A true inspiration to women and all First Nations people in the field of media and journalism, Walkley award winning journalist and proud mother of three, Karla Grant, ventured to Norway to meet with the Sámi people, gaining insight on their Indigenous Voice to Parliament for SBS' Dateline.

Speaking with National Indigenous Times, Ms Grant shared details of her thirty year career covering First Nations affairs whilst providing an insight into Australia's Voice to Parliament and political landscape.

Ms Grant is a proud Western Arrernte woman, who was born and raised by her parents in Adelaide, before moving to Canberra to live with her aunty who encouraged her to pursue a career in journalism and higher education in the nation's capital.

Ms Grant said she was driven by social injustices from a young age.

"I always wanted to be a journalist growing up, because of what my family had been through and I saw what my family had experienced," she said.

"My uncles would be taken by the police on a regular basis just you know, picked up off the street just for the colour of their skin.

"We'd have the police coming to our house and coming to take them away.

"I wanted to do something about it in some way."

When Ms Grant was finishing her degree in Canberra, her first industry role was with community radio station 2XXfm, producing a weekly Aboriginal program and interviewing Aboriginal identities as they travelled through Canberra.

Ms Grant said there wasn't much music to play back then.

"It was records at the time, vinyl records, so that's going back a while, back to the 80s," she said.

Describing how difficult it was to get a foot in the door for the next step in her media career, she worked with the Australian Public Service for six years before being offered a role with a Canadian leading production company who were producing Indigenous content.

"They actually made a program called Aboriginal Australia, that they were producing on behalf of ATSIC. So I eventually got a full time job with that production company and was producing, directing and presenting that program," she said.

Ms Grant then pursued various projects that included publishing an ATSIC magazine and freelancing, before joining SBS in 1995 to produce and report on an Indigenous Cultural Affairs program.

She climbed the ranks to become a series producer and then executive producer of that same program which ran until 2001.

In 2003 she created Living Black, which is now celebrating its 20th anniversary this year.

When asked about the changes she has seen in the Australian political landscape throughout her expansive career covering Indigenous Affairs, Ms Grant said she has seen many changes of government, different prime ministers, different ministers for Aboriginal Affairs, different policies and different representative bodies.

"The year 2000, the Corroboree 2000, where, hundreds of 1000s of people walked across the bridge in solidarity for reconciliation," Ms Grant said, reflecting on the most memorable events of her career.

"Hundreds of 1000s of people walked across the harbour bridge that was just incredible to be there, walking across the bridge and just seeing a sea of flags and people and it wasn't just black fellas.

"It was non-Indigenous Australians as well, all walking together in solidarity for a common cause. To bring the nation together."

She mentioned darker times for Australia's First Nations when John Howard was Prime Minister and wouldn't say sorry, before referring in stark contrast to the historical moment former Prime Minister, Kevin Rudd, apologised to members of the stolen generation.

"It was just such a historic momentous occasion to see a Prime Minister finally say sorry. So yeah, I'll never forget that day," she said.

"We as First Nations people had been waiting to hear those words for so long."

On the toughest issues she has covered, Ms Grant said Black Deaths in Custody and children being taken away are the saddest.

"You really feel for those families but you know that you've got to do the story because if you don't do it, no one else is going to do it and we've got to, you know, raise those issues, highlight those issues to the rest of the nation, because, you know, some people are blissfully oblivious to these things that are happening," she said.

Ms Grant said reporting on traumatic events weighs very heavily on her, but as a First Nations journalist she needed to "bring it up to put it on the national agenda, and in the hope that it will create positive change for our people".

In the lead up to the referendum, her program, Living Black, has spoken with guests from all sides of the political spectrum.

"It is important for journalists to remain impartial," she said.

"It was really interesting to hear all their different perspectives and their takes on this and why a voice is needed and on the other side of the debate why other things are needed and why voice shouldn't happen.

