NativeContent

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.

Spend Time with the Fam

NAVAJO MAN & LAKOTA BAE Imagine hanging out in your kitchen with 10,000 people. That’s what it’s like for these folks bringing their subscribers into their lives through videos and livestreams.

“We were in our house 24/7 on lockdown, and we had a lot of time on our hands. And we had to find a way to entertain ourselves.”

This is Navajo Man & Lakota Bae, a family channel.

“We want to show that living on a reservation, being Native Americans in this modern day and age, life isn’t all that bad,” says Darwin, aka Navajo Man. “Even if you’re in quarantine with COVID around, life can still continue, it can still be entertaining and happy.”

What started as a gaming channel quickly took on a whole new life - two lives actually - when the pair announced their pregnancy - with twins! That video brought in the viewers, and it hasn’t stopped since.

The two twin boys, known on YouTube as “ the Twin-dians,” have arguably become the real stars of the channel. But Navajo

Man & Lakota Bae have quickly become a staple in native family channels. “People are commenting how respectful we are,” says Angel, aka Lakota Bae, “how respectful Darwin is, and how we’re just a good native family. And I think since our audience is mainly indigenous people, they really can relate to that, and to us being an indigenous family.” “I want to bring laughter and positivity to not just indigenous communities, not just Navajo communities, but other native communities and other places in general,” says Darwin. “We have viewers in New York that are from the city and they want to experience the Native American culture side or a reservation.” And that’s the special thing about hanging out with Darwin, VISIT THEM ON YOUTUBE AT Angel, and the Twin-dians. Not youtube.com/c/NavajoManLakotaBae just the entertainment, but you’ll also learn something along the way. “We do try to speak the Navajo language,” Darwin says. “And of course, we got Lakota language in there too, because Angel speaks her language too. We try to keep it English and Navajo, so our fluent and non-fluent viewers - and even those that don’t speak Navajo - at least have a little understanding.“

MIKEY JUNIOR’S YOUTUBE ADVENTURES

“I’ve always had this dream of going into show business for the purpose of entertaining people and bringing a smile and laughter to their face, and making their lives a little bit better.”

That’s Mikey, comedian and host of Mikey Junior’s YouTube Adventures. As a kid, Mikey always wanted to get into showbiz. When COVID hit, the opportunity presented itself for him to branch out into YouTube.

“I’ve always enjoyed comedy movies,” says Michael. “Some of my biggest comedians that I looked up to were Jim Carrey, Robin Williams, Chris Farley, you know, just to name a few of them. And because of the way I connected to them through their movies and shows, I felt like I wanted to do the same thing.”

Inspired by these legendary comedians, Mikey created the character of Auntie Berta, the “Rez” version of famous characters like Madea, Big Mama, or Mrs. Doubtfire.

“We posted an Auntie Berta video on Facebook, and a lot of people took to it,” Michael says. “So we posted it on TikTok, and the same thing - it took off! So, all of a sudden, these videos were being circulated all over the net on a lot

of the native reservations. And then not not just the Navajo reservation, but a lot of native reservations, in Canada, back East and in the Midwest.” While Mikey Junior’s Adventures have exploded in popularity across many social media platforms, especially thanks to the Auntie Berta character, his YouTube channel offers a lot of variety. “I like creating videos where I either collaborate with other YouTubers or artists,” he explains. “I make videos, for example, going to the Navajo flea market or going to some some place where people are showcasing their work, and it gives me the opportunity to interact with them, and to showcase what they’re doing as an artist - whether it be music or jewelry, or paintings or whatever that they’re doing. I love featuring these people and I love interacting with them.” Mikey’s followers are measured in the tens of thousands these days, numbers that can be hard to keep in perspective. VISIT HIM ON YOUTUBE AT I’ve been so grateful and humbled,” he youtube.com/c/ MikeyJuniorsYouTubeAdventures says. “My brother and I went to one of the Suns games here in Phoenix, and the stadium was full of people - it was a packed house! And I sat there and I told my brother, ‘this arena doesn’t even fit 17,000 people, and I have almost double that in followers!’ Man, that gives me goosebumps on my arms to just fathom that, that concept of me being able to entertain all these people. It’s a huge blessing.”

Meet Your New Bestie

WHAT WOULD KITTY DO

“I didn’t see a lot of Native Americans on the YouTube platform, and I felt that a lot of nonnatives don’t know a lot about our culture or upbringing.”

That’s Kitty, eponymous host of What Would Kitty Do. She’s got a whole new spin on the BFF genre of YouTube. She’s got shopping hauls, make-up tutorials, and she even spills the tea on some of her worst dating experiences.

But have you ever heard the story of the man with the hooves? What about paranormal possessions? You’ll hear it all when you make friends with a bona fide “Rez Girl” like Kitty.

“I started off telling paranormal stories from the Native American community, and scary stories I’ve come across through the years that have happened to other tribes,” she says. “Those are the popular ones I would say.”

“In general, Native Americans are pretty spiritual. We’re born into it.”

Kitty’s channel offers far more than just spooky campfire stories from a Native perspective. She also shares the trials of dating as a Rez Girl, all with

her signature storytelling style and sense of humor. Getting ghosted, guys showing up drunk, and getting catfished - Kitty has seen it all. “Native people - we’re very nosy and we’re very curious. We come from small communities already, and so we like to gossip. So I figured I’d start telling my dating horror stories,” she says. “Everybody likes it, they relate to it.” Her community is growing every day, and viewers love to get involved and hear from Kitty. “They just want more,” Kitty says. “They’ll share something similar that happened to them. The conversations are really open, amongst each other or messaging me.” “I feel like Native people especially can tell when you’re not being honest and true to yourself,” she says. “So that was one thing I really wanted to do. That’s a big thing I get complimented on the most - they like my personality and how I’m not VISIT HER ON YOUTUBE AT afraid to be the Rez Girl I am.” youtube.com/c/WhatWouldKittyDo That attitude is the most important takeaway from Kitty’s channel - be yourself. “There’s people out there dealing with mental issues, dealing with staying home in quarantine, dealing with lost loved ones. What helps them is the videos, the stories, and helping people through the show.”