Connecting in the Gulf: digital inclusion for Aboriginal families on Mornington Island

Abstract

This essay visually describes an Indigenous research project exploring digital inclusion with Aboriginal families on Mornington Island, a remote Aboriginal community in Queensland, Australia. Yarning, an Indigenous storytelling and conversational research method, was combined with photography (some participant photography, but primarily researcher photography) in a new method termed ‘show and yarn’. This method allowed community members space to show us their devices, have images taken of these devices and then use these images as a prompt for yarns about their experiences using the internet, mobile phones and technology. The author is an Indigenous researcher, who had existing connections with Mornington Island residents and it was through these relationships that the community came to be a partner in this research.