Today is National Indigenous Peoples Day, a day to recognize the history, heritage, and diversity of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples.
Stocksy acknowledges that our co-op was founded on the traditional unceded territories of the Coast Salish people, including the Lək̓ʷəŋən and W̱SÁNEĆ peoples. With members across 81 countries, we also recognize our role as a global community in a multitude of ancestral nations.
We embrace the responsibility as a platform, community, and collection to challenge ourselves and others to examine our perpetuation of colonialism and systems of oppression as a critical part of social progress.
Part of that responsibility includes acknowledging our own shortcomings and desires to amend them. We actively work towards a more diverse and authentically represented collection, but we also recognize where it has ample room for growth.
Indigenous artists are underrepresented in our Contributor base. We don’t collect identity-based data from our members as that practice is in direct opposition to our values, but it does create some limitations for sharing the statistics of our member base. What we can share is that Indigenous representation — both in front of and behind the lens — is lower than we would like.
There is a lack of Indigenous representation in most stock imagery available across our industry, and we would love to see that shift media-wide. We are continuously working on and improving our outbound recruitment initiative to individually reach out to Indigenous photographers, filmmakers, and illustrators. We are making progress, albeit sometimes slower than we would like. That brings us to where, together, we may be able to achieve a more representative stock media landscape and support more Indigenous creators.
We’d love to see more creator applications. We humbly invite creators of the Indigenous, Métis, and First Nations communities to apply to join the Stocksy community of contributing artists.
Get more info on what being a Contributor and Stocksy co-op co-owner means and how to apply here. We’re not necessarily looking for seasoned artists or creators with years of industry experience to apply. We look for inspired work, authentic perspectives, and fresh ideas. Also, please tell your communities and colleagues about the opportunity to create meaningful work and be compensated fairly and respectfully.
If you are interested in learning more about representation in stock media and our stance on our practices, strategies, and responsibilities, you can access Stocksy’s content policy here. And if you’re unsure whether the community is for you and whether or not our values align, access our brand values here.
We continue to do the work to fulfill our role in enabling the entire creative class to execute — without compromise — meaningful, forward-thinking work that drives social progress, and we are thankful to have the privilege to do so.
Resources
Native Land
A resource to learn more about Indigenous territories, languages, lands, and ways of life.
National Association of Friendship Centres
A central, unifying body for the FCM founded to improve the well-being of Indigenous people living in urban environments.
National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation
A place of learning and dialogue where the truths of the residential school experience will be honoured and kept safe for future generations.
