• Welcome to the Fantasy Writing Forums. Register Now to join us!

Resources for writing North American Indigenous characters?

What are some good resources (i.e. people, websites, books) on indigenous cultures in North America, specifically Canada? What are some tips for writing accurate indigenous characters as a white person? What are some subjects I should avoid when writing Indigenous characters?
 
Not sure what websites or books, even as a fairly avid western reader myself. Might have to roll through wikipedia if you're after specific nations. Maybe visit tribal websites for history that's not been quite so watered down. Given there were hundreds of nations at one point, this is likely wide and varied. And even within the likes of the Dakota and the Lakota were even more differences that might lead you down a long rabbit hole. As for writing them accurately, mostly comes down to research.

As for what to avoid? The obvious is anything that dehumanizes them. None of the classic western 'barbaric horde' riding down the wagons or the opposing 'noble savage'. And depending on how historical you go, yes, they did do plenty of not great things. It comes down to just writing them as people, with the same concerns and trying to survive in a rough world with rules not our own. Also should probably not over mystify them. Of course if there's literal magic, that changes everything, so will require more work into their religion.

This might be a starter.

Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations | Protecting Treaty rights since 1946
 

Chasejxyz

Inkling
Like most things, Wikipedia is a great place to start. It has all the sources cited along with links to other websites that have good info.

How much info you need, of course, depends on what exactly you plan on DOING.
  • If you need a name for an "NPC" then Google will be fine
  • If you are going to have a major character who is First Nation, then you're going to need to do deeper research. Books, websites, YouTube channels, etc
  • If you are going to write a story where the MC is First Nation and that's pivotal to the plot, maybe...don't. You're going to have to do a crazy amount of research for it to be done well, and even then there's the chance you're going to be missing something you have no idea you're missing because your lived experiences as a white person is so radically different.
A thing I see a lot is people picking and choosing various spiritual parts for their world building without any real care as to the meaning of it (looking at you, JKR). Or treating it as a "dead religion" like the Greek, Norse or Egyptian pantheons. But these people still exist, they still believe those things...and us white folx went out of our way to torture them into being Christians. We erased their culture, religion, and languages, so going "haha what if I used a wendigo as a spooky monster :) " is pretty tone deaf, at best.

Have you read Golden Kamuy? It's a historical manga based in Hokkaido and prominently features the Ainu people, their beliefs, language, etc. Like North Americans, the Japanese treated them extremely poorly and wishes everyone forgot that, but Golden Kamuy does a great job showing and celebrating them. But the mangaka also works closely with subject matter experts to make sure that everything looks right, the words are used right, the use of their religion is done respectfully. He did a LOT of work and it SHOWS. The Japanese characters aren't swooping in to save the Ainu; if anything the Ainu girl is constantly saving their asses lol. Granted, the Japanese and the Ainu isn't the same as what Americans and Canadians did to their natives, but it IS an example of an "outsider" writing a story about a native people and doing a good job about it.

Part of being a good writer is knowing the limits of your abilities. There's been plenty of ideas I've had that I had to put aside because I knew I didn't have the skills to execute it well. But I'm always improving! And I know I might be able to do those someday. Doing a ton of research or world-building or advanced outlining because you're dealing with time travel and multiple realities are highly-technical things, you won't be able to do them good if you're also learning how to write a story for the first time or multiple POVs or whatever. idk how experienced you are with writing, but it's something to keep in mind. You can always put this idea on the back burner and take your time doing research and further developing it based on what you learn.
 

LAG

Troubadour
My suggestion is historical accounts(get free history books online), preferably as early and unbiased as possible. Another option if you live in NA is to actually ask someone(the more people the better) who maintains that heritage or is knowledgeable about it to explain nuances and variations in culture, spirituality, etc. Or go to a cultural center/online forum dealing with the culture at hand.

I'm not from murica, so hope this approach makes sense.
 
What era are you putting your indigenous characters in?

It's very different if you're writing about contemporary Indigenous people than if you're writing about Indigenous people in the nineteenth century, and still more different if the setting is pre-contact. And different still if you're writing an alternate timeline in which indigenous Americans retained their land and sovereignty, and were never wiped out by genocide and disease.
 
Not sure what websites or books, even as a fairly avid western reader myself. Might have to roll through wikipedia if you're after specific nations. Maybe visit tribal websites for history that's not been quite so watered down. Given there were hundreds of nations at one point, this is likely wide and varied. And even within the likes of the Dakota and the Lakota were even more differences that might lead you down a long rabbit hole. As for writing them accurately, mostly comes down to research.

As for what to avoid? The obvious is anything that dehumanizes them. None of the classic western 'barbaric horde' riding down the wagons or the opposing 'noble savage'. And depending on how historical you go, yes, they did do plenty of not great things. It comes down to just writing them as people, with the same concerns and trying to survive in a rough world with rules not our own. Also should probably not over mystify them. Of course if there's literal magic, that changes everything, so will require more work into their religion.

