An Exploration of Various Indigenous Representations and Their Effect on Self-Esteem Through Self-Curated Multimedia

When you see someone who looks like you or sounds like you in a major magazine, film, or book, how does it really make you feel? Do you feel liberated? Do you feel seen and validated? Or perhaps you read a negative article or comment about your people that are solely based on stereotypes, would you feel ashamed or saddened by your thought processes following the comments made about you, from individuals who don’t even know you? Does this affect the way you look at yourself or present yourself to the world as a result? And if so, how? This creative project is a self-journey of analyzing the various ways my self-esteem has fluctuated in response to different types of representations or topics related to Indigenous peoples over the course of ten weeks. It consists of multiple vulnerable reflection essays and curation of 85+ Tik Tok videos in an attempt to answer why representation matters, how it matters, and what is our personal role in it from an Indigenous perspective.