Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission Final Report (2015) highlighted the necessity of Indigenous self-determination in addressing the legacy of residential schools, yet Indigenous aging research remains dominated by Settlers. This Indigenist study by a Cree/Settler research team asked Indigenous Elders what is needed to support the wellness of the older adults in their communities. Elders shared that the healing of older survivors comes from reconnecting to the cultural knowledges that residential schools sought to eradicate. In resuming their traditional roles as transmitters of knowledge, older adults not only support their own healing, but also that of their whole communities. This understanding of the profoundly interrelational nature of Indigenous communities means that older adults’ wellness depends on first reclaiming their cultural identity and then on their roles as intergenerational transmitters of knowledge.

Yarning scholarship is emerging in the Australian context. There are a growing number of Indigenous scholars who advocate for using yarning in research and this paper aims to contribute to this methodological discussion. In this paper, I outline the development of a methodology, which I have named Collaborative Yarning Methodology (CYM). CYM extends on the current yarning scholarship available to researchers through critically addressing the issue of data collection and analysis. The methodology was developed in undertaking my doctoral study in alternative school settings. In developing CYM, I discuss and analyse the implications of using Indigenous methodologies in institutionalised education settings and some of issues that may arise, and some explicitly for Indigenous researchers. Through analysing the current discourses that exists when undertaking Indigenous-focused research in education institutions, there are clearly connections in how Indigenous people are positioned politically, racially and socially when assuming the role of a researcher. I propose that in Indigenous education focused research, there continues to be an over-reliance of positivist ways of collecting yarning data, such as audio recording. I offer an alternative to audio recording, which incorporates collaborative approaches to data collection with participants underpinned by the principle of self-determination.