As I search for young people who use social media to share their Indigenous identity, voices, stories and culture, on multiple occasions, I was re-introduced to Shina Novalinga’s tiktok and instagram. I first came across her Instagram in the summer where she shared her journey in getting a traditional Inuit face tattoo with her mom. She shared the Western perspectives that were shared with her during her process such as, “you will ruin your face” or “you will regret it.” Her short recorded journey included a current pop song, text of her feelings of pride, anxiety and support from her mom who was also getting the tattoo, and selfie video content resulted in more than 700K likes. Her other videos utilizes her big social media platform to share her throat singing to viewers, the silenced voices of her ancestors such as her grandfather who never shared his experience in residential schools, and her advocacy for Inuit families and citizens of Nunavut that included voicing their lack of food security and high food costs, and she advocate for women who suffer from domestic violence. She also uses her platform to raise money for less fortunate communities. She also shares videos of the norm in her community of Puvirnituq, Quebec. For example, in Ontario, cupcakes cost 3 dollars but in her community it costs 11. There are only two stores in that community and water only comes from tanks and a light appears when you are running out. She gives perspectives to much of the Inuit community’s current lived experiences and situations. Through her followers’ responses (and my own), you can really see the untold or silenced realities that her platform allows her to inform. I have also attached some of the articles written about her sharing of identity and culture, but also the voice she gives to real issues.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/shinanova/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@shinanova?refer=embed
Yahoo: https://uk.movies.yahoo.com/29-dollars-grapes-food-insecurity-140705994.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAANFgZkNVArxllMWIljbQp9PFihxDQs3sCgs8zgbvDZt7eLKq6SKBeJSCnZHwY1LmsAmIUKEvcc23XqYHgDVyrDjv3G1iFRcOkluNvoH7cKL0–xdEcKqqQ_cckungLMkatRbp0h5I6Rn1Fh-EYN2GDAYwYwvs34hIxIEiU0g38gV
wbur: https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2021/04/15/inuk-throat-singing-shina-novalinga
vogue: https://www.vogue.com/article/shina-novalinga-indigenous-inuk-throat-singer-tiktok
Thanks for sharing Rika. These posts were interesting to review after our discussion #11 about self-representation and self-determination. When much of the content we reviewed was developed through the voice of Elders (but not all as there were examples of the voices of youth), I really appreciate Shina Novalinga sharing her experiences. Her strong voice hopefully empowers other youth both Indigenous and non-Indigenous to explore who they are, their culture, and other cultures.
Hi Sam!
Yes! What’s great about Shina is that she includes her mom’s voice in her posts as well as trying to empower other elders (older family members) to speak their story. It’s something I’ve learning through researching and reading her posts.