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10 Tuesday June 30 2015 By DALI CARMICHAEL Behchokos community culture centre was turned into a house of fashion on Sunday as young Tlicho models strutted their stuff in original designs at a regional Aboriginal Day fashion show. The fun event was the result of months of hard work by youth and elders alike eager to carry on the traditions of their grandmoth- ers while learning new skills and expressing their creativity. We thought it would be nice to do sewing classes with the young people and have the elders involved as teachers teaching bead- ing and embroidery work said organizer Cecilia Zoe Martin a research coordinator with the Tlicho government. The sewing program is only the most re- cent in a series of cultural revitalization ef- forts initiated by the government. Weve been talking a lot about how we need to continue hanging on to some of the cultural and traditional ways of life Martin said.Ouryoungpeopleneedtobeencouraged Tlicho designers celebrate Aboriginal Day with fashion show to continue with it and one of the most im- portant things is teaching our young people about crafts and arts especially for special occasions. When we see our young men play in hand game tournaments we see all this colourful beaded art on their vests. We said we also needed to bring out the womens tal- ent and skills to help recognize the females of the communities. When the group started gathering in May Martin only expected a small number of par- ticipants to attend the sessions which were held several times a week in a room above the Tlicho Hotel. She was happily surprised when a total of 64 girls came out to learn traditional arts. When the ladies came in we just asked them what they would like to work on Mar- tin said. They came up with vests mocca- sins vamps purses hand bags baby belts headbands necklaces earrings all kinds of stuff. Its been really exciting. Georgina Franki - a member of the Tlicho government with a background in fashion - helped the women add a modern flair to their traditional designs opening the door for a wider group of participants. We encouraged ladies to create their own ideasMartinsaid.Iwastellingthemcreate whateveryouwantinyourownwaytoexpress yourself. Its been really interesting to watch these youngs ladies. Many of them did not know how to do embroidery. Through sitting with the elders and the instructors theyve learned how to do embroidery work and they are doing amazing work. Its just fantastic. Wendy Mantla another Tlicho research coordinator wanted to give the women a platform to display their hard work. She sug- gested the idea of an Aboriginal Day fashion show where women participating in sewing programs from across the Tlicho region could show off their skills. Once the wheels were set in motion they decided to go all out. We brought people up from the south to do a modeling workshop Mantla said. Its a self-esteem workshop mostly for the mod- els to gain more confidence in themselves in doing the catwalk like the professionals do. They had their own hair stylists coming out their own makeup people and all kinds of stuff. They had photographers as well so theycanhavetheirownportfoliosafterward. Young estheticians from the communities were also incorporated into the event where they had the opportunity to learn styling techniques from the pros. The show was not exclusive to partici- pants of the sewing program as all Tlicho artists were invited to submit their pieces to be worn on the runway. I really wanted to do this because I work with a lot of history Martin said. George Mackenzie who was the grand chief years ago said that as the Tlicho Nation we need to show the skills and the talent of what our women are creating in our Dene clothes. This was around the holidays and he said when the holidays come I want to see all the Tli- cho people put on their traditional clothing and show off and be proud of what our Tlicho women create. I think thats very beautiful. ARTS CULTURE FASHION PhotosCandiceWard Lorna Mae Mantla of Behchoko wears a dress made and designed by Alice J. Mantla. Cindy Gon left Belinda Blackduck and Karisha Koying from Gameti show off original designs during the Tlicho Aboriginal Day fashion show. Event organizer Wendy Mantla models one of her designs sewn by Georgina Franki. June Sanspariel sports a handmade head band and a dress that is truly Tlicho. Jonathan Wall left and Colton Migwi both strut down the catwalk in traditional Tlicho jackets created by Georgina Franki.