Photostory and relatedness methodology: the beginning of an Aboriginal-Kanaka Maoli research journey (part one)

This paper outlines how an Aboriginal researcher approached international indigenous research based on indigenous research practices and principles, indigenous worldview and Country-based ontologies. In particular, this paper discusses how relatedness functions as a methodology in collaborative indigenous work and how photostory, a modified version of the method termed 'photoyarn', was developed specifically for Kanaka Maoli young people attending boarding school with noho. To 'noho' means to 'commit to the establishment of the relationship and to maintain it with humility and respect' (Lopes 2016:32). Opening with the connections that bind Aboriginal, Māori, Kanaka Maoli and Native peoples of North America, this paper presents photostory as a method and outlines how cross-cultural research can function from an Aboriginal perspective.