Cross-cultural participatory mapping research involving Indigenous knowledge can risk misrepresentation if meanings are not appropriately translated. Participatory mapping is a widely used method for obtaining spatially explicit information on human-environment interactions; however, mapped data may not reflect intended meanings when interpreted across cultures. Drawing on hermeneutic phenomenology , this paper describes methods used to interpret and represent activities undertaken by Traditional Owners in Saltwater Country around Rubibi (Broome, Western Australia). As part of Yagarrajalajalan Nagula Buru: We all care for saltwater Country, a participant-led card sorting activity was used as a communication tool in a two-way science project to facilitate understanding and protect culturally sensitive information. This study demonstrates three key outcomes: first is how conventional scientific hierarchical classifications can be reconfigured to better align with Indigenous worldviews without compromising analytical utility for spatial analysis and marine planning; second is that cross-cultural understanding is strengthened through iterative, participant-led co-creation; while third is that language can function to both reveal and to intentionally obscure culturally significant knowledge, thereby enabling ethical data representation. The outcome challenges the common top-down thematic aggregation scientific approach by instead recognising, prioritising and centring the interconnected and relational structure of an Indigenous worldview.