Forty Indigenous content creators are engaging in a life-changing opportunity through the TikTok Accelerator for Indigenous Creators. The six-week program, which runs until December 2, is developed by the National Screen Institute and TikTok Canada, providing Indigenous content creators with online hands-on training to elevate their platform and grow their number of followers.
The participants were chosen through an independent committee of Indigenous screen industry professionals and include six Inuit:
Angela Aula
Angela Aula, who has more than 12,000 followers at @inuk.beauty, was born in Nunavut but has lived in Toronto for 30 years. Aula uses her TikTok page to share her talent as a makeup artist.
Braden Johnston
Braden Johnston, who has 109,000 followers at @kadlun, is from the community of Kugluktuk, NU, and grew up in Yellowknife, NT. He uses his TikTok page to share his journey as a recovering addict and his reconciliation with his mother and his Inuit culture.
Inuk Trennert
Inuk Trennert, who has over 26,000 followers at @inuk360, is a master caribou-hair tufter who has taught the practice to thousands of people and runs her jewellery and art practice under the name Inuk 360. Trennert is Inuvialuk and currently resides in the Northwest Territories.
Julia Ulayok Davis
Julia Ulayok Davis, who has more than 10,000 followers at @juliaulayok, is a singer, actress and composer who began sharing her original songs from her musical Aqqaq on TikTok in 2021. She currently resides in Winnipeg, MB, and hopes to create an Inuit musical inspired by her personal experiences.
Nicole Janis Qavavauq-Bibeau
Nicole Janis Qavavauq-Bibeau, who has over 4,600 followers at @arcticfrostbyte, is a feminist activist, researcher and podcaster who uses her platform to share her passion for Indigenous rights. She was born and raised in Montreal, QC.
Willow Allen
Willow Allen, who has 500,000 followers at @willow.allen, is a model from Inuvik, Inuvialuit Settlement Region, NT. She has worked with Canada Goose and Louboutin and has been on the cover of Elle Canada Magazine for a feature story in their issue on Inuit changemakers who are reclaiming their culture.
This is the second edition of the program and participants will learn under the guidance of TikTok creators, members of the TikTok team and other industry experts. Curriculum guidance is provided by Program Advisor Sherry Mckay, who returns for her second year in the position and is an Ojibwe Anishinaabe content creator from Treaty 1 Territory.
“I’m excited for this new group of participants to embark on their journey through the TikTok Accelerator for Indigenous Creators,” says Sherry Mckay in a media release. “Decolonizing our digital spaces and Indigenous representation is so incredibly important. I look forward to working alongside these creators as they tell their stories.”
The program focuses on key areas that will empower Indigenous creators on the platform, including community building, analytics, content planning, working with brands, team building, as well as digital well-being and safety best practices.
More information about the participants can be found on the TikTok Accelerator for Indigenous Creators website.
This article was updated on November 18, 2022.