With Thursday marking the start of Reconciliation Week, Gundungurra Elder Aunty Trish Levett is asking Highlanders one simple question.
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What can you do to get involved?
National Reconciliation Week will run from May 27 to June 3 with this year's theme being 'more than a word, Reconciliation takes action'.
Held on the same dates every year, Reconciliation Week has been run formally since 1996 and marks two significant dates in Australian history, the 1967 Referendum and the 1992 Mabo decision.
2021 will also mark 20 years since Reconciliation Australia was founded.
Aunty Trish, who has been heavily involved in the revival and teaching of Gundungurra language, said it was essential for all Australians to be involved in the process of reconciliation.
"It's one thing to recognise that it's Reconciliation Week but what are you actually doing for Reconciliation Week?" Levett told the Southern Highland News.
"There's lots of events happening. I suggest people find out what events are happening in their area and attend those events with the community.
"It's about everybody coming together, the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal community and being as one."
Last year saw a national spotlight shone on Indigenous issues, particularly in the wake of the Black Lives Matter movement and the destruction of sacred sites at Juukan Gorge.
Levett said truth-telling was key to understanding the continued struggle of Aboriginal people since colonisation.
"Truth telling is telling our history, what really happened," she explained.
"Unless we start educating people they're not going to know the truth, the true history of what our people have actually gone through.
"To be honest we're still going through a lot today. We're fighting constantly to protect sites which is a massive struggle for our people.
"People need to understand our connection to land, it's like our backbone. We need people to walk alongside us and help us."
So, what can Highlanders do beyond the week ahead? Levett said simply looking to the region's history as well as joining the Wingecarribee Reconciliation Group (WRG) goes a long way.
"People need to find out where their Reconciliation Groups are and join them."
"Learning the history of your area, what are the traditional names? What do they mean? I do a lot of work with reconciliation in the Southern Highlands so we're often holding events and we're together as one.
"The WRG at the moment are handing out flags to clubs and that's so important because those clubs are now actually acknowledging our people so that's a massive step forward in reconciliation within itself."
Those interested in joining the WRG can send Chair Gus Johnson an email at Reconciliation.wingecarribee@gmail.com
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