(Originally written on 25/09/2024)
Creating your indigenous group.
Hi there, so you want to create an indigenous group in your world that’s not set on Earth? Great! I hope I can help by informing you of some things you should and shouldn’t do while creating your indigenous group for your story!
Before I continue, I must let you know I’m Taíno, and I don’t represent Native people as a whole, let alone represent my community as a whole, which is a perfect segue into the first point!
Indigenous groups aren’t a monolith!
When creating indigenous characters, many people will make everyone behave the same (except for one Native who’s different from the rest, and this is the only Native with whom the main character interacts).
For example, in Pocahontas, a 1995 Disney film, she’s the only one who acts differently from her tribe.
The Na'vi act the same, except for Neytiri.
The point I’m trying to make is that many people, when writing Indigenous characters, create a planet of the hat tropes. Sure, maybe two or three of the characters in a tribe might behave differently, but those are the exceptions. If anything, it proves what I just said: Most Indigenous groups are written to be monoliths.
Where you grow up and where you came from doesn’t automatically make you part of the hivemind. Let’s take the United States, for example. What’s the culture of America? How diverse is it? If I create a tribe based in America, what kind of people would I be making?
The United States isn't a monolith of ideologies and philosophies. An American from the North could have wildly different opinions and beliefs than an American from the South. So why does everyone in your indigenous group follow the same beliefs?
If you want to create a warrior Indigenous group whose central belief is “the strong will prevail” (First of all, that’s not original), but secondly, where’s the scientist? Where are the people who create better weapons to make fighting easier? Where are the people who generate armour so their warriors can stay in the fight longer? Where are the blacksmiths who made these weapons? Where are the teachers and educators to help train the newer warriors? Where are the doctors to help heal those who survived their fights so they can fight another day? Where are the cooks to ensure the warriors can fight on a full stomach?
See where I’m coming from? A society that’s bent on fighting still needs its basic needs met. A cook in a fighting society might be a cook because they don’t like to fight, but they don’t hate others who do. A teacher might be a teacher because they love the history of fighting and have more of a strategic mind than the quick reaction you need while in combat. A builder might be a builder because they can’t fight, but they can support their people by building them houses. Expand your society to something more than just a hivemind.
Religion
It’ll be hard to create an indigenous group without mentioning religion. For this reason, I’ll split this category into those without and those with computers.
Before computers (religion):
I don’t think I know of a single indigenous group with no connection to religion. Religion is the backbone of society. If you’re creating an indigenous tribe in a world that doesn’t have computers, you need to make a religion.
Please understand Indigenous people are the first people to set foot on your land and create a society. They could only survive because of religion. Religion helps teach others what’s right and what’s wrong. What’s dangerous, and what’s safe? To explain the unexplainable. The Norse and the Greek Gods? Those are religions, not myths. Religions that helped their community thrive and expand.
Religion gives a society a set of rules to follow and obey to keep everything in order. If you’re creating a society before computers, yes, many of your indigenous characters will be religious, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be a monolith.
Christians may believe in the same God and read the same book. However, you can still encounter two very different Christians from each other. Your indigenous group who follow a religion don’t all have to be the same person.
If you struggle with creating a religion or may have religious trauma, keep in mind that religion doesn’t have to be a core thing in your indigenous society, but more so, a set of codes and laws that affect the society you’re trying to create.
These codes and laws can be simple: "Thou shall not kill an innocent or steal from the hungry."
To something more complex, like saying a prayer before taking someone’s life or else they'll burn in Hell.
Religion also helps explain the unexplainable. Simple questions such as, "What is life?" "What’s my purpose?" "How was I created?" have been asked thousands of years ago, and all of these questions have been answered by religion in some way or another. Before science, before technology, before we knew the world was round, we had religion to explain things and guide us to where we are today.
After computers (religion):
If you’re creating an indigenous group of people set in a world with technology such as computers, yes, you still need to create a religion for said indigenous group. However, if you don’t want to write about religion, you can avoid it. Just because your indigenous character is indigenous doesn’t mean they have to be religious as well, especially in an age where technology is available.
Take, for example, me. I’m Taíno but not religious, though I understand and acknowledge the religion and myths my people created.
Religion doesn’t play as much of a role in a new-age society as an old-age one, so religion doesn’t have to be in your story if you don’t want it to. However, keep in mind if you’re creating an indigenous group. They wouldn’t have gotten to where they are if they didn’t have religion to guide them.
