There was a time when Collingwood's reputation on race relations was a long, long way from stellar.

But times change.

The AFL club talked the talk with its Do Better report, released ahead of the 2021 season, and more than three and a half years later the Magpies are walking the walk.

Recently, Collingwood spent the most part of a week learning from mobs of multiple Northern Territory Aboriginal communities as part of an ongoing commitment to cultural learning and community engagement.

And not just AFL and AFLW players, but a range of the club staff and board members who first travelled to Tennant Creek before heading south to Mparntwe/Alice Springs.

Tennant Creek lies within one of Collingwood's top Next Generation Academy recruitment zones, with the largely player-driven program focusing on fostering meaningful connections, deepening understanding of culture and working side by side with a local community.

Former Collingwood star forward, club cultural development manager and proud Whadjuk Yuat Yamatji man originally from Ballardong Country in Western Australia, Leon Davis, who returned back to the club after having felt ashamed at the casual racism within Victoria Park, turned up appearing more buoyant.

Davis, who in 2022 forgave Collingwood's past indiscretions after witnessing real change, was proud to watch his beloved Magpies immersed on Warumungu Country.

"This program provides an incredible opportunity for many at Collingwood to listen and learn from the Tennant Creek community (prior to heading to the Alice Springs community) and to immerse ourselves in the culture of the Warumungu people," Davis said.

"As a club, we believe in the importance of understanding the broader community that we represent and this experience will help shape what it means to be a Collingwood person.

"Tennant Creek holds a special place for all at Collingwood and this program shows a genuine want from our club to lead with respect, listen and learn from the community."

Collingwood captain Darcy Moore has worked hard to change the narrative around the Magpies football culture. For a long time the club lived in the shadow of prejudiced comments by former president Allan McAlister about Indigenous players, and the notorious racist abuse directed at St Kilda champion Nicky Winmar at Victoria Park back in 1993.

Moore welcomed Winmar back to the very ground where the incident occurred during a symbolic and spiritual healing ceremony in April that included other Aboriginal past players.

Moore said a lot has changed since the report was released.

"So creating strong, inclusive and culturally-aware players and staff is at the heart of our programs and the wider club," Moore said.

"This cultural immersion allows many at our club to gain a deeper understanding of the Tennant Creek community.

"It's about learning, growing and hopefully making a positive impact."

The son of former champion Peter Moore was inspired to be a part of the solution once learning about what Davis had to endure, explaining to The Age that "reading his story of experiences for me was particularly difficult".

Davis walked out on the club after an All-Australian season and despite the reports at the time that the goalsneak was asked to take a 30 per cent pay cut, he hid the truth behind quitting for years.

He, in actual fact, had threatened to walk out multiple times during his 225-game career prior to all but forcibly retiring - not too long before the 2010 premiership star nominated for the AFL draft.

Only months after arriving at the club, Davis was exposed to racially-offensive answers that his new teammates had written for an AFL questionnaire that was placed by his bag next to the locker.

Moore was furious at the treatment Davis received and has used that example as a case that players must learn and better themselves.

"The most important thing for us is to listen and to learn from their leaders and people, who live here, about the community and the culture, and some of the issues that they face, and some of the parts of their community that is really strong and really important," Moore said.

"We're also still building our own connections, obviously with new draftees and other young players that have been traded in, so this is a really nice place to be able to do that, and it's also a good example of Collingwood and how we go about our work in our community."

Moore has immersed himself in Indigenous culture at every opportunity.

He was spotted on stage in front of Indigenous Magpies supporters, joining in one of the local bands on the drums to the cheers of teammates, and looked at home in an Aboriginal art class.

"Working in the Barkly region, we wanted it to be meaningful, we wanted it to be outcome-based, so a part of that was about listening and learning about what the community needs and what they're asking for, and whatever we can do to sort of help that," Moore said.

"We know that football has such a big impact on so many people. You only needed to see our arrival at the schools to see the excitement it creates.

"It is a powerful force in the community, our beautiful sport and our great club.

"We want to be really a service to the community they let us here."

Collingwood ensured its first-to-fourth year AFL and AFLW players were present at the club's inaugural cultural immersion program to set a platform for improved understanding for future Magpies players.

However for some of their prized, older recruits, it was also a chance to better understand what the new face of the Collingwood Football Club represented.

"Just being able to spend quality time has been good for me to transition into the footy club," former Port Adelaide half-back Dan Houston said.

"We went out to the Barkly Regional Arts Centre, which has been great where we learned a lot about the traditional art and listen to some of their local music and, we met so many faces and connect back to the local community."

The club representatives learned about a culture they had never encountered inside the bubble of its inner Melbourne base.

The program, which took place on the lands of the Warumungu people on Patta land, heard a number of the owners and Elders share oral stories and traditions of Country that the club in a statement says will "foster a meaningful relationship that promises to drive positive and impactful community outcomes".

"This cultural immersion program is about way more than football," Collingwood AFLW vice-captain Jordyn Allen said.

"It's about connection, deep listening, education, and leadership, and we are grateful to the Warumungu Community for welcoming us and allowing us to learn through this experience."