Words by Abi Scaife
Today is International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2024 (9 August), a day created by the UN to celebrate Indigenous peoples and cultures which are often forgotten or ignored.
In reality, these cultures are rich, complex and beautiful, and need to be celebrated. In honour of that, we picked four of our favourite Indigenous content creators, who are teaching people about their native cultures, and making sure their stories are known and remembered.
Shina is an Inuk creator who shows off food, art and clothing from her culture on her Instagram page to millions of followers. Often joined by her wonderful mother in her videos, the pair demonstrate the incredible art of throatsinging, which has a rich history within Inuk culture.
She is also an amazing advocate for Indigenous rights and has used her platform to raise funds for charities benefitting Indigenous people. We love Shina and her mother, and how readily they share their culture with people around the world!
Quannah is a Hän Gwich’in and Oglala Lakota model who rocks Indigenous style with her traditional tattoos on display. It’s not something frequently seen in the modelling industry, which even today skews heavily towards having white models, with very few people of colour able to access the runway.
Quannah uses her platform not only to show off the realities of what an Indigenous woman looks like, as opposed to the very whitewashed, sanitised and often sexualised version presented in mass media, but to raise awareness of real Indigenous issues. Her Linktree is full of resources to learn more about Indigenous rights, the issues facing Indigenous people, particularly women, and how viewers can support those causes.
Better known as Notorious Cree, James, who is from the Anishinaabe Tallcree First Nation tribe, first shot to online fame for his dancing. He adapted the Blinding Lights TikTok trend, fusing it with Indigenous dancing and continues to show off this incredible art form on his social media today.
The aim of his social media is to bring awareness to Indigenous peoples and their cultures, in particular, how intrinsic dancing is to that culture. He told American Vogue: ‘We dance for those who can’t dance, and we dance to heal. I always hope to educate and bring awareness in a good way.’
Sônia Bone de Souza Silva Santos, known as Sônia Guajajara, was born into a Guajajara family in the Amazonian rainforest and is today the Minister of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil. She is an incredible activist, fighting every day for the rights of Indigenous people, their land, and the state of the planet - causes that are intrinsically tied together.
In 2022, Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world, thanks to her tireless work fighting for the voices of Indigenous people in Brazil to be heard. She claims she was ‘born an activist’, and uses her social media to raise awareness of the work she is doing, and how others can get involved.
At Smiley Movement, we like to elevate the work of charities across the world. Here are three charities whose causes align with the themes in this article.
Survival International. This incredible charity amplifies the voices of Indigenous peoples around the world, and helps to protect their land and rights. Learn more here.
Indigenous People. This is an arts education charity providing tour and project management for traditional world music and dance groups from Africa and elsewhere. Support them here.
Incomindios UK. This charity advocates for the rights of Indigenous peoples worldwide, with a particular focus on North, Central and South America. Find out more.
This article aligns with the UN SDG Reduced Inequalities and Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions.