This might be a starter.

Federation of Sovereign Indigenous Nations | Protecting Treaty rights since 1946
This is excellent advice thank you!
 
What era are you putting your indigenous characters in?

It's very different if you're writing about contemporary Indigenous people than if you're writing about Indigenous people in the nineteenth century, and still more different if the setting is pre-contact. And different still if you're writing an alternate timeline in which indigenous Americans retained their land and sovereignty, and were never wiped out by genocide and disease.
I am aiming for the nineteenth century. I was considering doing an alternative timeline as this world involves many different kinds of magic and time travel, this character would be the main character.
 
My suggestion is historical accounts(get free history books online), preferably as early and unbiased as possible. Another option if you live in NA is to actually ask someone(the more people the better) who maintains that heritage or is knowledgeable about it to explain nuances and variations in culture, spirituality, etc. Or go to a cultural center/online forum dealing with the culture at hand.

I'm not from murica, so hope this approach makes sense.
Thank you very much! I would love to sit down and discuss indigenous heritage with an indigenous person, I was only hesitant because I didn’t want anyone to feel that I was making them into a spectacle or being nosey, so maybe forums are the way to go! Thanks again!
 
  • Like
Reactions: LAG
Like most things, Wikipedia is a great place to start. It has all the sources cited along with links to other websites that have good info.

How much info you need, of course, depends on what exactly you plan on DOING.
  • If you need a name for an "NPC" then Google will be fine
  • If you are going to have a major character who is First Nation, then you're going to need to do deeper research. Books, websites, YouTube channels, etc
  • If you are going to write a story where the MC is First Nation and that's pivotal to the plot, maybe...don't. You're going to have to do a crazy amount of research for it to be done well, and even then there's the chance you're going to be missing something you have no idea you're missing because your lived experiences as a white person is so radically different.
A thing I see a lot is people picking and choosing various spiritual parts for their world building without any real care as to the meaning of it (looking at you, JKR). Or treating it as a "dead religion" like the Greek, Norse or Egyptian pantheons. But these people still exist, they still believe those things...and us white folx went out of our way to torture them into being Christians. We erased their culture, religion, and languages, so going "haha what if I used a wendigo as a spooky monster :) " is pretty tone deaf, at best.

Have you read Golden Kamuy? It's a historical manga based in Hokkaido and prominently features the Ainu people, their beliefs, language, etc. Like North Americans, the Japanese treated them extremely poorly and wishes everyone forgot that, but Golden Kamuy does a great job showing and celebrating them. But the mangaka also works closely with subject matter experts to make sure that everything looks right, the words are used right, the use of their religion is done respectfully. He did a LOT of work and it SHOWS. The Japanese characters aren't swooping in to save the Ainu; if anything the Ainu girl is constantly saving their asses lol. Granted, the Japanese and the Ainu isn't the same as what Americans and Canadians did to their natives, but it IS an example of an "outsider" writing a story about a native people and doing a good job about it.

Part of being a good writer is knowing the limits of your abilities. There's been plenty of ideas I've had that I had to put aside because I knew I didn't have the skills to execute it well. But I'm always improving! And I know I might be able to do those someday. Doing a ton of research or world-building or advanced outlining because you're dealing with time travel and multiple realities are highly-technical things, you won't be able to do them good if you're also learning how to write a story for the first time or multiple POVs or whatever. idk how experienced you are with writing, but it's something to keep in mind. You can always put this idea on the back burner and take your time doing research and further developing it based on what you learn.
This was extremely valuable information thank you for you advice! Golden Kamuy Sounds amazing definitely going on my TBR
 

Jac Buchanan

Dreamer
Firstly, I would recommend that it be subject to a sensitivity reader (i.e. a First Nations person from the tribe (if that is the right word) you're depicting).

Secondly, there is a difference between looking at the world through the eyes of that character, writing them as a side character (albeit still an MC) and writing a (white) character's response to the culture. With the first option, you can be close to cultural misappropriation, and therefore I only recommend it where you have relevant First Nations co-author.

Thirdly, using the culture but not a character is generally a big no-no, as that would be misappropriation.

Fourth, making that character's identity a plot driver can be quite offensive. It's usually safer to avoid this, and simply include them because they are a character (which translate to them as a person) is deserving of inclusion. This means they need to be fully rounded out, rather than a token character.

Lastly, First Nations issues, such as discrimination: Generally only represent these through the eyes of another character, rather than take away Own Voice from First Nations persons. It's also a case that there are so many facets to issues, that an on-looker can cause offence by not representing all views, whilst someone of that identity can be forgiven as they are writing Own Voice.

Each First Nations individual will differ on these points, but are generally the minimum. e.g. Some will be okay if you include culture without a character, but a majority will not. Either way, safest course is to not risk misappropriation.
 
Top