"The best stories are always told by the people they're about" — Brad Cooke

Everybody wants to tell stories, but for indigenous people, it can be difficult to make their voices heard —  even when the narratives being shared are their own. Here, Brad Cooke —  Co-founder of Campfire x, an indigenous Australian-led creative consultancy —  shares his own story. By doing so, he's able to pinpoint how brands often use Aboriginal stories in a transactional manner and outlines why it's so important for these narratives to instead be produced by and with indigenous people.

For Cooke, there are three vital aspects to creating authentic portrayals: first, an acknowledgement that Aboriginal people have been denied the opportunities to tell their own stories in the media; second, that authenticity takes time and third, that these stories need to be told together. Central to this is the idea that "you have to get to know who you're working with" — trust is a process, a bond that develops through time and respect. 

This is an excerpt from Brad Cooke’s talk Telling authentic stories with cultural integrity held at D&AD Festival. Watch more highlights from D&AD Festival talks here.