A great deal of traditional indigenous knowledge is being irretrievably lost in New Zealand as the Maori elders age and pass away. There has been a resurgence of interest on the part of the Maori in recording traditional knowledge, particularly at the local or community level, and using new technologies to make aspects of traditional knowledge available to future generations is an attractive option. Participatory research has established culturally acceptable methods of recording, organizing, and making available information on Maori values using geographic information systems (GIS) and multimedia systems. Information was classified according to specific geographic tribal areas, which produced models that store information on Maori values and biophysical information for environmental management planning, while protecting confidentiality and addressing intellectual property rights. A framework is described that classifies eight main groups of information on the y-axis according to sensitivity. On the x-axis, information is arranged according to its confidentiality and detail, and is designated as national, regional, local, or individual. Location within the framework indicates the type and special attributes of the knowledge, and determines whether the information may be transferred to more general levels for use by outside agencies. Information too sensitive to store in a GIS is linked via a database directory to an individual person. Three tables present information on Maori values, a matrix framework for recording information on Maori values, and options for a knowledge directory. A figure depicts GIS layers and confidential sub-layers. (Contains 21 references.) (TD)