Culture
What’s the culture of America? Or Australia? What’s British culture? When we think of Indigenous culture, we often think of everyone acting the same. However, that’s only because when their history was being recorded, it was recorded using a biased lens and from a small selection of people that was then generalised for everyone.
Indigenous people have existed for thousands of years. We have a rich culture, and it has changed over the years. Still, we don’t know what we used to be or where we came from because when we were “discovered”, the people who "discovered" us only jotted down notes of what they saw and, more often than not, what they didn’t understand and assumed everyone in our tribe did the same thing when that’s simply not the case. Even “warrior-type” cultures like the Spartans or the Vikings, who fought a lot, had a rich and more profound culture that was more than just beating their opponents.
Indigenous people also spread out and didn’t stay in one area. We travelled and interacted with each other. We didn’t hide in our little corner of the world waiting to be “discovered” because we had already discovered others. Like today, we had beef with our rivals and greeted friends with open arms.
When you create your indigenous group, and you think of what their culture will be like, understand this. Culture is created and changed based on the general ideas and beliefs of the masses. You might have a group of Indigenous people be more peaceful, but then the war came, and they lost, so they changed into a more warrior-focused kind of tribe. Culture is formed and moulded by interaction with others, and often, things such as war will change the culture of a society. However, remember that smaller subcultures will emerge if your society is big enough. This is why it’s impossible to define current US culture.
Also, when talking about your indigenous culture, how big should your indigenous group be? I know 1,000 people sounds like a lot, but that’s a dying community. Depending on the story you’re creating, Indigenous people, before getting killed, were in the millions, just like the modern day. So, there’s a good chance subcultures might’ve formed.
You could have your indigenous group have a cultural mindset where you need to eat lots of food. They’re a peaceful group of people who don’t want to fight. However, they have a military because while they may be quiet, they understand if they’re defenceless, they’ll get killed. So, a warrior from the same tribe might also believe in eating as much as you can, but this warrior might do it for other reasons. The cultural idea of eating lots of food is prevalent in both groups, but they behave differently based on what they do and who they are.
Just remember the one thing I mentioned at the start of this article: Don’t create a monolith or a hive mind. Not everyone in your indigenous group will act the same as everyone else. If this kind of thing is challenging, try imagining the modern world. Not much has changed from when indigenous people roamed the world to what happens today; the main difference is technology and the speed at which everything gets done.
Indigenous people fought amongst themselves; they hated who ruled them, and there was religion, science, and wars, just like today. The only difference was that Indigenous history was erased and changed.
Look at Indigenous people for examples of creating your indigenous society.
This will depend on the kind of story you’re creating, the characteristics of the world, and so on. To simplify things, I’ll divide this into two sections: Before and after computers.
If your story is set in a world before computers, then you’ll most likely be thinking about creating your indigenous group to be kind of stereotypical. Keep in mind when looking at real-life examples, ask yourself this. “Why did they create this? Why did they believe that? How come they behave this way?”
Indigenous people created a club, then a spear, then a bow; if we weren’t killed off, would it be weird to assume we wouldn’t develop swords?
Indigenous people don’t wear clothes; is it because of the climate they are in? Is it because they believe the body is beautiful and has a different standard of beauty?
Indigenous people created herbal medicine; if we weren’t killed off, do you think we’ll just stick with that, or would we continue to craft what we made into more powerful medicine and maybe create pills?
If you’re creating Indigenous people set before computers, think about the area they live in and the climate. Look at others who lived in a similar environment to where you want your group to be. Figure out what and why they did what they did instead of just copying them.
It’s also a good idea to credit who you took inspiration from and speak to them. Ask questions, observe their community and learn their history. It’s the least you can do if you’re going to be using them as a base for creating your indigenous group.
After computers:
If you’re creating an indigenous group of people set in a world that has computers and other advanced technologies, and you keep them in the past, using spears and stuff...yeah...that’s just racist.
People grow with technology; anyone who doesn’t will get killed. The Spaniards and the British discovered how to use guns and smelt iron before the rest of the world, and they used that to their benefit.
