Spatial information technologies such as geographic information systems (GIS), global positioning systems (GPS), and soft-copy photogrammetry, known collectively as geomatics, can be combined with methods of sociological inquiry such as rapid rural appraisal and participatory rural appraisal (RA) to provide new techniques for gathering, organizing, analyzing, and conveying information about the land and resource tenure of indigenous people and communities. The RA methods provide a means to solicit detailed information about complex and dynamic tenure status and resource conditions not ordinarily captured in automated land records or cadastral systems. RA techniques can be modified to use geomatics in the field or as part of the processing of RA-gathered data. Recordation of rights and interests in land or resources in automated systems recognized by groups (e.g., governments, companies) outside a community may bolster tenure security for the community or individuals if appropriate access and system security mechanisms are part of the system.