Co-creating real Indigenous visual narratives
Native and Indigenous people represent a thriving, multifaceted community across the United States today, yet much of the imagery used to represent them is outdated or offensive. By co-creating authentic visuals, we can elevate the voices and stories of today’s Indigenous communities.
Native and Indigenous people represent a comparatively small segment of the United States population, yet that population is thriving and filled with multifaceted, intersectional communities. There may be no more misunderstood segment of the U.S. population than Indigenous people, who so often have their stories told in mainstream media by outsiders, through ignorant, inaccurate, antiquated or misguided cliches, stereotypes, and visuals.
However, outside the mainstream, there is a vibrant community of prolific creators, using social media to find and share their narratives — and gaining more notice than ever.
Significant progress for Indigenous representation
Indigenous peoples in the United States have made significant progress in recent years by elevating their voices in the media, in their communities, and in the realm of public policy.
Thanks to the increasing awareness of and demand for authentic, diverse, and inclusive representation and the steady efforts of many Indigenous leaders, influencers, and individuals, there's an increased pipeline of young Indigenous storytellers coming into journalism, communication professions, and spokesperson roles.
Consumers are continuing to demand more accurate, nuanced representation of people in the campaign visuals that surround us. That means more brands across industries have placed high importance on diverse, inclusive casting, and accuracy in creative productions. As a photographer, videographer, or illustrator creating stock content, you have an opportunity to provide those inclusive visuals that so many brands are looking for.
We spoke with two contemporary artists and thought leaders to get their perspectives, insights, and advice for stock contributors hoping to successfully and respectfully work with Indigenous subjects, models, and locations to produce successful stock content.
Josué Rivas
A photographer and activist of Mexican and Otomi descent, he is a co-founder of Indigenous Photograph, and founder of INDÍGENA creative agency. As a visual storyteller and educator, and as an Adobe Stock Contributor and Mentor, he works across creative mediums to expand mainstream understanding of Indigenous experiences.
Lynne Hardy
A graphic designer and illustrator of Diné (Navajo) descent, she creates original illustrations honoring her Native culture and family heritage. In 2021, she was a recipient of the Adobe Stock Artist Development Fund, a creative commission program designed to support self-representing creators who depict their own communities and personal stories.
Towards more authentic visuals of Native peoples
In the growing multicultural marketing world, the Indigenous market in the U.S. is often overlooked. In comparison with other key multicultural segments — like U.S. Hispanic, Latinx, or Asian American demographics— the overall numbers are small, but the Native and Indigenous populations are expanding rapidly. With the exception of government initiatives like health-related efforts, there are few brands that address the Native American market segment.
Today, there are approximately 9.7 million people who identified as “Native American” according to the 2020 Census, representing 2.9 percent of the total population. In 2020, Indigenous Americans' buying power reached $140 billion. Of course, including Indigenous people in visual media isn’t only important for brands hoping to appeal to Indigenous consumers — it’s becoming part of an overall strategy of offering more inclusive campaign visuals generally, something that is especially important to the politically, socially, and ethically-engaged Gen Z demographic.
One sharp shift in how consumers perceive brand visuals comes from a growing consciousness of whose point of view has been centered.
“Since time immemorial, Indigenous peoples have been using visual storytelling as a tool for connection and a way to see their place in the cosmos,” says Rivas. “But since the camera came along, images have been used to exploit, create, and perpetuate stereotypes about Indigenous communities. From colonization to extraction of their image, their story has been told from an outsider perspective.”
The cultural tide has turned in favor of more authentic stories, especially where Indigenous people are concerned. According to Reclaiming Native Truth, a research project from IllumiNative, “78% of Americans reported wanting to learn more about Native peoples, their histories, cultures, and contemporary stories. In the same report, 78% of Americans reported believing it is important to feature more stories about Native peoples on television and in movies and other forms of entertainment.” (Full research findings are available via IllumiNative.)
Bring visuals of Indigenous people into modern life
Both Rivas and Hardy speak passionately about the disconnect between how Indigenous people live today and how they are often depicted in popular culture, when they are depicted at all.
“Native American culture can be so misrepresented,” says Hardy.
According to research by IllumiNative, 95% of images that appear in internet searches of “Native Americans” are antiquated photos, not contemporary portrayals. While antique images don’t tell the story of Native people today, they do offer valuable connections to a heritage that is still relevant to many.