Indigenous people of today, the reason why we cling to the past is because that’s all that we have left. Our ancestors didn’t survive long enough to adapt to the new world. So, if you’re creating an indigenous group of people set after computers, make sure they’re at the same level as everyone else and not stuck in the past. We’re not stuck in the past; it’s just that our ancestors couldn’t survive to make it to the present day, and the past is all we have left to prove to everyone we’re still alive.
Language
Depending on the story you’re creating, you don’t need to create a new language for your indigenous group. Take, for example, Avatar the Last Airbender. Nearly everyone is codded or was based on an indigenous group, with the water and air nations being the prominent examples; however, everyone speaks the same language.
If you’re creating a story with multiple different languages, then I recommend having your indigenous culture speak their own language. It’s just an extra bit of world-building that can help define your world better, as you can use this new language to create names and other things.
What are some examples of indigenous people in media?
Someone asked me for some examples of Indigenous people in media so they could see what other creators did and learn from them. The thing is, I can’t answer that, at least not in a way that says, “This is a good example.” Not because I don’t want to, but because I’m Taíno, and my group is so underrepresented that I can’t recall the last time we’ve been in the media.
I can’t and won’t speak on native rep when it comes to indigenous groups of whom I don’t belong. It’s hard to even talk about fictional Indigenous codded characters because most of them take massive inspiration from a single group of Indigenous people.
Examples are the following: The Celtics (Dragon Age Inquisition: Aavar), Aztecs, Mayans, Incans (Maya and the Three) Inuits, (Avatar the Last Airbender: Water Tribe), Native Americans (but more specifically, the natives who reside in modern America and parts of Canada...Avatar: Na’vi)
My view of these characters will differ from someone who’s a part of those cultures, and I won’t speak over their own views and opinions. So I can’t give you any examples for now because I don’t know any. Both The Pirates of the Caribbeans and Our Flag Means Death have Taíno rep. (Whether or not the writers knew natives who live in the Caribbean would be Taíno people is another topic)...I mean, in Dead Man Chest, the natives saw Jack Sparrow as a God...a white guy viewed as a God amongst the Natives...yeah...you can see why I can’t give you any good examples, right?
Overall, there are many factors to consider when creating an Indigenous group. If you have any more questions, please message me, and I’ll try to answer them. I hope you enjoyed this and have a good rest of your day.
Bo-matúm
Hi there, so you want to create an indigenous group in your world that’s not set on Earth? Great! I hope I can help by informing you of some things you should and shouldn’t do while creating your indigenous group for your story!
Before I continue, I must let you know I’m Taíno, and I don’t represent Native people as a whole, let alone represent my community as a whole, which is a perfect segue into the first point!
Indigenous groups aren’t a monolith!
When creating indigenous characters, many people will make everyone behave the same (except for one Native who’s different from the rest, and this is the only Native with whom the main character interacts).
For example, in Pocahontas, a 1995 Disney film, she’s the only one who acts differently from her tribe.
The Na'vi act the same, except for Neytiri.
The point I’m trying to make is that many people, when writing Indigenous characters, create a planet of the hat tropes. Sure, maybe two or three of the characters in a tribe might behave differently, but those are the exceptions. If anything, it proves what I just said: Most Indigenous groups are written to be monoliths.
Where you grow up and where you came from doesn’t automatically make you part of the hivemind. Let’s take the United States, for example. What’s the culture of America? How diverse is it? If I create a tribe based in America, what kind of people would I be making?
The United States isn't a monolith of ideologies and philosophies. An American from the North could have wildly different opinions and beliefs than an American from the South. So why does everyone in your indigenous group follow the same beliefs?
If you want to create a warrior Indigenous group whose central belief is “the strong will prevail” (First of all, that’s not original), but secondly, where’s the scientist? Where are the people who create better weapons to make fighting easier? Where are the people who generate armour so their warriors can stay in the fight longer? Where are the blacksmiths who made these weapons? Where are the teachers and educators to help train the newer warriors? Where are the doctors to help heal those who survived their fights so they can fight another day? Where are the cooks to ensure the warriors can fight on a full stomach?
See where I’m coming from? A society that’s bent on fighting still needs its basic needs met. A cook in a fighting society might be a cook because they don’t like to fight, but they don’t hate others who do. A teacher might be a teacher because they love the history of fighting and have more of a strategic mind than the quick reaction you need while in combat. A builder might be a builder because they can’t fight, but they can support their people by building them houses. Expand your society to something more than just a hivemind.
