Possum skin cloaks tell students’ stories

For tens of thousands of years, possum skin cloaks have protected Koorie people from wind, cold and rain.

The cloaks have also traditionally been used to preserve and tell stories, with the hides acting as a parchment to display artwork and ideas, then stitched together to form an elaborate cloak.

Today, the practice is flourishing and Greater Shepparton Secondary College Koorie students are among the youngest to learn the tradition.

Working in groups during weekly sessions, the students have spent term two creating three possum skin cloaks for the GSSC Neighbourhoods of Biyala, Dharnya and Bayuna.

The cloaks will be unveiled in NAIDOC Week and will be used to mark important reconciliation events and for display throughout the year.

Val Atkinson, a Koorie educator at GSSC, said the program came about through

‘ We wanted to do something, to find ways to engage with them to build their pride in culture. ’

general concern about the health and welfare of young people.

“Some of our kids had experienced trauma and were not in a good place,” Val said.

“We wanted to do something, to find ways to engage with them to build their pride in culture.”

Val said the formation of the Dunguludja Dana Youth Group last year began from a discussion at a backyard barbecue.

Youth group members developed their ideas and approached GSSC with the vision of establishing an art therapy project, and the Dunguludja Dana Cultural Program was born.

With funding from the Victorian Aboriginal Community Services Association, possum pelts were purchased from New Zealand, students created their unique designs and have used heated tools to etch the pelts with images.

When complete, a possum skin cloak is worn with the fur on the inside, so the artwork can tell the stories of its student creators.

Val said up to 80 students were enthusiastically taking part in the program and it was also attracting mentors and artists from the wider community.

“The kids love it,” she said. “It’s very creative and is also providing them a culturally safe and welcome place to socialise.”

With Dunguludja Dana meaning ‘strong pathways’ or ‘strengthening journeys’ it is hoped this particular path will be a long one, with more art programs to come.