Indigenous data sovereignty has gained significant academic and political traction following the seminal Indigenous Data Sovereignty: Toward an agenda in 2016. Since then, in Aotearoa, we have seen commitments from universities, corporate entities, and the government to align data policies with Māori data sovereignty. Despite this rapid proliferation of ideas, it was my experience that many Māori who I spoke with in my day-to-day life did not know what data sovereignty was or why it might be important to them. In this paper, I reflect on how the sharing of whānau stories in my PhD became an opportunity for reclamation, for healing, and for the assertion of Māori data sovereignty. In doing so, this paper goes further to reflect on how my whānau stories helped me to better understand the value of my mahi and to be able to explain in real terms what data sovereignty means for Māori. (Author's abstract). Record #8565