Year seven students at Hastings Secondary College listened to Indigenous Aboriginal and Torres Strait community members tell their stories as part of NAIDOC celebrations.
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On August 1 students joined together at the college's Port Macquarie campus for a morning of storytelling to understand the struggles and triumphs local Indigenous Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples have endured.
Jamie Donovan a proud Birpai man was one of the community members who was invited to talk to the students.
"Being Aboriginal is everything to me. It is who I am, it is my identity and it is how people know me," Mr Donovan said.
"I am connected to country when I am here, it is my past and my children's future. Today is a great opportunity for the students to learn about our history and understand some of the struggles Aboriginal people have gone through and continue to go through every day.
"We all have our own story to tell and for the students it is great they can listen to a wide range of stories from Aboriginal people who have grown up in different times."
The 2019 NAIDOC Week theme is Voice, Treaty, Truth - Let's work together for a shared future and highlights the desire of Aboriginal and Torres Strait peoples to have a seat at the bargaining table in discussions of Constitutional reform and treaties; and for a truthful depiction of colonisation to underpin the narrative of Australian history.
NAIDOC Week was celebrated around the country from July 7-14.
Mr Donovan said the the storytelling aspect of the morning was about more than just 'the story'.
"Being able to tell your story to someone face to face is a powerful thing," he said.
"However for us is it not so much a story as telling our truth and sharing our experiences about what we have gone through.
"Everyone has their own version of their life and we all have strengths and weaknesses and I hope the students see that through our stories."
During the celebrations Charlie Maher was inducted as the College's NAIDOC Hall of Fame recipient for his work is local Aboriginal boys.
"I love working with the boys so much and am so passionate about helping them be the best they can be," Mr Maher said.
"I grew up with not a lot in Alice Springs but I did have a strong sense of community and culture passed down from my mother and grandparents.
"They taught me respect and showed me the importance of sharing our stories and journey with others."
Mr Maher said he was proud of the work he and the team at the Clontarf Academy have been doing.
"We are supporting over 100 young men and we believe it is important to give them strong role models to look up to," he said.
"We want our boys to become respectful leaders who are good people and we have seem some incredible and really positive results from the program."
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