Say Yá’át’ééh to the Native American YouTubers Building their Online Community BY JOSH MULL
Makeup tutorials. Comedy Skits. Family Vlogs. Sounds like your typical YouTube fare, right? But this community is different. These Native American YouTubers are not only creating great content, but they’re also helping to educate and illuminate their viewers on their native heritage and traditions. While the community is large and growing, today we’re looking at three channels who are helping to build the online community - not just of other Native Americans - but of viewers from around the world. Whether you need a good laugh, want to learn about a new culture, or even just want to make a new friend, these are three channels you need to check out to connect to the online Native American YouTube community.
Man & Lakota Bae have quickly become a staple in native family channels. NAVAJO MAN & LAKOTA BAE “People are commenting how respectful we are,” says Angel, Imagine hanging out in your kitchen aka Lakota Bae, “how respectful Darwin is, and how we’re just with 10,000 people. That’s what it’s like for these folks a good native family. And I think since our audience is bringing their subscribers into their lives mainly indigenous people, they really can relate through videos and livestreams. to that, and to us being an indigenous “We were in our house 24/7 on family.” lockdown, and we had a lot of “I want to bring laughter and time on our hands. And we positivity to not just indigenous had to find a way to entertain communities, not just Navajo ourselves.” communities, but other naThis is Navajo Man & Lative communities and other kota Bae, a family channel. places in general,” says Dar“We want to show that win. “We have viewers in living on a reservation, New York that are from the being Native Americans in city and they want to expethis modern day and age, rience the Native American life isn’t all that bad,” says culture side or a reservation.” Darwin, aka Navajo Man. And that’s the special thing “Even if you’re in quarantine about hanging out with Darwin, VISIT THEM ON YOUTUBE AT with COVID around, life can still Angel, and the Twin-dians. Not youtube.com/c/NavajoManLakotaBae continue, it can still be entertaining just the entertainment, but you’ll also and happy.” learn something along the way. What started as a gaming channel quickly “We do try to speak the Navajo language,” took on a whole new life - two lives actually - when the pair Darwin says. “And of course, we got Lakota language in announced their pregnancy - with twins! That video brought there too, because Angel speaks her language too. We try to in the viewers, and it hasn’t stopped since. keep it English and Navajo, so our fluent and non-fluent viewThe two twin boys, known on YouTube as “ the Twin-dians,” ers - and even those that don’t speak Navajo - at least have a have arguably become the real stars of the channel. But Navajo little understanding.“
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