"I was 24, I hadn't ever been out of Queensland and my boss said 'We want 10 Torres Strait Islander boys to do all the concrete sleepers from Maitland to Sydney. I'd never heard of Maitland before."

"I just love the way when I teach dance the kids connect with culture and they feel proud. At first they're a little bit scared, but I explain to them that their ochre is like their armour, like a body shield."

"Over the last, let's say 30 years or 50 years, how many Aboriginal people's dreams and goals have been killed with that word 'shame'? The word 'shame' should be crossed out altogether."

"I got the nickname Choc from the boys I used to hang around with at Darby Street in Newcastle. As a matter of fact, I once said to Anthony Mundine 'Hey listen, I'm the original Choc, not you'."

"I was meant to be in Japan for two years and earn a lot of money. I was only there three months but I had to come back when my dad committed suicide."

"At Koori-oke here, I'm probably bound to run into someone who's related to me, so that's great."

"I made a decision one day - either do I end my life, or do I actually rebuild my life based on my values and my beliefs? And that is what I chose to do."

"I feel like I just need to be stable instead of travelling everywhere now"

"It's time that we take those stories out of the books and put them into a space that people can engage in."

"I definitely want to be known as an Aboriginal Australian"