"It's been our job to be a place where people can come to, to hear all those different opinions and views and perspectives.

"To give them an informed view and information and let them decide at the end of the day.

"It's also been sad to see the rise in racism that has occurred during this whole debate, and that really affected me because, you know, my family has been involved in some of that.

"It's really, really cuts to the core when you experience racism, and it's very, very painful and hurtful."

Ms Grant said it is possible to disagree on issues and have a respectful debate without bringing race into it, "because that's just not needed".

"It saddens me to see the misinformation, the scare-mongering tactics, the racism that's been bought into this," she said

"Australians can make up their mind from the facts, keep it to the facts.

"It's very similar to the Mabo debate, there was a lot of scare-mongering tactics during Mabo. So you know, back then it was 'Aboriginal people were going to take your backyards away from you'."

It is evident Ms Grant is passionate about improving outcomes for First Nations people.

In her quest to know more about how an Indigenous Voice to Parliament could work or make a difference in Australia, she travelled through the Arctic, listening to varying perspectives of the Sámi Indigenous Voice to Parliament,.

Her conversations ranged from the Sámi President, Silje Karine Muotka, to a Sámi reindeer herder who shares dissatisfaction with how the voice has handled a land rights claim, and a security guard and bodybuilder turned kindergarten teacher who feels Norway's Voice to Parliament has made significant progress revitalising Sámi culture and language.

Sámi Indigenous Voice to Parliament Key Points:

· It has existed for approximately for 34 years.

· It was it was set up under an Act of Parliament, the Sámi act.

· It's not enshrined in the Constitution, but is an act of parliament, so it is legislated.

· They have their own parliament building.

· It operates as an advisory body to the Norwegian government.

Ms Grant said the Sámi people have made huge gains in terms of language revitalisation and revitalising their culture as well and being recognised.

Like Australia's First Nations peoples, Ms Grant said that the Sámi were persecuted for 1000s of years. They lost their rights, they weren't able to speak their language and they weren't able to practice their culture. Not only can they now practice culture, but it is something that they can be proud of, Ms Grant said that Norway hosts an Indigenous festival where Indigenous people from all over the world travel to participate, celebrating traditional customs, food and dance.

"From what I have observed is that the parliament has been a good thing for them," Ms Grant said of the Sami Parliament since its establishment.

"It's been very positive. It's been very beneficial to the people there in terms of language and cultural culture revitalisation and truth telling, and reconciliation as well."

She said like anything, there's always going to be challenges and it's "never going to be an easy road".

"But I think it's a step forward in the right direction, you know, especially for the Sámi and the sky hasn't fallen in, you know, this has been going for 34 years," she said.

"Somehow in Australia, there's this fear of this advisory body of this Voice and what it's going to be and that it's going to be enshrined in the Constitution and what might happen how's it going impact on people and on you know, the entire population but you see what's happening in Norway.

"The sky hasn't fallen in, the country is still running."

National Indigenous Times asked why Australia needs to enshrine the Voice as opposed to simply legislating it.

"I think that the fear for First Nations people is that you know, our bodies and advisory bodies have been disbanded and abolished," Ms Grant said.

"And a lot of people want to see this enshrined because it'll mean that, governments can't get rid of it.

"This is what has happened in the past with all our other representative bodies that we've had. Some of those bodies did good things for our people."

Ms Grant encourages all Australians to listen to First Nations people and steer away from the politicising of the issue.

She said there's a lot of resources online and a lot of places people can go to get informed and educate themselves about the Voice.

"Listen to First Nations people, listen to people on the ground, First Nations - people and organisations, organisations that are in the front line, doing what they do day in and day out for our mob, listen to what their wants are, what their needs are and what they want to see happen, rather than listening to politicians, it's not about politicians, it's about our people and what they want," she said.

Karla Grant's experience in Norway will feature on SBS on Tuesday 19 September at 9:30pm, on SBS On Demand on on Monday 25 September at 8:30pm on NITV.