I come from Balranald up on the Murrumbidgee River which is part of the Great Willandra Basin where Lake Mungo is situated.

I'm sure we've all heard about the story of Lake Mungo in recent years which pertains to the opalised skulls. Well, my bloodline comes from that country and I'm directly linked to those two skulls that were found in recent years. Having said that, I have a question to pose to you, anyone watching this program: 'How long does it take for something to opalise or turn into opal?'

The significance of what I'm saying is history is important; we've left our history and the makings of this earth here that is commonly known as Australia. We've found two opalised people, so the question is: 'How long does it take for Aboriginal people to turn into opal?'

Sealin Garlett, I'm a Nyoongar man and I'm born in a little place in Western Australia - a little place called Bruce Rock. The impact of colonization upon my people, a lot of things that I see is very strong for me about that, is that one of the attributes that our Indigenous people across our land have is a sense of being able to listen, is a sense of wanting to be able to, within our culture and within our spirit, to share with what we have. It seems that not only the physical bodies of our Indigenous people were raped, but I believe the spirit too, the spirit too that belongs to a land older than time, was being really, really affected.

And one of the things it has not done for our Indigenous people - it may have oppressed us, it may have held us down but it has never broken our spirit. Such is the tenacity, such is the sense of belonging, such is the core of who we are that it will always live.

In the first 15 years from 1851 to 1865 we had two massive influenza epidemics. Previous to the influenza epidemics, there were 6,500 Nyoongar people who were unofficially, it wasn't a census, but they were actually counted and recorded living in the south west. After the last epidemic in 1860's there were only 1,500 Nyoongar people left in the whole south west of Western Australia.

My name's Linda Burney and I'm from south western New South Wales. I'm a member of the Wiradjuri nation and we have a huge land area, the Wiradjuri. It covers the Lachlan, the MacQuarie and the Murrumbidgee Rivers.

There is something that is undeniable, whether it's been the policy of segregation, the policy of forced removal of kids, the policy of assimilation. They have all had one goal in mind - and that is to 'civilise the blacks' if you like. And I think that the greatest achievement of Indigenous people within Australia, without a doubt, is the fact that we've survived.

My name is Edmund Kenneth O'Loughlin. I was born at Point Pearce 1938. I belong to the Narrunga and Kaurna people. The establishment of Point Pearce in 1868 was a direct result of the dispossession of the Nurunga people. Prior to the European settlement, the Nurunga people had the whole of the Yorke Peninsula as their tribal grounds. They were divided into four distinct groups, emu, kangaroo, sea eagle, and the shark.

The Narrunga people were all fragmented - died out because of food poisoning, water holes being poisoned, introduced illnesses such as influenza, measles, chicken pox; all these introduced diseases including the venereal diseases.

So over a period of about 20 years there remained a very small number of Narrunga people. The Moravians who came to South Australia took up the cause after a discussion with the Bishop Hale to improve the lot of the Aboriginal people, was to educate the children and look after the older people. Religious instruction changed the lifestyle of the Narrunga people. It was found upon by the church to come into the mission to be cared for the Nurunga people had to forego their culture.

My name's Linda Burney and I'm from south western New South Wales. I'm a member of the Wiradjuri nation and we have a huge land area, the Wiradjuri. It covers the Lachlan, the MacQuarie and the Murrumbidgee Rivers. Fortunately through lots of innovation and a little bit of growing up, people in Australia are beginning to understand our truth.

And part of that truth isn't very pretty, and of course part of that truth is the fact that Australia was invaded, and it wasn't until 1993 with the High Court decision in Mabo that there was even legal, the legal doctrine or the nonsense of the legal doctrine of 'Terra Nullius' was actually thrown out. And for the first time in Australia formally we had the recognition that Aboriginal people had prior occupation to Australia.