No one knows our stories like we do. We don’t need white saviours. We need self-determination.
Art is a sacred medium for storytelling in First Nations cultures. But commercialising our art and stories, at least in a western sense, is a relatively new experience for First Nations peoples. Many First Nations artists live in remote areas of so-called Australia, where access to resources like internet and business support is limited. Often motivated by the desire to help, many non-Indigenous people have established businesses to provide platforms for First Nations creatives to sell their art. But even with the most genuine of intentions, problems arise.
This is largely because of the white saviour complex – subtle, usually going unnoticed by the white gaze, but toxic to those presumed to need saving. When relationships