Indigenous women model wearable art for Giiyong Festival performance

Ciara Maher thought she would be nervous performing traditional Indigenous dance in front of hundreds of people, but instead felt "grounded" the moment she stepped onto the stage. 

Alongside a group of young women on the New South Wales far south coast, the 19-year-old spent weeks learning how to make traditional wearable art, before showcasing the pieces at the Giiyong Indigenous festival.

The Yuin woman said she felt proud to have performed at the largest Indigenous festival in southern NSW.

"I think after losing yourself a little bit, finding stuff like this brings you back."

In the lead-up to the performance, the group met for workshops to learn how to make traditional jewellery, stringybark skirts and possum skin armbands.

"I always watched my nan do all of this … so being in the workshop and learning and physically doing it myself has been pretty cool," Ms Maher said. 

Performance outside 'comfort zone'

The plan to model their creations and perform traditional dance was a daunting prospect for some of the group. 

"That came easy to me, but for the younger girls it was quite hard for them to find their confidence," Ms Maher said. 

For Tahayla-Rose Niezgoda, the program was "outside [her] comfort zone".

"I'm with a bunch of people that I don't really know … and I'm doing things that I don't usually do," the 14-year-old said. 

But by the time she finished the performance and stepped off the sand-filled arena, Tahayla-Rose considered the experience "empowering".

"We [the group] all have an understanding of each other … we are all born and raised on this land," she said. 

"It's not always easy to connect with other people that don't share that same connection to the land."

Sacred women's business

The program's co-founder Emma Stewart said many cultural leaders came together to teach the girls about confidence and connecting to country. 

"Women's business has been happening for over 60,000 years and matriarchs of Aboriginal communities are the backbone," she said. 

"We've taught them about the sacred protocols around collecting from country and making from country.

"We've done jewellery making using traditional and contemporary methods."

The performance at the Giiyong featured traditional song and dance, alongside a "catwalk-style" fashion show performance, to a song by First Nations rapper Barkaa. 

Ms Stewart said the performance highlighted traditional culture, whilst acknowledging the influence of the Western world.

"A big part of healing comes when we value both," she said. 

"It reinforces that message of respecting all knowledge systems and that we always work better together."

Building cultural identity 

Co-producer Ashweeni Mason said she was proud of how the girls grounded themselves and grew their confidence. 

"It's really important."

And Ms Stewart said she was keen to see the program grow into the future, to expand the knowledge that will be passed down through future generations.

"I can feel the energy of our old people smile, and the women — our grandmothers and aunties — smiling that we've created this opportunity," she said.