Religion
It’ll be hard to create an indigenous group without mentioning religion. For this reason, I’ll split this category into those without and those with computers.
Before computers (religion):
I don’t think I know of a single indigenous group with no connection to religion. Religion is the backbone of society. If you’re creating an indigenous tribe in a world that doesn’t have computers, you need to make a religion.
Please understand Indigenous people are the first people to set foot on your land and create a society. They could only survive because of religion. Religion helps teach others what’s right and what’s wrong. What’s dangerous, and what’s safe? To explain the unexplainable. The Norse and the Greek Gods? Those are religions, not myths. Religions that helped their community thrive and expand.
Religion gives a society a set of rules to follow and obey to keep everything in order. If you’re creating a society before computers, yes, many of your indigenous characters will be religious, but that doesn’t mean they’ll be a monolith.
Christians may believe in the same God and read the same book. However, you can still encounter two very different Christians from each other. Your indigenous group who follow a religion don’t all have to be the same person.
If you struggle with creating a religion or may have religious trauma, keep in mind that religion doesn’t have to be a core thing in your indigenous society, but more so, a set of codes and laws that affect the society you’re trying to create.
These codes and laws can be simple: "Thou shall not kill an innocent or steal from the hungry."
To something more complex, like saying a prayer before taking someone’s life or else they'll burn in Hell.
Religion also helps explain the unexplainable. Simple questions such as, "What is life?" "What’s my purpose?" "How was I created?" have been asked thousands of years ago, and all of these questions have been answered by religion in some way or another. Before science, before technology, before we knew the world was round, we had religion to explain things and guide us to where we are today.
After computers (religion):
If you’re creating an indigenous group of people set in a world with technology such as computers, yes, you still need to create a religion for said indigenous group. However, if you don’t want to write about religion, you can avoid it. Just because your indigenous character is indigenous doesn’t mean they have to be religious as well, especially in an age where technology is available.
Take, for example, me. I’m Taíno but not religious, though I understand and acknowledge the religion and myths my people created.
Religion doesn’t play as much of a role in a new-age society as an old-age one, so religion doesn’t have to be in your story if you don’t want it to. However, keep in mind if you’re creating an indigenous group. They wouldn’t have gotten to where they are if they didn’t have religion to guide them.
Culture
What’s the culture of America? Or Australia? What’s British culture? When we think of Indigenous culture, we often think of everyone acting the same. However, that’s only because when their history was being recorded, it was recorded using a biased lens and from a small selection of people that was then generalised for everyone.
Indigenous people have existed for thousands of years. We have a rich culture, and it has changed over the years. Still, we don’t know what we used to be or where we came from because when we were “discovered”, the people who "discovered" us only jotted down notes of what they saw and, more often than not, what they didn’t understand and assumed everyone in our tribe did the same thing when that’s simply not the case. Even “warrior-type” cultures like the Spartans or the Vikings, who fought a lot, had a rich and more profound culture that was more than just beating their opponents.
Indigenous people also spread out and didn’t stay in one area. We travelled and interacted with each other. We didn’t hide in our little corner of the world waiting to be “discovered” because we had already discovered others. Like today, we had beef with our rivals and greeted friends with open arms.
When you create your indigenous group, and you think of what their culture will be like, understand this. Culture is created and changed based on the general ideas and beliefs of the masses. You might have a group of Indigenous people be more peaceful, but then the war came, and they lost, so they changed into a more warrior-focused kind of tribe. Culture is formed and moulded by interaction with others, and often, things such as war will change the culture of a society. However, remember that smaller subcultures will emerge if your society is big enough. This is why it’s impossible to define current US culture.
Also, when talking about your indigenous culture, how big should your indigenous group be? I know 1,000 people sounds like a lot, but that’s a dying community. Depending on the story you’re creating, Indigenous people, before getting killed, were in the millions, just like the modern day. So, there’s a good chance subcultures might’ve formed.
You could have your indigenous group have a cultural mindset where you need to eat lots of food. They’re a peaceful group of people who don’t want to fight. However, they have a military because while they may be quiet, they understand if they’re defenceless, they’ll get killed. So, a warrior from the same tribe might also believe in eating as much as you can, but this warrior might do it for other reasons. The cultural idea of eating lots of food is prevalent in both groups, but they behave differently based on what they do and who they are.
