Kalle Benallie
ICT
Kendra Jessie Rosychuk, Cree from the Sucker Creek First Nation and Ukrainian, said sharing her dances at powwows and performing Northern Cree crow hops on TikTok is important to continue and preserve generations of tradition.
It helps with all aspects of her health — mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually. Especially when she was at a low point in her life when the pandemic hit in 2020.
She said she was isolated from her friends and family while in college and hadn’t attended any powwows or danced for months until she decided to collaborate with her friends, one being @notoriouscree, for a video.
“I feel like TikTok was kind of a reason for a bit for me to put on my regalia and dance, just seeing the other Native TikTok content creators and the amazing content they were making — the transitions, the trends, dances and everything – it was kind of inspiring me to just start doing that also,” she said.
Rosychuk has been dancing contemporary dance like hip hop, jazz and ballet for over 10 years in competitions and performances, but within the last five years has prioritized reconnecting and reclaiming her tribe’s traditions.
“My journey is a bit different. I grew up as a dancer so I feel like learning powwow was kind of learning another dance form for me,” she said. “I love it because it’s dancing but it’s so much deeper and more meaningful than that.”
She said the realization and impact of colonization and residential schools helped her understand why she didn’t powwow dance growing up or why her dad didn’t teach her or her siblings the language.
Now, she’s being recognized for her content. Her TikTok account @kendrajessie has amassed 115,000 followers and 1.7 million likes. She said people have come up to her about her videos and it’s significant when it’s the youth.
She recalled a group of young girls who excitedly recognized her while she was waiting to line up for the grand entry at a powwow in Calgary, a city in Alberta, Canada.
“It just makes me emotional at times. When people are so excited and happy to meet me. It’s like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe I made an impact on someone like that,’” she said. “My goal is to inspire the youth and inspire them to do better for themselves. Moments like that are really special to me. It reminds me I’m doing good work,” she said.
Rosychuk studied sport management and still plans to work in wellness and sports for Indigenous youth.
“I grew up as an athlete, playing a lot of different sports and saw the lack of Indigenous people involved in the sport spaces that I was in, especially playing at the higher levels. I was often the only Native person. There were never Native coaches or staff or anyone involved,” she said.
One of her favorite videos that she’s done was a Nike video that she said her younger self would be proud of.
@kendrajessie Photoshoot with Candice Ward Photography. We love to see Indigenous women taking up space and photographing pro sports. #indigenous#indigenouswomen#photoshoot#ribbonskirt#art#culture#fashion#nike#nikewomen#jordan1#fyp#photography @Nike ♬ original sound – Kendra Jessie
@kendrajessie Those Northern Cree crow hops #indigenous#powwow#dance#fancydance#crowhop#music#northerncree#drums#tsuutinapowwow2022#fyp♬ original sound – Kendra Jessie
@kendrajessie physical wellness is a gift ✨ #indigenous#wellness#movement#medicine#workout♬ The OG – The Halluci Nation
@kendrajessie Movement is My Culture. BTS of the video shoot I did with @nike #indigenous#movement#culture#wellness#athlete#nike#dance#powwow#playnew♬ original sound – Kendra Jessie
“It was a beautiful opportunity to be able to share my story as an athlete and bring my Native culture and my story into that,” she said.
Rosychuk thinks one of the reasons that the Native community has gravitated and found success on the TikTok platform is because of their storytelling abilities.
“Native people are really, really good storytellers and I feel that’s why we thrived on these apps and created a lot of awareness and just a lot of change through this app. It’s just the power of that storytelling,” she said.
Rosychuk plans to celebrate Native American Heritage Month by continuing to learn and participate in the culture and attending ceremonies.
“Going to ceremony has become something that’s been really, really important for me in my journey with reconnecting and celebrating who I am,” she said.
