NRL legend Dean Widders says he used to feel a little envious when he'd face off against New Zealand teams as they performed the fierce pre-game Haka.
"They inspired their people, they enabled their people to feel proud, to express their culture," he says.
It's something he missed out on growing up.
"We never got the chance to see their dancers in a positive light, or to see our heroes participating in a Corroboree or a dance," he tells NITV's The Point program.
So set about creating his own dance - drawing on the experience and wisdom of Elders like Aunty Fran Bodkins and Uncle Max Harrison and others in the community.
It was 2008, the group included NRL greats such as Preston Campbell, Timana Tahu and George Rose then in 2012, dancer and choreographer Sean Choolburra was brought in to assist.
All-Stars players such as Latrell Mitchell and Cody Walker also joined in.
That journey has been documented in a film called Araatika: Rise Up!.
Dean Widders helped create the dance so Indigenous kids would grow up proud of their culture. Source: Supplied Sydney Film Festival
An important story
Larissa Behrendt is the writer and director of the film, and says it was great to highlight the strong male role models in the community.
"Like all films that are going to engage you, it's not just about football, but there are a whole lot of other elements in there, particularly around the importance of culture and connection to it and that's the thing that really spoke to me," she says.
Through the story of the dance, Dean Widders' personal family story is revealed.
He interviews both his mother and father in the film.
"I think it's an important story for all of us as young black fellas to talk about what our parents have been through, and grandparents, how they felt, how they dealt with life and what opportunities we are given today and how we take those opportunities," he says.
"Dad had to go through a lot of hard things to give me those opportunities so to hear that story made me proud of the things that I've been able to persevere through and push through and achieve in my life."
Dean Widders says he's incredibly proud of the dance, which is captured in a new documentary. Source: Supplied Sydney Film Festival
Culture the key to strength
The group were working towards getting the Australian team to perform the dance at the New Zealand and Australian Test in 2020. And then COVID-19 happened.
It was a low point for Dean Widders, who says he long-defined himself by his football.
Instead, he sought advice from the then director of the Sydney Festival Wesley Enoch, who challenged him to put together a dance to be televised nationally at the Barangaroo ceremony on January 26.
It was performed as part of the Sydney Festival this year.
"I still get goosebumps from it," Dean Widders confesses.
"It's great to see black men on a big stage where they are looked upon as role models and leaders standing up and representing their culture first, and showing how proud they are of our Aboriginal history and our culture.
"It's something I'm really proud of."
The biggest lesson though, he says, has been the discovery of what is really important.
"I believed that my life was all about rugby league and what I achieve in rugby league and how I could use the game or be involved in the game to make a difference to my people," he explains.
"But I think going through this film, and the COVID restrictions and lockdowns, everything that we went through with it, I found that my culture is that is the key to me being strong and my culture gives me the opportunities to be a good footballer.
"That was something that I've really learned and something that I'll take with me in everything that I do going forward."
Araatika: Rise Up! is screening at the Sydney Film Festival, and will be broadcast on NITV in January.
For more, tune into NITV's flagship current affairs program The Point, Tuesday 7.30pm, or later on SBS or SBS On Demand.
