It was a moment in a regional Victorian classroom that stirred something in Jana Stewart.
As she listened to her teacher read bleak statistics about the life expectancy gap of her people, the young Indigenous student began to think differently about her future, and the misconceptions she would face throughout her life.
"I was the only black kid sitting in this classroom and essentially the message that I heard was, 'I'm not going to own a home, I'm not going to go to university, I'm going to die 15-20 years earlier than my classmates and I'm going to probably have kids at a young age,'" she said.
"I realised there were these negative things about being an Aboriginal person, in terms of what my trajectory in life was going to look like."
For the Mutthi Mutthi and Wamba Wamba woman, who had experienced hardship and poverty, it was a pivotal moment.
"I made a really deliberate decision in my mind then that this isn't who I'm going to be. These statistics don't define who I am," she said.
Now, she's preparing to become the youngest Aboriginal woman to serve in the federal parliament.
Ms Stewart made history in April when she was chosen as the Labor Party's first Victorian Aboriginal senator, replacing the late Kimberly Kitching.
While there has been plenty of attention on the "teal wave" of independents, this new "black wave" of women will have some different priorities, Ms Stewart said.
Ms Stewart said that would include a focus on the devastating rates of family violence against Aboriginal women and the soaring numbers of Indigenous children in out-of-home care.
"We have a national crisis on our hands," she said.
As a survivor of family violence and the oldest of six children, the 34-year-old said her parents had both struggled with addiction, which led to her work as a family therapist before she went into politics.
"I'm not necessarily sad about those things, I think it has shaped who I am," she said.
"When I was about 10 or 11 years old, I remember my mum saying to me: 'As the oldest, it's your responsibility to let all the sticks and stones hit you to clear a pathway for your brothers and sisters'."
Ms Stewart will join a record number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders elected, the majority of whom are women.
'Infiltrate' and 'Unite'
In the recent federal election, Australians voted in four new Indigenous representatives.
Joining Ms Stewart are the Northern Territory's Member for Lingiari, Labor's Marion Scrymgour, Labor MP for Robertson Dr Gordon Reid and, to the Senate, Northern Territory Country Liberal's Jacinta Nampijinpa Price.
Returning to the chamber will be Labor senators Pat Dodson (Western Australia) and Malarndirri McCarthy (Northern Territory) with Linda Burney (New South Wales), who is replacing Liberal Ken Wyatt as Minister for Indigenous Affairs.
Independent senator for Tasmania Jacqui Lambie and Greens senators Dorinda Cox (Western Australia) and Lidia Thorpe (Victoria) will also keep their spots in the Senate.
Senator Thorpe, who has been a strong advocate for women, said she would like to pursue a past inquiry she put to the Senate into missing and murdered Indigenous women and children.
However, with a diverse range of political agendas now in the chamber, it seems an ongoing push for a referendum on an Indigenous Voice to Parliament may overshadow her plans.
"The priority is the survival of our people," she said.
"Constitutional recognition right now is not going to save our people's lives … full implementation of the recommendations from Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody will save lives."
Senator Thorpe said that, although other Indigenous parliamentarians might not agree with her on everything, she hoped to use the momentum of the "black wave" to work together.
"The 'black wave' or the 'black out' that's about to happen in this country … that's something to celebrate, it doesn't matter what team we're on," she said.
"At the end of the day, we're blackfellas and we've increased our numbers in this place that makes laws for our country and our people.
"We're so oppressed and the boot is at our neck every single day, so we have to infiltrate the parliament and the laws of this country the way we know how and that is to come together and unite."
