Content creator from Treaty 6 territory named to TikTok’s 2022 Global Discover List

An Alberta-born content creator has been named to TikTok’s 2022 Global Discover List.

The list is made up of 50 users who are making a global impact through the platform.

Kairyn Potts is a youth advocate and a member of the Indigenous two-spirit community.

He’s one of only two Canadians named to the list, and the only Indigenous creator.

“It’s a lot of me laughing and me doing silly things, but also sprinkled in there is a lot of lived experience and a lot of what I’ve gone through in my life. Just being really open and honest and sharing it with a lot of followers,” Potts told CTV News Edmonton.

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Potts says he started using the platform during the pandemic as a way to share his writing and comedy.

He’s done parodies of RuPaul’s Drag Race, Mean Girls, White Chicks, and others with an Indigenous twist.

@ohkairyn Mean Girls, but make it ✨indigenous✨ #nativetiktok #aunties #rezhumor #twospirit @realshannonbaker @Crystle Lightning ♬ original sound - Kairyn Potts

“I get inspired by Indigenizing popular media. It’s really important for me to say, ‘Hey, we can be in these spaces too.’”

As his following grew, he wanted to use it to raise awareness about the struggles of Indigenous people.

He’s from Treaty 6 territory. He was born in Edmonton, and is a member of the Paul First Nation and Alexis Nakota Sioux Nation.

“I really wanted to feel like I was using my platform to do what I can in a small way to raise some awareness about the conditions and the mistreatment, the adversity and the trauma that a lot of Indigenous people are living with and going through in what’s called Canada.”

He says while the response has been mixed, he’s not surprised.

“I get a lot of people who are champions for me and who really are proud of the work that I do. And then I also get a ton of hate. I get a ton of people who are intolerant.”

In addition to speaking about the Indigenous experience, he also talks about being a member of the two-spirit community.

“I confuse people, I think, a lot of the time. Because they’re like ‘Is he a boy? Is he a girl? This doesn’t make sense to me.’”

“When people can’t put you into boxes it upsets them. And people don’t like change, and they don’t like things they can’t understand.”

Despite the challenges, Potts says he’s found a community on TikTok.

“We have a section on TikTok called Native TikTok which is really unique to a lot of the experiences that our communities go through. And there are a ton, just thousands and thousands of creators in Native TikTok who have sort of dug out and created this little nest for us to just all kind of hang out and for us to understand each other.”

“Those spaces are really important.”

Potts says TikTok has an algorithm that helps viewers find content that’s local to them, and that’s been a big factor in his success.

“When my videos started to get a lot of views in a 20 kilometre radius around me. It was people from my city, it was people from my side of the city, and I think that’s important too because a lot of Indigenous people are rural and living on reserves.”

“Being able to create content and have it be really relevant to the area that you’re in is incredible.”

He’s grateful to have the chance to share his message of love and laughter with others like him.

“Don’t forget to be a kid. You’re allowed to have fun. You’re allowed to enjoy life. You know who you are better than anybody else, and trust that voice inside of you and honour it.”

“Creator didn’t make a mistake making you. You deserve to laugh.”

@ohkairyn Coming out can be one of the most difficult and scary times in a queer person's life. Everyone's experience is different and valid though - here's some things that I did that worked, and some that I would change if I could go back. ✨ Remember that your safety is of the utmost importance and to always surround yourself with people that you trust. ❤️🌈 @nyxcosmetics_canada @itgetsbettercanada #NationalComingOutDay #ItGetsBetterProject #ad ♬ original sound - Kairyn Potts

Potts says he’s proud to be on the TikTok discover list.

“I am really proud of the work that I’ve done. To be on the discover list is really validating.”

But he’s not surprised he’s the only Indigenous creator. He’s hoping to be the first of many.

“I’m used to being the first Indigenous person in spaces.”

“I always think of it like walking through a big empty field of snow. You get really scared because you don’t know where to go, then all of a sudden you see a bunch of footprints leading in one direction, and you’re like, ‘Hey cool, someone’s already done it.’”

Potts is doing content creation full-time these days. He says he’s currently working on creating an Indigenous e-sports community, and he’s written a feature-length film that he plans to pitch in 2023. 

With files from CTV News Edmonton's Jeremy Thompson.