On Writing Native American Characters in Fantasy/Sci-Fi

Since launching my digital course a few years ago, Fiction Writing: American Indians, the response has been pleasantly overwhelming. I regularly receive questions from authors of all genres who want trustworthy advice on how to accurately and respectfully portray Native Americans in their stories.

A good many of those questions come from authors of sci-fi and fantasy. Some of these questions are asked several times, so I thought I would take a few minutes to answer two of them for everyone, but most especially for the huge segment of fantasy and sci-fi authors who are featuring First American-inspired people groups in their story worlds.

(If you are in that segment, I want to be sure and share with you about an upcoming fantasy/sci-fi summit. Details at the end).

Here are two frequently asked questions I get about writing First American-inspired characters:

How do you feel about Native American cultures inspiring fantasy cultures? If someone wants their aliens to have a culture loosely based off American Indians, how can that be done without seeming forced?

You can certainly base people groups in your storyworld on First Americans. To do it well, I encourage authors to still avoid using stereotypes and to carefully research historical background to offer a balanced telling.

You can draw from multiple tribes, but think about the regions they live in. Woodlands? Coastal? Plains? Swamps? Several factors impact an Indigenous people group, so you want to think through those while working to avoid stereotypes.

How should a non-Native writer do retellings of Native myths and folk tales and mythical creatures?

You want to handle this carefully because there's been a lot of abuse in this area. I cover some dos and don'ts in my course, (Module 4), but basically, you want to consult the tribe if you can, like someone in their historic or cultural preservation department if they have one.

Changing details is a strategy you can use as well. You can add in your author notes that the myth or folk tale was inspired by Native American mythology.

If you are a fantasy or sci-fi author, you know that research is as important in these genres as historical fiction. I encourage you to reach for that high level of research when creating First American characters so you can give your readers a sense of authenticity within your storyworld.

Now, about that summit I mentioned... It's being hosted by my author friend, Paula Judith Johnson, and it promises to be out of this world! Check out the speakers and get a free ticket to the 2024 Fantasy & Sci-fi Summit here.

My course, Fiction Writing: American Indians is the only one of its kind to my knowledge. I created it to guide authors who have a heart to write accurate portrayals of First Americans in their fiction. You can learn more about it here.