Just remember the one thing I mentioned at the start of this article: Don’t create a monolith or a hive mind. Not everyone in your indigenous group will act the same as everyone else. If this kind of thing is challenging, try imagining the modern world. Not much has changed from when indigenous people roamed the world to what happens today; the main difference is technology and the speed at which everything gets done.
Indigenous people fought amongst themselves; they hated who ruled them, and there was religion, science, and wars, just like today. The only difference was that Indigenous history was erased and changed.
Look at Indigenous people for examples of creating your indigenous society.
This will depend on the kind of story you’re creating, the characteristics of the world, and so on. To simplify things, I’ll divide this into two sections: Before and after computers.
If your story is set in a world before computers, then you’ll most likely be thinking about creating your indigenous group to be kind of stereotypical. Keep in mind when looking at real-life examples, ask yourself this. “Why did they create this? Why did they believe that? How come they behave this way?”
Indigenous people created a club, then a spear, then a bow; if we weren’t killed off, would it be weird to assume we wouldn’t develop swords?
Indigenous people don’t wear clothes; is it because of the climate they are in? Is it because they believe the body is beautiful and has a different standard of beauty?
Indigenous people created herbal medicine; if we weren’t killed off, do you think we’ll just stick with that, or would we continue to craft what we made into more powerful medicine and maybe create pills?
If you’re creating Indigenous people set before computers, think about the area they live in and the climate. Look at others who lived in a similar environment to where you want your group to be. Figure out what and why they did what they did instead of just copying them.
It’s also a good idea to credit who you took inspiration from and speak to them. Ask questions, observe their community and learn their history. It’s the least you can do if you’re going to be using them as a base for creating your indigenous group.
After computers:
If you’re creating an indigenous group of people set in a world that has computers and other advanced technologies, and you keep them in the past, using spears and stuff...yeah...that’s just racist.
People grow with technology; anyone who doesn’t will get killed. The Spaniards and the British discovered how to use guns and smelt iron before the rest of the world, and they used that to their benefit.
Indigenous people of today, the reason why we cling to the past is because that’s all that we have left. Our ancestors didn’t survive long enough to adapt to the new world. So, if you’re creating an indigenous group of people set after computers, make sure they’re at the same level as everyone else and not stuck in the past. We’re not stuck in the past; it’s just that our ancestors couldn’t survive to make it to the present day, and the past is all we have left to prove to everyone we’re still alive.
Language
Depending on the story you’re creating, you don’t need to create a new language for your indigenous group. Take, for example, Avatar the Last Airbender. Nearly everyone is codded or was based on an indigenous group, with the water and air nations being the prominent examples; however, everyone speaks the same language.
If you’re creating a story with multiple different languages, then I recommend having your indigenous culture speak their own language. It’s just an extra bit of world-building that can help define your world better, as you can use this new language to create names and other things.
What are some examples of indigenous people in media?
Someone asked me for some examples of Indigenous people in media so they could see what other creators did and learn from them. The thing is, I can’t answer that, at least not in a way that says, “This is a good example.” Not because I don’t want to, but because I’m Taíno, and my group is so underrepresented that I can’t recall the last time we’ve been in the media.
I can’t and won’t speak on native rep when it comes to indigenous groups of whom I don’t belong. It’s hard to even talk about fictional Indigenous codded characters because most of them take massive inspiration from a single group of Indigenous people.
Examples are the following: The Celtics (Dragon Age Inquisition: Aavar), Aztecs, Mayans, Incans (Maya and the Three) Inuits, (Avatar the Last Airbender: Water Tribe), Native Americans (but more specifically, the natives who reside in modern America and parts of Canada...Avatar: Na’vi)
My view of these characters will differ from someone who’s a part of those cultures, and I won’t speak over their own views and opinions. So I can’t give you any examples for now because I don’t know any. Both The Pirates of the Caribbeans and Our Flag Means Death have Taíno rep. (Whether or not the writers knew natives who live in the Caribbean would be Taíno people is another topic)...I mean, in Dead Man Chest, the natives saw Jack Sparrow as a God...a white guy viewed as a God amongst the Natives...yeah...you can see why I can’t give you any good examples, right?
Overall, there are many factors to consider when creating an Indigenous group. If you have any more questions, please message me, and I’ll try to answer them. I hope you enjoyed this and have a good rest of your day.
Bo-matúm
No comments:
Post a Comment