From images to impact: A case study on the visual language used to represent Indigenous women entrepreneurs in stock photography


Amanda Williams, Mount Royal University; Emma Duke, Mount Royal University

In response to this session’s call for papers about language's role in Indigenous-settler relations, our exploratory study investigates how spoken and visual elements shape the portrayal of Indigenous women entrepreneurs in commercial stock photography. Through an examination of the inventory across three major databases, our results reveal a significant scarcity of images depicting Indigenous women, particularly in entrepreneurial roles. Applying Frosh's (2003) framework, we further scrutinize how the existing photographs in these repositories perpetuate problematic categorizations and fail to represent the diverse identities of Indigenous women business owners. Our discussion also emphasizes the substantial contributions of Indigenous women to the Canadian economy as entrepreneurs (Richard, 2021), highlighting the heightened significance of addressing their underrepresentation. Ultimately, we aim to contribute to broader academic discussions concerning the intricate relationship between language, visual representation, and societal dynamics within Indigenous-settler relations. Our findings may provide valuable insights for scholars examining identity, representation, and social justice, shedding light on how problematic narratives persist within the stock photography industry. Specifically, by exploring the sociocultural forces influencing such representation, this research encourages a deeper understanding of how generic racial categorizations in stock photography can obscure cultural distinctions and perpetuate harmful misrepresentations, advocating for a more nuanced perspective.

This paper will be presented at the following session: