Indigenous TikTok creators are looking to gain and improve on new skills and amplify their voices thanks to TikTok Canada’s Indigenous accelerator program, presented by the National Screen Institute.
The program expanded to include even more Indigenous creators than ever before. This past year, the program expanded over 600 per cent to include 300 First Nations, Metis and Inuit creators.
Sherry Mckay is an Ojibway Anishinabe creator and comedian from Treaty 1 Territory and a member of Sagkeeng First Nation in Manitoba.
She is one of the program advisors for the program and said expansion was almost a necessity based on the need.
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A proud mother of four, she uses her platform to raise awareness about Indigenous issues such as MMIWG2S, systemic racism, and cultural appropriation. With a background in media from Red River College, she focuses on amplifying Indigenous voices through comedy and education on TikTok.
The six-week online training program was designed with traditional and spiritual elements and is presented through a series of 12 virtual sessions. Participants learned directly from industry experts, Indigenous creators, and members of the TikTok team and were able to share their unique stories in a safe and respectful online space.
Jessa Sky is a Cree singer and TikTok personality from Fort McKay First Nation. Jessa is popular for her style of content where she shares glimpses into her life and journey to recovery through her video diaries.
Sky was one of the participants in the course and was appreciative to be included in the group alongside many other Indigenous creators.
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As someone who had built a reputation online mainly on her own, Sky appreciated some of the technical aspects of the program like TikTok best practices, understanding analytics, community and career building, monetizing content, digital wellbeing and safety.
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Mckay said she’s happy that Indigenous creators have a resource to learn about some of the behind the scenes aspects of social media.
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To view a list of this year’s participants in the TikTok accelerator program for Indigenous creators, click here.
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