NORTH BAY - Popular social media platform TikTok recently announced its 2024 Indigenous Visionary Voices list, and North Bay-based Inuk creator Vanessa Brousseau, who is originally from Timmins, was on the list of nine.
“Our 2024 #IndigenousTikTok Visionary Voices celebration recognizes nine Indigenous creators, business owners and industry disruptors who are visionaries making a tremendous impact in the communities they reach through their advocacy, artistry and storytelling,” TikTok noted in a release.
Asked if Brousseau thought of herself as a visionary voice, she chuckled, because “I never even thought I’d be a content creator,” noting that she “grew up without the internet, so I never dreamed of being able to have such a large platform.”
She became interested in TikTok during the COVID lockdowns. Soon, she began making videos, which became “easy to make and edit right in the app,” so there was little technical barrier to break through.
However, she took part in the TikTok accelerator program for Indigenous content creators, “and that really taught me a lot.” She also took the courses offered by TikTok University — yes, that exists, it's all online — “so I’ve had a lot of opportunity to learn as an older person how to tell your story” on the platform.
And people are listening to Brousseau’s stories. Her account, Resilient Inuk, has over 150,000 followers and over 3.7 million likes for her work.
She began creating content in 2020, and much of her TikTok content and her artwork bring to light Indigenous issues. She is a long-time advocate for Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people.
Her sister, Pamela Holopainen, has been missing for over 20 years.
See: 20 years ago today a Timmins woman was last seen, vigil marking anniversary
Brousseau said she has been writing articles to raise awareness since her sister went missing, “but I never had the voice or the platform to reach outside of my community. Now I’m not just reaching people in Canada, but also the US, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland,” and wherever TikTok reaches.
“It’s really great to be able to connect,” she said, especially with other Indigenous communities like those in Australia or Mexico, “as we are fighting for a lot of the same things.”
Her community is growing, both around the world and within the region. She often attends local powwows and markets with her business, Resilient Inuk Creations. It’s not uncommon for people to stop by and talk about her works on TikTok.
“I’ve never felt so supported in all of my life,” she said. “And that feels like a little bit of a selfish thing for me to say, but the gratitude I get out of it, the love I get from the people – we’ve built a really beautiful community.”
Brousseau is proud of her community, and the work she’s created on the platform. She noted that Canadian content creators on TikTok receive no compensation for their work, and her content “is all from my heart, it’s what I’m passionate about and what I want to change.”
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
