1. Thesis Statement

The growth of social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok among First Nations Australians
has emerged as a transformatory force for the creation of transnational diaspora relations,
confirming cultural identity, and projecting Indigenous voices globally. However, this online
presence is fraught with contradictions that expose users to cyber racism, lateral violence, and
algorithmic discrimination. Addressing these issues necessitates culturally embedded
safeguards and platform design inclusivity to guarantee Indigenous sovereignty in the digital
world.

2. Introduction

The online revolution has reconfigured cross-border community life by enabling Indigenous
Australians to preserve kinship groups, maintain cultural identity, and participate in a global
Indigenous diaspora. Over 5 billion people around the world—including a significant percentage
of First Nations Australians—are using the internet and interacting in virtual worlds where
geographical distances are flattened out yet colonial power relations persist(1). For Indigenous
individuals, these locations are lifelines: they facilitate language revival in the guise of viral
TikTok tutorials, bring together Stolen Generation families through Facebook pages, and
coordinate activism with hashtags such as #IndigenousX among others.
However, this virtual frontier is marked by paradoxes. While it fosters solidarity, it also
perpetuates transnational cyber racism, algorithmic erasure, and lateral violence that echo
historical traumas. This essay explores how Indigenous Australians negotiate belonging and
resistance in online diaspora spaces, demanding reforms that harness the platforms’
transformative potential while minimizing their risks.

3. The Role of Facebook and TikTok in Indigenous
Online Diaspora

3.1. Language Revitalisation in Digital Spaces

Facebook and TikTok have become essential platforms for safeguarding Indigenous languages.
In 2014, 60% of Indigenous Australians were using Facebook, even in remote regions with
access to limited internet(2). Mobile phones spanned long distances, facilitating real-time
language exchange. TikTok’s “duet” feature, for example, enables Elders and young people to
collaborate on pronunciation guides, modernising oral traditions.
Projects like the Language Data Commons of Australia (LDACA) and Indigenous Language
Support Program indicate the partnership between technology and community-based
preservation(3). Yet algorithmic bias favours English material(4), necessitating bilingual strategies
(e.g., hashtags like #IndigenousTikTok) to counter linguistic marginalisation.

3.2. Digital Storytelling and Cultural Expression

Social media has reconfigured Indigenous storytelling as a globalised, more than localised,
intergenerational practice of cultural resilience. Social media platforms like TikTok and
Instagram are now digital corroboree grounds—spaces where art, oral history, and activism are
synthesised. Yet this shift raises significant questions about cultural authority, commodification,
and the balance between accessibility and protection.

3.2.1. Remaking Oral Traditions in Digital Spaces

The indigenous oral tradition has been multisensory, voice-based, movement-based, and
site-based knowledge. Social media revamps these elements in the following manners:
TikTok’s “duet” feature: Used by Yolŋu artists to layer over ancestral songlines with modern
music, creating “living archives” where youth add new verses(5).
Instagram carousel posts: Artists like @blakbusiness post Dreaming stories through sequential
art, interlocking images and text written in Indigenous languages(6).

Case Study: Indigital’s Augmented Reality Platform(7)

Telstra’s collaboration with Indigital is a shining example of the technology’s transformative
ability to protect Indigenous cultural heritage. In collaboration with Telstra Purple and Microsoft,
Indigital developed an augmented reality platform that enables Indigenous students to engage
with their cultural knowledge through new digital technologies. The platform employs
storytelling, language preservation, and digital literacy and enables students to create and
animate 3D characters and record their languages. This initiative closes the gap between cultural competency and digital literacy with the assurance of preserving Indigenous culture and
equipping young people to thrive in the digital era. Telstra’s contribution highlights that
culturally-inspired responses to technology invention and learning must be a key priority.

3.2.2. Artistic Sovereignty and Economic Empowerment

Social media has enabled Indigenous artists to reclaim economic power by bypassing colonial
gatekeepers. For instance, Instagram Shops has enabled Māori weaver Taaniko Nordstrom
(@taniko on Instagram) to sell traditional cloaks to the world, and Facebook fundraising tools
assisted the Milpirri Festival (a Warlpiri-led cultural festival) in raising several thousands in
community donations. However, algorithmic biases suppress visibility—posts hashtagged #IndigenousArt receive approximately 30% fewer views than #AbstractArt —and cultural theft.

Dreamtime Kullilla-Art has had a hand in debating the exploitation and copying of Aboriginal
designs. The company has pointed out the challenge for Indigenous artists brought by the sale
of imitation Aboriginal art and artifacts, which are often brought in from overseas and retailed as
“Aboriginal-style” products. This practice demeans the authenticity and cultural significance of
Indigenous art, taking away from genuine artists income and credit(8).
The issue has been the focus of calls for tougher laws to protect Indigenous intellectual property
and prevent cultural appropriation. Proposed reforms are a revamp of Australian Consumer Law
to prohibit the importing and selling of replica Indigenous art, and making Indigenous Art Code
mandatory for traders. The actions are meant to preserve the integrity of Aboriginal art and
ensure Indigenous artists receive fair returns.

