Screen Capture - Via TikTok

Entertainment Canada has a member of the Wabigoon Lake Ojibway Nation as one of the ten Canadian Indigenous TikTok stars you should be following.

Crystal Harrison Collin admits her journey onto the social media platform was not planned, or expected.

“What really happened was my daughter came across a TikTok where Indigenous people were transitioning from their plain clothes into their traditional regalia, and she was, I think she was like 15 or 16 at the time when she says, ‘Mom you could totally do this!'”

The experience was completely new to Collin as she had no experience with the popular app beforehand.

“She helped me get my account going and she showed me how to do the camera work. Like how to use my phone and that’s how it took off, so I joined an Indigenous trend and that’s basically how my TikTok got started.”

Collin enjoyed participating in the latest trends and dances or TikTok but realized she had an opportunity to do more, “We could share our own lived experiences, our own stories use our voices and that’s how things got off for me.”

The content produced by Collin ranges in variety based on educational Indigenous content related to the Anishinaabemowin language, stories from her past, and just being her authentic self.

@crystalharrisoncollin Happy Indigenous Peoples’ Day! 🤎🍁 #anishinaabemowin #indigenoustiktok #nativetiktok ♬ original sound – Crystal Harrison Collin

Making the ET Canada list came as a complete surprise when she was notified by a classmate.

TikTok has ultimately opened the door for Collin creating additional opportunities, “I was cast as a character in a short Indigenous film over the summer, and so it’s kind of branched into that direction. Last year Shaw Spotlight had reached out and asked if I’d be interested in hosting an Indigenous Day special like Indigenous People’s Day Special, and we did that here in Sioux Lookout.”

Collin says she is now motivated even more to create content following the ET Canada piece, but she is also really happy with what she has already accomplished.

“Those were dreams that I had when I was very, very young and those kinds of things just didn’t happen for us for Indigenous people,  I mean  I think that’s amazing.”

While the opportunity may not have been available in her childhood, she has shown the next generation can create their own opportunities.

“Follow your dreams. That’s what I gotta say to the youth, and good things will happen.”