Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Finding a safe place to express oneself can be difficult, but Indigenous creators have found an online community where they can educate, advocate and be themselves.
Whether they joined out of pandemic boredom or because it was the up-and-coming social media platform, TikTok has become a forum where Indigenous people share parts of their culture, history and a piece of themselves.
For Inuk actress and owner of RedPath Talent, Marika Sila, who goes by @ThatWarriorPrincess on TikTok, the ability to grow a following brought her to the platform.
“It was just a natural attraction because there's so much organic growth there,” she told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview on June 14.
Gia Pastion, @gihhaa on TikTok, was drawn to the platform when she saw so many other Indigenous people using it and the positive reception they received.
“What initially inspired me to join TikTok was finally seeing my people represented in media, and for it to be so at the forefront of the platform was really inspiring,” she told CTVNews.ca in a Zoom interview on Thursday.
While apprehensive at first, Aïcha Bastien-N’Diaye of Huron-Wendat Nation (Wendake) and Guinean (Jola) descent, @aichella on the platform, says she was won over by other creators’ content.
“I was quickly charmed by its way of enabling the creation of authentic, real and creative content,” she told CTVNews.ca in an email.
And for Chelazon Leroux, Two-Spirit member of Dene First Nation, (@chelazonleroux), it was just the hot new trend to try out.
“Everyone else was doing it, so I figured I would join, not even knowing that there was this community on the platform for me,” Leroux said.
And once she found so many Indigenous creators on TikTok, it changed the way she created her own content.
“It was very surprising to see that there were other Indigenous activists and performers and content creators on the app and it really inspired me to start creating Indigenous-based content more than just following the trends,” she said.
EDUCATE AND ADVOCATE
Sila, Pastion, Bastien-N’Diaye and Leroux have all taken to the platform as a way to educate more people about Indigenous culture and issues.
“My goal is always to be a positive role model for Indigenous youth,” said Sila. “It was more of a way for me to express myself and also to raise awareness about important Indigenous rights issues,” Sila said.
But it’s more than just being able to educate on specific issues, for Pastion, it’s also about simply existing in this world as a young Indigenous woman.
“It's not only about me being Indigenous, it's me cooking and it's me storytelling, and it's me just having fun on this app as a youth,” she said.
She said that people find that content relatable, especially for Indigenous youth who don’t know a lot about their culture outside of life on a reserve, or what Pastion calls: “Rez culture.”
Bastien-N’Diaye has been able to use the platform to educate other TikTokers, and learn new things.
“Through the platform, I can share my experience as an Afroindigenous woman, relate with my communities, and learn more about different cultures,” she said.
“While I have noticed the lack of knowledge in the education curriculum on Indigenous rights, I believe that creating short videos on such topics can go a long way on TikTok. I hope that the increasing visibility of Indigenous content will pique the audience’s curiosity and lead them to do their own research on Indigenous culture.”
She’s been able to insert elements of her culture into TikTok trends, and getting exposed to a wider audience as a result.
“TikTok allows me to celebrate my culture,” she said.
For Leroux, the platform became a space to share stories of her own upbringing and give her space to be exactly who she is.
“It really allowed me to start being unapologetically Indigenous,” she said. “I started to create more content about my experience growing up, using comedy as a way to tell these stories.”
For Sila, the platform’s short-video format is the perfect length for people to learn from without feeling too overwhelmed by information, and she finds people engage more with her education videos than her other content.
“They don't tend to take off as much as videos where I'm raising awareness about Indigenous rights issues or simply just helping people communicate better with the Indigenous community, because I feel like there's so many questions that people want to ask but they're too shy or too polite to ask so I try and help people by answering those questions,” she said.
RECONNECTING
But for each creator, it’s more than just a place for sharing a piece of themselves, it’s something they wished that they could’ve had when they were younger, they’ve found a sense of belonging, a community waiting for them.
“If whatever I do allows that Two-Spirit or queer Indigenous individual to feel a little safer, or to feel a little more encouraged to express themselves, that's all I ever really wanted,” said Leroux.
Through her use of TikTok, Pastion has been able to better embrace who she is and the culture she is a part of.
“I've been able to take away more appreciation for my identity as an Indigenous youth and Indigenous woman,” she said. “For most of my life I felt neglected and I was always pushed to the corner, and now that I've joined TikTok and being among my mutuals, it feels like I can't do anything but embrace who I am.”
Sila has been able to connect to her native language through the app, which has also created a close connection between her and her father.
“One of the best things that I’ve learned throughout this TikTok journey, more of my language, and my dad has really helped me with that, so that's been amazing to be able to just connect with my dad and to learn more from him,” Sila said.
Bastien-N’Diaye said that the community on TikTok has made her feel more supported than ever.
“I had never experienced such a sentiment of togetherness from the Indigenous community on any other platform before joining TikTok,” she said. “Not only that, but I no longer feel alone. Knowing that I have the support of my community helps me find the courage to continue changing the world in my own way.“
“If I had had access to this platform during my youth, I could have expressed myself more freely and been inspired by unique creators. It would have definitely had a positive impact on my growth.”
For Leroux, she wishes her younger self could see her now, or that she could have seen someone like herself when she’d been growing up.
“I'm being the person that I wanted to be growing up, I wish I could have seen myself, or someone who was just unapologetically queer, unapologetically Indigenous in media to show me that it was okay,” she said.
PART OF A MOVEMENT
In recent years there’s been a shift for more Canadians to learn about whose land they’re on. With recent headlines about residential schools, more people are trying to learn a history they weren’t necessarily taught in schools.
For these TikTok creators, the platform provides a space for them to carve out that movement and educate people who are willing to learn about the history of this country.
“It's recorded evidence, things that we might have never been exposed to, or seen for the truth before it could be interpreted by someone else. There's a power to that,” said Leroux.
But, she said that these types of educational posts still get a lot of backlash and denial, and that people need to be willing to learn for there to be momentum.
Sila said that the movement is just in its early stages and the government’s handling of the discovery of children buried at a B.C. residential school could be a tipping point.
“I think it's just the beginning and I think that how the government handles this is going to be really important because if this isn't handled appropriately, it can cause social unrest amongst our nations,” she said.
For Pastion, she’s excited to be part of something bigger than herself, something for her community.
“It is exciting to be a part of that change and be amongst other creators and fighting for my people, and our movements, because I get to tell my grandchildren one day: ‘I was a part of that, I was a part of the big revolution in our community.’”
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.