Cree singer-songwriter Donita Large has spoken out after an AI-generated image was used in place of her likeness in an online news article promoting her new album, 'The Ancestors'.

The article, published February 10, used an artificial image of an Indigenous woman without disclosure, correction or clarification that the person shown was not Ms Large.

The image appeared alongside Ms Large's name in a news context and, she says, falsely presented the fabricated woman as her.

From Saddle Lake First Nation and based in Edmonton, Alberta, Ms Large is an Indigenous artist whose music blends folk, blues, rock, country and Cree traditional sounds.

She has described her work as "folk with Indigenous sizzle" and recently released 'The Ancestors,' an album centred on memory, healing and strength.

The record was co-produced by Grammy-winning producer Chris Birkett, Anthony King and Ms Large and recorded across studios in Toronto, Los Angeles and Edmonton.

Ms Large said the image caused harm because it replaced her identity with what she described as a false and stereotyped construction of Indigeneity.

"The image of the Indigenous woman posted on the website is not me," she said.

"There is no public clarification that the image is AI-generated by the news service and is not me.

"False visual information, including AI-generated images, can spread disinformation and cause personal harm."

Ms Large said the publication gave no public clarification that the image was AI-generated and not a real photograph of her.

She also raised concern about the way the woman in the image was depicted, including darker skin tones than her own and what she described as inauthentic accessories and styling.

Ms Large said those choices reflected broader stereotypes about how Indigenous people are expected to look.

"Consider why creating an image with an Indigenous woman who has darker skin tones than myself would be inappropriate and problematic, an act of creating a visual stereotype of what Indigenous people 'should' look like," she said.

"There is also an image of a woman in the background dressed in some type of traditional wear including a beaded headpiece with the extension of lighting in what seems to depict headdress imagery around her head.

"This is not authentic and would be perceived as a westernised concept of an aesthetic costume and the default imagery of Indigenous people as propagated by Hollywood tokenism of Indigeneity."

Ms Large said the result was a false narrative built from AI-generated stereotypes rather than truth.

The incident comes amid ongoing discussion globally about colonial misrepresentation, Indigenous rights and "digital blackface".

Ms Large added the publication of the image shifted attention away from the album and left her dealing with distress instead of celebrating its release.

'The Ancestors,' released in February, is now available on all major platforms.

The image has not been shared here out of respect for the artist.

Original reporting by Native News Online.