Bridging Now to Next: A Campfire Reflection for National Reconciliation Week 2025

National Reconciliation Week takes place from 27 May – 3 June with the theme Bridging Now to Next. For National Reconciliation Week 2025, Cassandra Gibbs-Smith shares A Campfire Reflection…

The fire flickers softly before me.
I’m not an Elder – not yet – but tonight, I imagine myself sitting at that sacred fire, beside the Maran – the Ancestors, listening deeply, and offering the story I carry. The stars blink above reminding us of our ancient Maran – our ancient Ancestors, who are reminding us that they are keeping watch. Then there is Gunimaa, our Earth Mother, who listens through the soil beneath my bare feet.

I close my eyes and speak, not just with words, but with Yulanbuy – with spirit.

“Ngaya winangay,” I whisper. “I remember.”

Ngaya winangay – I remember! My Bubaa’s voice – my father’s voice, sharing story of his songline across dhawun – across Country.
Ngaya winangay, I remember, my Gunni’s – my mother’s, strength! Walan – strong, tough, solid but not hard. Hers has always been a gentle, unwavering strength. Just like her Gunii – mother, before her.
Ngaya winangay – I remember, the stories of our people walking Country with bare feet and heavy hearts, still standing tall.
Ngaya winangay – I remember, the bridges we’ve built with our own hands – bridges made not of steel, but of truth, pain, courage, and care.
And Ngaya winangay – I remember, the ones still waiting to be walked across.

The 2025 theme for National Reconciliation Week – Bridging Now to Next – is not just a theme. It is a spiritual calling.

It asks all of us – black, white, and every shade of this land – to walk forward with intention.
It reminds us that the journey from truth to justice, from silence to voice, from apology to action, is a bridge that must be walked together.

I speak these words as a Yinarr – an Aboriginal woman – shaped by my Walaaybaa, my home Country, of Goodooga.
I speak as a mother raising Aboriginal children in a world that too often forgets their sacredness.
As a daughter of Aboriginal parents who carried the fire forward even when the winds tried to blow it out.
As a sister.
As a Gunidjarr – an Aunty-Mother, to my nieces and nephews, whose laughter and light fuel my purpose.
As a granddaughter of two phenomenal Grandmothers – my Nan Helen and my Nanna Georgina – women of fierce wisdom, resilience and grace whose legacies live through my every step.
And as a proud Australian who knows that reconciliation is not an event – it’s a lifelong ceremony.

Twenty-five years ago, Corroboree 2000 gathered our nations together in a sacred moment of hope.
We still carry that hope – but we also carry the lessons of delay, denial, and disappointment.
We have stepped forward, yes – but we must keep stepping. We must keep listening.
And above all, we must act.

Bree Buttenshaw’s artwork this year for National Reconciliation Week – those native plants rising after fire – reminds me of our spirit.
Of how we grow, again and again.
Of how fire doesn’t end us – it transforms us.
And of how, in the ash, there is always the chance for new life.

So I ask, as we sit around this imagined campfire together:
What are you doing to bridge now to next?
What will your children say about the steps you took?
Will your story be one of silence – or of sacred, stubborn hope?

Let this be the year we do more than talk.
Let this be the year we honour Country, elevate voice, walk softly, and act boldly.
Let this be the year we build a bridge strong enough for all our children to cross – hand in hand.

Cassandra Gibbs-Smith
Yuwaalaraay | Yuwaalayaay | Gamilaraay Yinarr
Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) Facilitator – Sisters of Saint Joseph