Exhibit shines light on Indigenous servicemen and women

More than 600 Indigenous people serve in the Australian Defence Force and a new exhibition honours those who fought for the country before them.

The Serving Country exhibition has opened at the Australian National Maritime Museum in Sydney and shares the stories of Indigenous Australians who have proudly protected and served the country since World War I.

Museum manager of Indigenous programs, South Sea Islander and Torres Strait Islander Matt Poll, said it was important to get an understanding of the sense of family that comes with being a part of the Navy.

"When you look at the people's stories and the intergenerational family stories, there are many members of different generations of the same family all serving proudly," he told AAP.

"There was just this really strong message about family that came through, along with protecting and serving country."

The portraits depict Indigenous servicemen and women from different ages, ranking, those in uniform and some wearing their medals.

Maritime Museum director and chief executive Daryl Karp said many Indigenous servicemen and women at the time were subjected to racism and still chose to serve their country.

"The fact that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men and women served at all in the defence forces is profoundly significant," she said.

"They were denied the most basic of rights of citizenship and were subject to racism and severe disadvantage, many individuals chose to serve for the benefit of all Australians."

The creative project was made possible by Sydney-based human rights documentarian Belinda Mason and artist Dieter Knierman.

The first series of Serving Country aims to bring a spotlight to the lesser-known stories of Indigenous Navy servicemen and women through 18 portraits, followed by two more series.

Mr Poll said the exhibition was a great opportunity to show Indigenous Australians have been protecting and serving country even before colonisation.

"There are some amazing historical events that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people were literally standing at the forefront of, watching and were a part of," he said.

"But their stories have not been told well, so I hope that the exhibition is a starting point."

The portraits are the first of three iterations of Serving Country and they will change every six to eight months.