s genealogy extends to the natural world: the land, forests, winds, and seas. Through that lens, it is vital that M\u0101ori look after the natural world.\r\n\r\nAbout a century ago, construction of a power station displaced many of Vercoe\u2019s ancestors from their land, changing the trajectory of their identity.\r\n\r\n\u201cThere\u2019s a M\u0101ori proverb that says, \u2018If the land is sick, the people are sick,\u2019\u201d he said.\r\n\r\nThat history and cultural grounding continues to influence how Vercoe approaches engineering today.\r\n\r\n\u201cInstead of developing a solution and consulting communities later, engagement and community input shapes the project from the beginning,\u201d Vercoe said. \u201cMy philosophy as an Indigenous engineer is to place relationships first, solutions second.\u201d In te ao M\u0101ori (the M\u0101ori worldview), this concept is called whakawhanaungatanga\u2014the practice of building and maintaining relationships.\r\n\r\nVercoe also described the concept of \u201ctea-towel-tanga,\u201d in which true leadership extends beyond talk and begins with humble service\u2014by rolling up your sleeves and getting your hands soapy. In the wharekai (dining hall), doing dishes demonstrates a willingness to contribute and meaningfully connect with people. The most impactful communication may occur after a formal presentation, while people work together in the kitchen.\r\n\r\n\u201cThat\u2019s where all the relationship building starts, where all the conversations are and where all the laughing happens,\u201d Vercoe said. \u201cIt\u2019s sometimes where we have the most important discussions, where we discuss wh\u0101nau [family] matters.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<h2>Bringing Indigenous Knowledge to Engineering<\/h2>\r\nVercoe was always drawn to mathematics and physics and decided at 16 to pursue engineering. However, his school had limited access to teachers for subjects such as science and calculus. After his family met with a university dean, he studied science by correspondence and worked with an after-school tutor to complete the prerequisites he needed."},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":775684,"image_position":"left","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Vercoe described that schooling as a source of strength. Immersion in M\u0101ori culture gave him knowledge and perspectives uncommon in engineering and helped him see beyond technical calculations to the people affected by engineering decisions. The experience also helped his younger brother, Sonny, prepare for the same pathway.\r\n\r\nThe brothers pursued doctoral research in civil engineering at the same time. Haukapuanui studies the impacts of natural hazards on marae, while Sonny focuses on the seismic resilience of marae buildings. They conduct fieldwork together, often within their own communities. Rather than approaching a community as outside researchers with predetermined answers, they ask people what they need and then work toward possible solutions.\r\n\r\nMapping is a significant part of their research. For communities where oral and visual ways of sharing knowledge are important, a chart with technical data may be less effective than a map showing a familiar marae, its buildings, surrounding land, and nearby hazards.\r\n\r\nVercoe\u2019s national research examines and maps marae exposure to river and coastal flooding, earthquakes, landslides, soil liquefaction, and tsunamis. Using ArcGIS technology, Vercoe combines marae locations, land parcels, building outlines, and hazard datasets. Spatial joins help identify where hazards intersect parcels or buildings. He also considers critical infrastructure, such as access roads, because a marae that remains undamaged during a flood event, for example, can still become isolated.\r\n\r\nHis national assessment covers more than 800 marae and was recognized with the 2025 New Zealand Esri Young Scholar Award from Esri partner Eagle Technology. For Vercoe, scale matters, but communication\u2014including with maps\u2014matters just as much.\r\n\r\n\u201cA picture is worth a thousand words,\u201d he said, \u201cbut a map is worth ten thousand.\u201d"},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<h2>Asking, Not Answering<\/h2>\r\nThe maps are not intended to dictate what communities should do. Instead, they prompt questions. Should a building be raised or relocated? Is the current location acceptable? What adaptations might make the most sense technically and culturally?"},{"acf_fc_layout":"image","image":775685,"image_position":"right","orientation":"horizontal","hyperlink":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"\u201cIt\u2019s not about going in and saying that we\u2019ve got all the answers,\u201d Vercoe said. \u201cIt\u2019s about providing the information to say, \u2018This is what the data suggests. How can this information be leveraged to make more informed decisions for Indigenous communities?\u2019\u201d\r\n\r\nRecent analysis indicates that the need for those conversations is urgent. His results show that about half of all surveyed marae could be exposed to flooding. A similar percentage are at risk from earthquakes.\r\n\r\nIn the aftermath of natural disasters, marae provide food and shelter to hundreds of people with limited resources. Vercoe argued that public support structures should recognize the civil defense role marae already perform rather than leaving communities to finance that service themselves.\r\n\r\nThat idea is informed by direct experience. In his home region, Vercoe and Sonny worked with their aunt Mere Vercoe\u2014who led Te Arawa Lakes Trust\u2019s emergency preparedness work\u2014to develop marae-specific hazard maps supporting preparedness plans for 26 marae."},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"<h2>A Local Story Goes Global<\/h2>\r\nAs a 2025 Young Scholar Award winner, Vercoe attended the 2025 Esri User Conference in San Diego, California. Conversations there reinforced how local experiences can connect with global challenges. He recalled speaking with a Hawaiian attendee about similarities among Polynesian cultures and with other Young Scholars about climate-change adaptation, rising seas, relocation, and managed retreat.\r\n\r\nVercoe has since begun moving from academia into professional civil engineering while maintaining his connection to research."},{"acf_fc_layout":"quote","image":"","text":"\u201cA picture is worth a thousand words, but a map is worth ten thousand.\u201d","author_name":"Haukapuanui Vercoe","author_profession_organization":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"content","content":"Looking further ahead, he hopes the example set by him and his brother brings more M\u0101ori into engineering and other STEM fields. The brothers regularly return to their school to speak with students about careers in engineering or other technical fields.\r\n\r\nVercoe\u2019s educational background gave him a perspective he now regards as a strength. Others see that quality as well.\r\n\r\n\u201cHaukapuanui is a great example of M\u0101ori leadership in engineering,\u201d said Te\u00a0Rina Triponel, strategic communications partner at the University of Auckland, which is also known by its official M\u0101ori name, Waipapa Taumata Rau. \u201cVercoe\u2019s work has provided a valuable template for starting conversations about how we design, strengthen, and sustain marae infrastructure for the future.\u201d"}],"references":null},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v25.9 (Yoast SEO v25.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>M\u0101ori Scholar Maps a More Resilient Future | November 2026 | ArcNews<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For Haukapuanui Vercoe, Indigenous knowledge, engineering analysis, and ArcGIS technology come together to protect M\u0101ori meeting grounds.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, 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