“I do modern things, but I'm still Native American,” says Hardy. “I still know what it's like to live without running water and without electricity.”
One of her goals with her illustrations is to bring her family’s Navajo traditions into the present. “[I want] to show people that my art is not just relics of the past, but also something that you can be a part of, too.”
In Hardy’s collection for Adobe Stock, she expresses her heritage through illustrations that are personal and filtered through her own memories and lived experience as a young Navajo woman, while also being highly contemporary, with scenes of families together, people playing sports, and friends sharing drinks. In the stock industry, visuals that depict a wide range of people — from different regions, backgrounds, ages, skin tones, abilities, and body types — engaged in relatable, everyday activities, continue to be in high demand across business sectors. Often, contemporary visuals that include Indigenous people are among the most difficult to find, and collections like Hardy’s and Rivas’s are helping fill the gap.
Explore intersectional identities for multifaceted images
With low visibility in mainstream media, many Indigenous Americans have been establishing a vital and growing presence on social media, particularly TikTok and Instagram. Finding the space and place to share their voices, these influencers use their social media platforms to share their experiences, indigenize colonized spaces and histories, and give insight into their cultures and generations-old traditions. They also educate their followers on how to support and appreciate Native peoples and their missions.
As a community, Indigenous content creators are redefining the word “influencer,” with its less than positive associations of over-curation. (Rivas has spent some considerable effort to help support and showcase this growing ecosystem of creators through his curation of Indigenous TikTok.) Viewed collectively, the work of these creatives unfolds from the triple axes of community, resistance, and resilience.
From the perspective of stock imagery, Rivas says it’s important to promote imagery that depicts Indigenous people in realistic scenes that allow them to express multi-dimensionality. No person can or should be reduced to a stereotype; Native people are no different. Naturally, the best stock content will realistically depict people in relatable, real-life moments that give a glimpse into who they are: not just Diné or Blackfeet or American; not just male or female, two-spirit, trans or nonbinary; not just a doctor, a teacher, or mechanic, but a collection of intersectional identities that are all part of defining a whole person.
Center community voices for authentic visuals
One of Rivas’ biggest pieces of advice for visual artists who want to depict Indigenous communities is to work with those communities directly wherever possible. He emphasizes the idea of “co-creation” in his photography and activism.
“As I learn to co-create with communities, I understand that I am not self-made,” says Rivas. “I am community made. When someone acknowledges me and my work, they are actually acknowledging my community and my ancestors as well.”
That humbleness and openness to collaboration comes through in the visuals he creates, with models who are comfortable, physically expressive, and fully involved in the process of creating authentic visual narratives on set.
This approach is especially important given the long history of colonization and exploitation of Indigenous peoples. Rivas places great importance on creative imagery that expresses truths about his subjects, rather than imposing stereotypical narratives on them.
“People use these things for their own needs,” says Rivas of stock imagery. “If they are using things that were not co-created in a process that was not intentional, especially when it comes to Indigenous imagery, then we are using something that does not really belong to us. And I think that’s hard to explain [that] to people sometimes: how we make things is much more important than the actual thing. The process — and how people feel afterwards — is the real work. The image-making process can actually be a healing process, not just an extraction process.”
Adobe Stock Senior Director, Content, Sarah Casillas echoes Rivas’ sentiments.
“My entire career in the stock industry — over 20 years — I’ve noticed it’s been difficult to represent Native American artists and models for stock imagery,” says Casillas. “Due to the history of exploitation and colonization of Native peoples, many Indigenous artists and communities are very protective of their community. Understandably, they don’t want their images to be used inappropriately, and they do want to ensure equitable compensation for the models and other creative contributors involved. To do right by Indigenous people, we need to be thinking about how we work together, and portray them in real, empowered, contemporary ways.”
By working directly with Indigenous communities — as collaborators, artists, production crews, models, and designers — stock creators have a much better chance of doing justice to their subjects, and producing the authentic, impactful creative most sought-after today.
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Thanks to INDÍGENA & IllumiNative for important contributions to this article. It’s important that artists are respectful of boundaries surrounding traditional/sacred practices. To learn more, please check out the “Understanding and Respecting Cultural Protocols” and “Best Practices When Working with Native Communities” sections in the IllumiNative Industry Guide.