Anti-Indigenous sentiment in TTRPGs is real and needs to be addressed. So here I am addressing it. Instead of calling it out game by game, I’m going to call it out by genre. Inb4 trolls: yes, I’m Native American, Turtle Islander. 1/19

SciFi - We don’t exist. No Natives in space. But, they will Native-code alien races, because that’s not dehumanizing or anything. When aliens are Native-coded, they always have the same attributes: they REALLY like nature, BOWS?!?, weird singing oooo spooky, feathers?? 2/19

tragic past where settlers came in and destroyed their homes but now these new settlers are gonna help!, Dances With Wolves SPACE EDITION. You do not have the option to make Native PCs. 3/19

Superhero - We don’t exist. Or if we do, it’s A NPC. And he (always male) is VERY WISE. And has A BRAID. And gives the EXACT advice the PCs need. And he’s got some bullshit name haphazardly designed by settlers. It’s probably got “running” or “wolf” or “thunder” in it. 4/19

If he does speak in his native language, he will only chant into a void. Also, he’s constantly offering a peace pipe to the PCs. You do not have the option to make Native PCs. 5/19

Fantasy - Okay, so we exist, but it’s a random amalgamation of tribes, called something very not Native. There are lots of “shamans”, even though that’s not a phrase we use. Sometimes, you’ll be able to see whole tribes and they will make even less sense than before. 6/19

Any art will have tipis & totem poles, and if you try to explain to people why this doesn’t make sense, they’ll say that you can pack a totem pole and this is WRONG. Sometimes they’re matriarchal, which is ok, but often they’re weirdly patriarchal in a way that mirrors WASP 7/19

homes and doesn’t make sense. If a monstrous race is Native-coded, it will be racist and dehumanizing, and when you try to point it out, people will tell you “no, those aren’t Natives, those are <insert fantasy bullshit race here>.” 8/19

You typically can make Native PCs, but to feel comfortable, you’re going to wind up either changing a lot, or just ignoring a lot of canon. 9/19

Wild West - OH HEY THERE WE ARE. We’re super mystical and wise and all knowing but we deeply distrust you. We summoned our monsters to kill your flaxen wives in your honest settler homes. 10/19

Honestly, this is a little bit of call out for Deadlands, but at least they gave every Turtle Islander what they wanted - a GIANT SIOUX NATION THAT DECLARED WAR ON THE US. “Thematic slurs” everywhere. Native women exist! But they’re either “savage beauties” wearing nothing 11/19

but a prayer and a buckskin strap, or “squaw mothers” and old and unattractive. All the warriors are men. AND THEY ALL SPEAKUM LIKEUM THIS. Stop it. Get some help. 12/19

You can make Native PCs, but the NPCs are all written to be racist towards you, and you can’t use guns for some bullshit reason. 13/19

Horror - We’re either long dead and cursing your home, or we’re still here and cursing your home. We’re always subtly the bad guys, because we just won’t leave settlers alone!!!!111!! Or you’re playing something Lovecraftian and your Native friend goes 14/19

“oh hey, that trope is SUPER racist” and you feel the need to explain to them that these aren’t Natives, they’re <insert Lovecraft bullshit>. If you can make a Native PC, you have more sanity than all of the white PCs and tbh, that’s just how we actually live our lives. 15/19

Also, all of these games will use Native creatures as spooky monsters, and when you’re confused, some neckbeard settler will attempt to explain your own culture to you and you will be mad. HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU, D&D SK*NW*LK*RS. 16/19

Additionally, the land that the Native tribes live on will not make sense for their tribal style, and the creatures around won’t make a lot of sense either. They’ll be hunting buffalo in a swamp and find thunderbird eggs in trees. 17/19

Also, what is up with quests that demand you to go steal thunderbird eggs???? What settler wrote this nonsense??? 18/19

Anyway, hi, I’m Shay and if you want to know how to properly write Native people in your TTRPG, you should hire Native people (me! I’m included in that! Hire me!) to write and consult with before publication. 19/19