Indigenous women connect to culture through traditional crafts

Wadja Wadja woman Vivianne-Lee Watson was working at her local community's women's shelter when she was asked to attend a weaving workshop.And the rest — as the saying goes — is history."My only aim was to transport the ladies out that day, and one of the facilitators came and asked me, 'Do you want to learn how to weave?'" Ms Watson reflected."I had in my head, 'No, I don't have an artistic bone in me.'"She started with a bracelet and, within 24 hours, she had made a basket.Vivianne-Lee Watson has created a safe space in her community for yarning and creating. (ABC Capricornia: Vanessa Jarrett)That was six-and-a-half years ago, and it quickly became more than a hobby.Earlier this year, Ms Watson resigned from her stable full-time job to take her side hustle further."I found that it [my job] wasn't filling my cup as much as I thought it would, which is why I chose to resign … [and] step into my business full time," she said."I'm just shocked by the many doors that have opened for me."Vivianne-Lee Watson showing others how to use the needle and raffia for weaving. (ABC Capricornia: Vanessa Jarrett)Over the past few months, she has held workshops, which are free for anyone to join, in her hometown of Woorabinda, an Indigenous community 170 kilometres south-west of Rockhampton in central Queensland."It's been very rewarding for myself, but also for the women, seeing the ladies come out … having my elders here and teaching them something, when they've been the one that has been teaching me," she said.It's also created a safe space for locals."It's a good time out for us ladies to be together, a good yarning circle," Woorabinda resident and Mayi-Yapi woman Annie Asse said."If someone doesn't want to do something, they can simply just sit here and have a yarn."We don't judge nobody, we're all here for each other, and it's good for our mindset."For Bwgcolman woman Veronica Johnson, who is from Palm Island and moved to Woorabinda this year, it has been a way to make friends.Bwgcolman woman Veronica Johnson was new to Woorabinda and came along to the workshops as a way to make friends. (ABC Capricornia: Vanessa Jarrett)"It's brought me out of my shell … it's very lovely," she said."It's given me that inspiration, consideration with the women, how to connect within ourselves."Sharing crafts, traditions and culture is an important part of ensuring ancient Indigenous ways don't get lost in a modern society."It keeps people grounded for who they are, where they come from, why they matter in life, basically," Woorabinda resident and Wadja Wadja woman Patricia Rankin said."We want them all here just to learn something, and any little problems they may have, they might connect with someone."The attendees at the workshop do all sorts of crafts from beading, making jewellery, painting, weaving and other crafts. (ABC Capricornia: Vanessa Jarrett)Indigenous weaving practices date back tens of thousands of years, with ancestors crafting baskets, dilly bags, nets and fish traps from natural resources like reeds, bark and plants."Something I'm very passionate about is to help people reconnect to their roots, because that was something that I struggled with for so long, wanting to know who I was and where I came from," Ms Watson said.It has been a way for her to connect with her family heritage, not just the Woorabinda Wadja Wadja mob she grew up around, but the Mayi-Yapi in the Gulf country."I'm not just an Aboriginal woman, but I'm a Torres Strait Islander woman too, and weaving is a part of that side of my family as well," Ms Watson said. Vivianne-Lee Watson's daughter Kaeleigh Watson-Brown making a pair of earrings. (Supplied: Vivianne-Lee Watson)Kaeleigh with Eden, who bought her earrings. (Supplied: Vivianne-Lee Watson)While she has taught people of all ages, being able to pass her skills onto her two daughters, aged seven and 10, has been extra special.Her eldest was recently commissioned by a local health service worker to weave a pair of earrings."The smile that she had on her face … and she got paid for it, so she thought that she was deadly with it," Ms Watson said.