Indigenous artist from Saskatchewan featured in national ad campaign
Campaign aims to reclaim the narrative surrounding Indigenous people in media
A Saskatchewan poet and rapper has had her poem included in a campaign aimed at challenging stereotypes and amplifying the voices of Indigenous people.
The poem addresses the tension younger Indigenous people inherit in the context of Canada's colonialism.
"That tension is present, but we are rising through it," said Zoey Roy.
The campaign was launched by "Cheekbone Beauty," an Indigenous owned cosmetic brand. They collaborated with a creative agency called Sid Lee.
Cheekbone Beauty introduced limited edition packaging for their red lipstick called Aki as part of the campaign. A portion of the profit gained from the lipstick will go toward Indigenous youth education. Sephora Canada supported the production of the lipstick, and will carry it in eight of their stores in Canada.
As part of the campaign, an ad was created for the lipstick, and had Zoey Roy's poem voice Unsilent voiced over it.
Roy said the poem talks about hope, thriving and finding your voice.
She said she has always been a huge fan of the CEO of Cheekbone Beauty, and she felt good to be seen by the company.
"It just felt like the little girl in me, is you know joyful," she said.
Roy said she hopes that when people listen to the poem they will see that Indigenous people are interconnected with the land.
"It's introspective, it's reflective, it's honest. And I hope people can recognize Indigenous humanity as it is present and thriving today," she said.
She said the women who are featured in the campaign are all friends in real life, and are from the same nation.
"As a Métis girl from Northern Saskatchewan, I could really feel that casual bond, that kinship that's in sisterhood," she said.
It was filmed by a primarily Indigenous crew and was directed by Shaunoh, a Mohawk visual storyteller.
Roy also said being a part of the campaign made her feel like a super hero.
She said she had tried to "write the story" herself and had sometimes written it wrong, and that "Right the Story" is the best campaign slogan she could be a part of.
With files from CBC