TikTok Canada acknowledges and celebrates Indigenous Peoples' traditional and contemporary roots to their lands, and we are grateful to share this space. We thank Indigenous creators, artists and small business owners for being a part of the TikTok community, and for trusting our platform as a space to share your stories, your knowledge, your culture and your joy.

Advocates. Artists. Educators. Entertainers. Makers. Storytellers.

We're proud of the work we do year-round to amplify the incredible creativity of Indigenous creators on TikTok, such as our TikTok Accelerator for Indigenous Creators, presented by the National Screen Institute. This National Indigenous History Month (NIHM), and year-round, we're committed to recognizing and highlighting the stories of the many First Nations, Inuit and Métis creators on TikTok, who are using the platform to reclaim their identities through first-person storytelling, build communities and businesses, share their histories and inspire resilience.

We're celebrating the incredible creativity and impact of visionary #IndigenousTikTok creators who continue to be a vital part of TikTok's Canadian and global community. These storytellers are visionaries in their fields, making a positive impact on TikTok, and beyond.

As National Indigenous History Month begins, we're excited to debut our 2024 #IndigenousTikTok Visionary Voices, alongside in-app programming.

Meet our 2024 #IndigenousTikTok Visionary Voices

Our 2024 #IndigenousTikTok Visionary Voices celebration recognizes nine Indigenous creators, business owners and industry disruptors who are visionaries making a tremendous impact in the communities they reach through their advocacy, artistry and storytelling. This year's honourees advocate for Indigenous issues, including Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit (MMIWG2S) and bring Indigenous cultures to the zeitgeist with their contributions to art, entertainment, fashion, food, poetry, music, sport and more. Read more about our Indigenous visionaries below.

Creators

@kadlun (he/him) | Inuit | Calgary, Alberta* - Braden Kadlun is a creator who is originally from Kugluktuk, Nunavut. He shares a wide variety of content surrounding his sobriety journey, culture, food and slices of life, often with his mother Hovak (@hovakj). Through his candid conversations about the journey of healing and snippets of everyday life, Braden uses his platform to educate and celebrate his culture and chronicle his life.

@resilientinuk (she/her) | Inuit registered with Sanikiluaq, Nunavut | North Bay, Ontario* - Vanessa Brousseau is an artist and storyteller who began creating content in 2020 bringing light to Indigenous issues, inspired by and in honour of her missing sister, Pamela Holopaeinen. Through her TikTok content, public speaking and the creations she makes through her business, Resilient Inuk Creations, Vanessa advocates for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two-Spirit.

@shinanova (she/her) | Inuk | Montreal, Quebec - Shina Nova is an Inuk TikTok creator who throat-sings with her mom Kayuula Nova (@kayuulanova). They focus on spreading awareness about the rights within the Indigenous communities as well as sharing the beauty of Inuit culture. As a creator whose purpose-driven content strives to raise awareness about their culture and celebrate its vibrancy, Shina was also named to TikTok's first-ever Change Maker's Program earlier this year.

Industry Disruptors

@lakeeyshamarie (she/her) | Plains Cree from Treaty 8 Territory | Canada* - Lakeeysha Marie is a Plains Cree poet, artist and dancer. She expresses her love for her people through her spoken word poems and implements her language (Cree Y dialect) into her work. Sharing her beautiful art, Lakeeysha's creativity and work offers reflections of love and hope for her community, as she uses her voice to encourage people to connect with their roots.

@shawneekish (she/her) | 6 Nations Grand River Territory - Mohawk | Toronto, Ontario - Shawnee Kish, a Two-Spirit individual from Toronto, Ontario, utilizes TikTok as a platform to share her life, family and music journey to inspire and connect with others. Through her content, Shawnee opens up about her personal experiences, offering a glimpse into her world and providing motivation for those who follow her on TikTok.

@watso_ (he/him) | Abenaki from Odanak | Montreal, Quebec* - Xavier Watso, Abenaki from Odanak, is a passionate advocate and cultural commentator who's shared his passions in every facet of his life for more than 15 years - including as a teacher, actor and media personality. He's also played an important role in the preservation of Indigenous cultures as the Master of Ceremonies at the Odanak and Wolinak powwows and hosted two of the largest Indigenous festivals in Quebec - International First People's Festival and KWE Festival. Xavier's content is a reflection of a longstanding dedication to preserving and celebrating Indigenous cultures.

Small Business Owners

@bernicekootooclarke (she/her) | South Baffin Inuk, Inuit from Iqaluit | Iqaluit, Nunavut* - Bernice Kootoo Clarke, raised in Iqaluit, Nunavut, immersed herself in her Inuit heritage, speaking Inuktitut fluently before learning English. In 2012, she founded Uasau Soap Inc, specializing in all-natural bath and body products infused with Inuit teachings, which can now be found all over the country. Bernice’s content offers a reflection of the work she does every day - an unwavering dedication to preserving her Inuit cultural heritage, safeguarding her mother tongue, Inuktitut, and fostering sustainable businesses.

@smudgetheblades (he/him) | Sturgeon Lake First Nation | Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta - Harlan Kingfisher is a creator from Sturgeon Lake First Nation, Saskatchewan who is the owner and CEO of the first Indigenous hockey clothing brand on Turtle Island. With sales from Smudge the Blades, Harlan helps Indigenous youth play hockey by covering fees and hockey equipment because he knows how hard it is to play the game, especially for First Nations youth. Creating TikTok content that showcases his Indigenous culture and clothing brand, Harlan uses his platform to elevate the Indigenous voice and "show that a kid from the Rez, can do it!!"

@taalrumiq (she/her) | Inuvialuit & Gwich’in | Northern BC* - Taalrumiq (Christina King) is an Inuvialuit and Gwich’in fashion designer, artist, speaker and cultural educator. She grew up on the shores of the Arctic Ocean in Tuktoyaktuk, NWT. In her content and across all facets of her work, Taalrumiq draws upon her background in human ecology and education, combined with traditional knowledge and lived experience, sharing her culture with the world through art, fashion, advocacy, Indigenizing trends and original content creation. Most recently, her designs have been seen as part of the costumes in Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Now Playing: #IndigenousMusic

During June, we'll be spotlighting Indigenous artists who continue to share their artistry and music. Our sounds page will feature an #IndigenousMusic playlist highlighting music from Visionary Voice and JUNO-nominated artist @shawneekish and many others.

Fostering a Safe and Inclusive Space for all

We are committed to fostering a safe space for the Indigenous community on TikTok year-round. We believe that all people deserve to express themselves authentically, regardless of sexual orientation, gender, race or religious background.

In an effort to prioritize the needs of this community, we remain committed to protecting users on the platform, including the removal of content and accounts that engage in harassment, bullying, hate speech and hateful behaviour, such as deadnaming or misgendering.

We recently launched an Inclusion and Belonging guide on our Safety Centre, which includes information on how to tailor the TikTok experience. We also continually introduce new tools to promote kindness and safety. This includes tools to curate the For You feed, such as Refresh and keyword filtering. We also empower people to create the best TikTok experience for themselves by providing a range of safety features, such as confidential ways to report potentially violative content and accounts, comment filtering tools and privacy settings to choose who can engage with their content.

As a platform where everyone belongs, we are honoured to empower our community with a safe and inclusive space to express themselves freely and embrace their identities authentically. This June and beyond, join us as we celebrate National Indigenous History Month and our inspiring Indigenous community.

Join us in recognizing and celebrating the positive impact, rich history, resilience and diversity of our Indigenous community on TikTok.

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* Indicates creators who are alumni of the TikTok Accelerator for Indigenous Creators, presented by the National Screen Institute.