WITH AWABA at the centre, students from around Lake Macquarie took a step closer to reconciliation together at the first event of its kind in Rathmines.
In Reconciliation Week the message was clear, it's up to everyone to contibute, to be brave and make change and it starts here on Awabakal country.
"We were, and continue to be, the caretakers and custodians of the lands we all call home," Biriban Local Aboriginal Land Council chief executive Ashley Williams said.
"Our culture, Aboriginal culture, Australia's Indigenous culture is the oldest living culture in the entire world and as Australians whether you are Aboriginal or not - we should all be proud of our country's Indigenous culture and heritage.
"It is unique, it is amazing and it is ours as Australians."
At least 1400 students from eight different schools came together to talk about reconciliation, to share culture, Aboriginal knowledge and healing.
Sitting beneath the same stringy bark trees Indigenous communities once used to make canoes to cross the lake, on land that would have once housed Awabakal people in humpys and rock shelters, the students learned more about the rich history of Lake Macquarie's First Nations people.
"They only took what they needed and were expert hunters and gatherers," Ms Williams said.
"The ridges were their roads and travel routes, the caves were their houses and shelters, the rivers and gullies their water source.
"The bushlands and open plains were their hunting and gathering grounds as were the oceans and wetlands.
"The surrounding bush and lake provided everything they needed to survive, including food, medicines, tools and weapons."
The inaugural event included a performance from Lake Macquarie High School's cultural group, and each school shared a piece that highlighted what reconciliation meant to them - as smoke from a traditional ceremony hung in the air.
Organiser and Toronto Public School principal Kim Witt said the intention was to stand up and publicly show the schools' support the principles of reconciliation.
"It's about equity, truth and healing," she said.
"Education is really important, we have in-excess of 200 Aboriginal children in our schools and we want them to grow and stand tall and proud in their culture.
"We want all children to understand that Australia has a very rich history of our First Nations people, but we also want them to understand that not all pages of that history are ones to be celebrated.
"We want to move forward together for a brighter future for all Australians."
She said reconciliation should be something students thought about every day, not just during Reconciliation Week.
The students also participated in a reconciliation walk before hearing from Elders and other members of the Aboriginal community.
The pupils also shared their understanding of reconciliation.
