A First Nations woman in the Yukon is the only person from the territory selected for the National Screen Institute‘s first TikTok accelerator for Indigenous creators.
Champagne and Aishihik First Nations TikToker Jocelyn Joe-Strack, better known as auntyjocey on the app, is one of 30 Indigenous content creators on the platform to be selected for the new program which begins on Nov. 8.
Joe-Strack will use the accelerator to share stories on TikTok in her role as Yukon University’s research chair in Indigenous knowledge.
“There is this amazing community of Indigenous creators on TikTok that are sharing knowledge, sharing about rights, trauma, reconciliation,” she tells APTN News.
“From young to old, people are storytelling and it’s incredible, the knowledge exchanges that are happening.”
Joe-Strack has only been using the popular social media platform since August but has already gained almost 18,000 followers thanks to her videos on traditional teachings and connecting with nature.
She says she’s excited to be in the first cohort of the new online program which aims to empower storytellers to grow their TikTok presence and learn the necessary skills for on-platform success and beyond.
The accelerator program will include training in the technical side of content creation like sound and lighting, media career building, social responsibility and digital wellness. The curriculum was also designed with traditional elements.
Indigenous content creator Sherry Mckay is one of the accelerator’s advisors and popular Indigenous TikTokers like Brett Mooswa will be presenting.
“I’m excited to connect with other creators and the (Indigenous TikTok community),” Joe-Strack says.
“This is just another platform where I think Indigenous people are really just, the red wave is flowing man, and it’s really exciting to be a part of it,” she says.
Joe-Strack hopes to use her TikTok training to create meaningful, Indigenous-based content for Yukon University.
“In my TikToks, I talk about the teachings of earth. Earth is our ultimate teacher. Through climate change, through the snow, through observing squirrels; we can gain our own teachings on how to better our relationship with the land, each other, and even within ourselves,” she says.
“Now there’s an opportunity to share it through these one-minute little clips through TikTok.”
