Elders of the Illawarra Koori Men's Support Group say the past should be "forgiven but not forgotten" as they commemorate the seventh anniversary of the Stolen Generation apology.
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Members of the group have planted a seventh lilly pilly tree, one for every year since the Australian Parliament issued a formal apology for past atrocities inflicted on indigenous Australians.
Support group program co-ordinator Greg Potts said Illawarra's indigenous community remained particularly affected by intergenerational trauma caused by European colonisation.
"Indigenous communities on the east coast were the first to cop the brunt of the European invasion," he said.
"Aboriginal males of the Illawarra and South Coast were the first to experience European occupation with forced removal from traditional lands and forced removal of children from their families."
Acknowledging all indigenous people were equal victims, Mr Potts suggested past trauma had a causal relationship to high rates of substance abuse and imprisonment experienced by indigenous men.
"This had a devastating impact on the role of Aboriginal men within community and family structures, often resulting in frustration and grief, which would more often lead to substance misuse, high rates of imprisonment, as well as contributing to breakdown of family structures," he said.
