Today is Native American Day in the United States. Formerly known as Columbus Day, many people have renamed the holiday in light of the atrocities committed by Christopher Columbus against the indigenous people. It is also appropriate to drop his name from this date because Columbus never set foot in North America. Despite what we were taught in schools, he actually ended up in the Bahamas and embarked on several trips to the island, now divided into Haiti and the Dominican Republic, as well as Central and South America.
As a Samoan woman, I also celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day. Though my people are from the South Pacific, we too have been met with horrors in the name of colonization. So I thought today would be the perfect time to celebrate some of my favorite Indigenous celebrities from different parts of the world and share a little education and local joy:
1.
Quannah Chasinghorse is an international supermodel and environmental activist. She is Hän Gwich’in on her mother’s side and Sicangu-Oglala Lakota on her father’s side, but was partly born and partly raised in Navajo Nation territory. Last year, she went viral on social media for attending the Met Gala — themed In America: A Lexicon of Fashion — wearing accessories that paid tribute to Navajo artists across the Southwest.
Quannah is passionate about deconstructing European ideals of beauty because she knows firsthand how damaging they are to young girls. “I definitely had a lot of issues growing up with my looks,” she told Allure. “I never thought I was desirable or wanted or beautiful or anything like that because I have very stereotypical ideals of beauty.” But now she has come to embrace her indigenous traits and be proud of them.
2.
Taika Waititi is a Māori writer, actor and director. I adore his films set in Aotearoa, New Zealand like Boy and Hunt for the Wilderpeople, but he is better known for his work in Jojo Rabbit, What We Do in the Shadows and the Thor films. He has this unique ability to bring his humor to every show/movie and I love it.
When he became the first Māori to win an Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay for Jojo Rabbit in 2020, he said: “I dedicate this to all the indigenous children around the world who want to make art, dance and write stories. We are the original storytellers and we can pull it off here too. Thanks. Kia ora.”
3.
With over 4 million followers, Shina Novalinga is a TikToker who has made a name for herself by educating the world about Inuit culture and traditions. She is best known for the powerful videos of her and her mother singing through the throat — a practice almost lost when Christian missionaries banned it in Canada in the early 20th century.
“There aren’t many women who can do throat singing, but my mom is one of them,” Shina told enRoute. “She learned directly from a professional, an elder, someone who kept the culture alive and passed it down to younger generations. And now, to post it on social media, I feel like our voices — mine, my mother’s, and our people’s — finally need to be heard. We want to do throat singing for those who couldn’t.”
4.
With nearly 8 million followers on TikTok, Drew Afualo is famous for poking fun at misogynistic losers and championing women everywhere. And she has that laugh that keeps making me smile! I love how she never seems to take herself too seriously.
Drew credits her Samoan family for their ability to joke and crack jokes. “We like to grill [and] make fun because it’s fun [not] because we hate each other It’s nothing pointed or to scare you, it’s just for fun, [and] how I got good at roasting,” she told Teen Vogue.
5.
Benjamin Bratt has been into a lot of things like Law & Order and Coco, but I’ll always remember him as Miss Congeniality’s pretty love interest.
The actor’s mother is Quechua and was born in Peru. “I identify strongly with the indigenous culture that I come from,” he recently told Esquire. “In 1969, during the takeover of Alcatraz Island, my mother became active in the Native American movement. My mother saw Richard Oakes, the Mohawk Native American leader, on the local PBS channel. He said, ‘Indians of all tribes come down and support our because.'”
Throughout his career, Benjamin has remained an activist for indigenous causes. He has supported the American Indian College Fund and organizations such as the American Indian Friendship House and the United Indian Nations.
6.
Tia Wood is a Cree and Salish TikToker who deconstructs European standards of beauty and celebrates the music and dance of her peoples. She is currently working on an album and I am sooo excited!
“I grew up in a very musical family,” she told Complex. “My parents are both singers. All my aunts, uncles and even my grandparents. It goes way back in the line. I always knew it was something I wanted to do, but I [also] knew that I wanted to bring modern music into the picture. Having such a strong background in Indigenous music, I knew it had to intertwine somehow.”
7.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson may have started out as a WWE star, but he’s now one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors. He has been in a number of hits such as the Fast & Furious franchise, Jumanji films and Moana. And he will be Black Adam in the upcoming superhero movie!
I love how he incorporates his Samoan culture whenever he can. In Hobbs & Shaw he performed a Siva Tau, a traditional war dance. During an interview on Live with Kelly and Ryan, he said: “It’s very intense, it’s very passionate, it’s very emotional. And even though you’re making a film, there’s a preamble in Samoan asking for strength from my ancestors, and it’s just very real. You have goosebumps, some men cry.”
8th.
Princess Nokia is a rapper and songwriter who often defies genre. Much of their music is influenced by their heritage. She told Teen Vogue, “Being an Afro-Indigenous woman is a huge part of me, to the core. I celebrate it more than anything. We are trying to heal from this colonization, this slavery that our country has suffered from. how to heal 500 years of whitewashing and rape, genocide, disease, suffering? One claims the beauty of his ancestors. Young people are the fearless voices of our ancestors.”
“Although I am a person and an artist who exemplifies Afro-Indigenous identity, I do not wish to be the spokesperson for identity rediscovery as my identity and that of others can be very different,” she continued. “My interfaces as a privileged, light-skinned Afro-Indigenous woman differ from other people. I’m really glad that my art has opened a conversation for young people to rediscover and re-establish their Afro-Indigenous identity and culture.”
9.
Jason Momoa is a Hawaiian native actor who stole my heart. He’s been in a lot of cool stuff like Game of Thrones, Aquaman and Dune. But I actually love everything he does off screen even more.
Numerous times he has joined protesters fighting against the construction of a giant telescope atop Mauna Kea, the world’s tallest mountain (from its underwater base). He founded Mananalu, an aluminum water bottle company, to fight ocean pollution. And in 2019, he gave a speech at the United Nations calling for immediate change to address climate change.
Though he became an A-list celebrity, he has remained connected to his native Hawaiian roots. He recently got a tattoo on his head the traditional way (tapping tools made of wood and bone into the skin). “I’m honored to be a part of this,” he wrote in an Instagram post. “A strong moment in my life.”
10
You probably know Nicole Scherzinger from the Pussycat Dolls, but she’s also had some iconic hits as a solo artist. After winning season 10 of Dancing with the Stars, she was a guest judge on the X Factor – where we recently learned she founded One Direction! — and a panelist on The Masked Singer. And she pronounced Moiana’s mother Sina!
Nicole is super proud of her Hawaiian roots. She told the Inquirer: “I grew up in a family where my grandmother sang and always played the ukulele. My mother was a hula dancer. I think it’s a gift from God. That was the only way I could express myself because I was shy as a child. Growing up, I loved music.”
And during the Architectural Digest tour of her home, I was so happy to see that she keeps items on her bookshelf that reflect her heritage, including her mother’s ‘ulī’ulī and an ipu (musical instruments often used in hula ).
11.
Finally, James Jones — perhaps better known on social media as notoriouscree — is a traditional hoop dance artist of the Tallcree First Nation. He has performed everywhere from the Olympics to powwows to the Sydney Opera House and is considered one of the best hoop dancers in the world. He enlightens his viewers about the different styles and meanings of indigenous dances.
“I definitely would have loved to see more people like me grow up,” he told Complex. “I think it’s important for young people to see that there is someone like that [them] coming from a place [they] I’m from. Who went through the things [they’ve] have gone through, who are successful and doing well.”
Who is your favorite Indigenous celebrity/TikTok creator? LMK in the comments below!
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