How to join the Deadly Tidda Girls group at Chisholm
Every fortnight, a group of First Nations women get together at Chisholm to connect to culture and to each other. All Mob are welcome – here’s how you can join.
Studying can be tough – but when you’ve got supportive people to turn to, it can make all the difference. Chisholm’s Deadly Tidda Girls group is creating a safe space for Mob to get together on campus, to connect to culture, and to look out for each other.
Held once a fortnight throughout the TAFE term, each session involves different activities – from making smudge sticks or weaving to talking through problems or just having a yarn.
The idea for the group came from proud Yorta Yorta woman and Koorie Student Support Officer at Chisholm, Amber Wilson.
Amber says she likes to think outside the square and make sure things are never boring for the students she works with.
“I don't really work like other youth workers do – I like to change up the game and do things that are a bit different and out there,” she says.
She wanted to start the Deadly Tidda Girls group to create a place for First Nations women to connect with culture in meaningful ways.
“It’s about really upholding our culture – especially for anyone in the class that hasn't had an opportunity to go strong in their culture,” she says.
“Because, when we’re strong in culture, we're strong in everything we do. We're strong in community and we’re strong within ourselves.”
Amber studied at Chisholm herself and knows that studying and campus life can be really challenging – especially if you’re juggling family commitments and things at home.
“The biggest goal with the group is to give Mob community within a community – to connect them in with each other, to give them something that makes them feel safe, recognised and acknowledged, so I can support them all the way from the time they start thinking about enrolling to the moment they graduate,” she says.
Amber develops Deadly Tidda Girls activities with help from her students, to make sure they’re both useful and fun.
A popular session last term was making smudge sticks out of blends of native medicinal plants.
“That was one of the one of the first activities we did – and it went off, everyone loved it,” says Amber.
“We did that because it’s important to cleanse our spirits. When we go to new Country or when we're going into important events, it’s something that helps us build better with our soul, our spirit, our energy – everything.
“It also meant the girls could keep something to actually have and hold at home – they can use it or keep it, because they’re quite pretty: they smell like essential oils and are full of really beautiful plants,” she says.
“Another thing we did to connect to our culture and our traditional ways was weave baskets out of raffia, which is something that we do traditionally – it’s how we caught food, how we had clothes, how we did a lot of different things.
“Raffia as a material is pretty special, because it's really flexible and strong – and that's how we are as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women.”
Amber says the group is also a space to talk through any problems or difficult things that might come up while studying – to share the load with other people.
Since starting the Deadly Tidda Girls group in mid 2022, she’s seen more and more women join each session.
“The numbers grow every fortnight – every time I walk in the room, there's a new woman or young girl in my group, and that's one more person we're connecting in with each other.”
The group includes Mob from all across Chisholm, who are of all ages and studying all kinds of courses – from social work to automotive to nursing and beyond.
Amber says she’s seen people in the group form really strong friendships that have helped get them through some tough times in their studies.
“I've got women in there that are older than me who are coming back and calling me sis and saying: there's been times where I wanted to leave TAFE and now, because of this, I want to be here, and I look forward to coming here,” she says.
“One of them actually graduated last week and they bought me a present and said: thank you, sis, you know, if it wasn't for this, I might have left, but now I have friends forever.”
The Deadly Tidda Girls group is continuing to grow and, in 2023, a range of activities will run throughout each term across the whole year.
“Next year we’re going to do things like go off-site to local gathering places and get local female elders to come in and have dreamtime stories and big yarns with the girls,” says Amber.
“I'm just really excited – because I know that it's going to kick off!”
How to join the Deadly Tidda Girls group
The Deadly Tidda Girls group is open to all female Mob enrolled at Chisholm. As Koorie Support Officer, Amber will give you a call when you enrol to let you know how to join.
In 2023, there will also be an Eventbrite page where you can register online to come along at different times throughout the year.
