Monday's flag raising and smoking ceremony was conducted in front of cameras, with attendees restricted to participants and the media.

The festivities were occurring months after they usually would.

And, instead of shaking hands, community leaders bumped elbows.

But the global COVID-19 pandemic did not change the significance of the week, which celebrates Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, cultures, achievements and history.

"These celebrations are really important for us to do as a community," Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation chair Trent Nelson said.

He said the week was an opportunity to share knowledge, have conversations and move forward with reconciliation.

Bendigo NAIDOC Week Committee chair Lyn Warren said it was hard for organisers to pull the plug on the celebrations they had originally planned.

NAIDOC Week was postponed from July until November, nationally.

"That COVID - I've never known anything to stop anything like that has," Aunty Lyn said.

But she was heartened by a sense of increased engagement in NAIDOC Week, and hopeful it would carry through to 2021.

"You don't sort of have to go and say, 'Hey, do you want to be involved?' The word just seems to get out there," Aunty Lyn said.

The theme of this year's NAIDOC Week celebrations is, "Always was, always will be".

"For us, it's very important," Mr Nelson said.

"We've always been here, and we always will be here.

"We've never left. We've never ceded our sovereignty. This is our country - we belong here, we were born here, this is our mother earth. We don't come from anywhere else in the world.

"So, for us, being recognised as traditional owners is very important and being respected to share in our culture for a week with the wider community."

Education was about more than just raising awareness, to Mr Nelson.

"Every Australian person that lives on Dja Dja Wurrung country, and even across Australia, Aboriginal culture is their culture as well," Mr Nelson said.

"They need to own it and they need to understand it and respect it."

He believed there was progress, with more tiers and facets of governments ensuring they had reconciliation plans in place.

"That involves self-determination for Aboriginal people and community," Mr Nelson said.

"We're in a beautiful place - we're so lucky in the City of Greater Bendigo that we've got an awesome council that's really supportive of us as traditional owners and our partnership moving forward, as well.

"The future is going to be bright and prosperous for us living in this community as one."

Monday's flag raising and smoking ceremony included the launch of the City of Greater Bendigo's new Reconciliation Plan.

The city's chief executive, Craig Niemann, said the new plan was more focused than its predecessor.

"This plan is built around respect, partnerships and opportunities," Mr Niemann said.

"There's lots of ownership in this, there's lots of collaboration that's happened to put it together, and as an organisation we'll be really working hard to deliver on this plan over the next four years."

He said place naming was an important element of the plan, as were procurement and employment.

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Mr Niemann's hope for NAIDOC Week was that people would participate in some of the events and really reflect on the importance of Aboriginal history and reconciliation.

"It's really important that we talk about, understand and reflect on reconciliation and what's getting better, I think, in terms of our appreciation of the value and culture and history of the Dja Dja Wurrung and all Aboriginal people," Mr Niemann said.

Bendigo Art Gallery is live streaming two NAIDOC Week events on its Facebook page:

NAIDOC Week started on November 8 and runs until November 15.

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