Case Study: #BuyBlak Movement(9,10)

The #BuyBlak movement, spearheaded by First Nations business collective Trading Blak, has
also gained tremendous traction on Instagram as a platform for promoting Indigenous-owned
business. Supported by Meta and 33 Creative, the movement celebrates First Nations business
achievement through the sharings of creators like Ginny’s Girl Gang, Ngumpie Weaving, and
Gammin Threads. Through the visual storytelling capabilities of Instagram, the movement
makes Indigenous voices heard, spurs economic empowerment, and advocates responsible
shopping practices. Trading Blak promises authenticity through the process of guaranteeing that
all businesses featured are 100% Indigenous-owned, combating “business blackface” and First
Nations self-determination.

3.2.3. Decolonising Aesthetics: Overturning Platform Norms

Native content creators subvert Western temporalities on social media through insistence on
cyclical, place-based rhythms. For example, the First Nations-led group @evolvecommunities
uses TikTok to layer historical anecdotes and contemporary workshops within single posts. Their #AskAunty TikTok campaign documents Indigenous allyship and Indigenous language-focused

questions. She has also shared insights about Sorry Business through various platforms,
including videos and educational content, to raise awareness about its cultural significance. For example, she has collaborated with organizations like Evolve Communities to create resources
that explain the importance of Sorry Business in Aboriginal culture(11).
Tagging sites that need geo-tagging with commercially sympathetic tags, from #Uluru to #KataTjuta instead of colonialist priorities like #AyersRock, is a not-so-very-harrowing way of honouring Indigenous heritage and promoting awareness of its value. But the comments section
under such tags all too frequently exposes an ugly, racist undercurrent. These responses range
from dismissing Indigenous cultural practice to outright denying its legitimacy, perpetuating
harmful attitudes that impede progress towards respect and understanding.
The debate surrounding closing Uluru to climbers has been greeted with outrage or mockery by
some groups, showing a lack of respect for the spiritual significance of the site to the Anangu.
This move is an indication of the outcome of a lack of education and denial. It reinforces the
ongoing need for education and advocacy to change these stories and provide space for
Indigenous voices.

3.3. Transnational Knowledge Sharing

Social media has transformed Indigenous people’s exchange of knowledge and information
across borders, literally reconstructing former trade circuits and storytelling kinship in a
cyber-space. Utilising social media platforms like Facebook and TikTok offers space for real-time
collaboration among Indigenous communities worldwide, creating solidarity and innovation in
preserving culture, activism, and education. But this interconnectedness exists within digital
frameworks that are biased toward Western epistemologies that can generate tensions between
access to these systems and keeping cultural sovereignty intact.

3.3.1. Global Indigenous Solidarity Movements

There are many strong similarities between the Australian and US #BlackLivesMatter
movements, perhaps the most predominant being their focus on combating systemic racism and
police brutality. It resonated enormously with Indigenous Australians between Black deaths in
custody and systemic discrimination in the criminal justice system. The emphasis is an equally
saddening similarity to that of the U.S. protests, which were sparked by the killing of George
Floyd and drew attention to police violence against African Americans(12,13).
The #LandBack and #IndigenousTikTok hashtags have also been useful weapons for
Indigenous peoples worldwide to narrate their histories and methods of resisting oppression.
The hashtags form networks across borders where Indigenous content producers can share
ideas, advocate for their rights, and raise their cultures.
The #LandBack movement is essentially returning land that was taken away from Indigenous
communities and a fight against colonialism. The movement is receiving momentum in nations
like North America, Australia, and New Zealand. This form of hashtag activism believes that
returning land is the important factor in reconstructing cultural heritage and caring for nature. Activists employ this hashtag to provide essential information, commemorate their triumphs, and
rally support for their fight for land rights.
At the same time, #IndigenousTikTok has become a vehicle for community mobilization,
learning, and storytelling. Indigenous artists employ the platform to stand for their cultures,
languages, and lifeways, mixing conventional cultural values with web trends. Critical issues
such as cultural appropriation, discrimination, and climate change have also been raised under
this hashtag.
Combined, these hashtags demonstrate the strength and cleverness of the Indigenous peoples
as they address the issues of the world but forcefully assert their own unique selves.

4. Conclusion

Social media sites like TikTok and Facebook have reshaped Indigenous Australians’ ability to
form transnational connections, relearn languages, and practice cultural
sovereignty—evidenced in practices like #IndigenousTikTok language classes,
@evolvecommunities’ temporal resistance, and economic empowerment through the #BuyBlak
movement. These opportunities coexist with systemic barriers: algorithmic censorship of
Indigenous content, persistent cultural theft (like fake Aboriginal art), and the existence of
platforms that continue to function according to Western temporal and economic logics.

Successful change means three things:

1. Co-designed policy (like kinship protocols developed by Mukurtu CMS used to moderate
   on TikTok).
2. Economic protection (like Indigenous ownership checks for businesses, done by #BuyBlak).
3. Indigenous digital literacy efforts to fight misinformation.

First Nations Australians’ resilience, from land defenders to artists, offers a blueprint for social
media decolonisation: the preservation of relationality over extraction, and cyclical time over
viral transience. Their ingenuity challenges not only platform infrastructures but the colonial
ideologies inscribed in them.

5. References

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