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dragonbat2006So... about that novel. Yeah, I've partly got a plan and partly making it up as I go. Story of my life, first draft, yadda yadda yadda. One thing that I do know is that I don't want all of my characters to be white. There are some great blogs that I've been reading about how writers mess up with minority characters and I don't want to find myself ranted about on one some day. (Although, if I do get ranted about, it'll mean that some publisher somewhere saw fit to buy my manuscript, so... sorta win?)
I'd like to include a Native character and here's where I'm running into trouble. From all my reading so far, I know that there is no more a monolithic homogenous Native culture than there is a monolithic homogenous Asian culture. I also recognize that many of the books that I'm reading now are dealing primarily with life on the reservations, which is a whole other lifestyle to wrap my head around and one that I don't think I can absorb with a two-day vacation up north. Because I know that there are several Ojibwe nations in Northern Ontario, I'm leaning heavily toward that tribe.
Things I know I should either avoid or tread very very very carefully with:
1) A character who embodies every romantic noble savage stereotype from being able to track deer in the woods, to fashioning bows and arrows, knowing all the edible plants, curing everything with medicinal teas, has a special bond with woodland creatures... Yeah, there's no careful treading with this. File under: What am I thinking, drinking, or smoking right now?
2) A character who knows nothing of her culture and heritage, doesn't care to, and basically acts like the token characters on a lot of 70s and 80s TV shows, where nobody (including the character) notices or comments on differences until there's a nasty racist character who gets their comeuppance within the next 22 minutes. So, basically, being able to say, "Oh, look! I'm being inclusive!" and then sidestepping everything that would make the character's background relevant. (If the sole time it comes into play is, they're lost in the woods and she immediately guides them back... well, that's a 'tread carefully' one.)
3) A character with no purpose or goal other than to be a support for the hero. Not a supporting character, but a support with no objectives/dreams/desires but for the hero's success.
4) Pointing out the 'otherness' at every opportunity. "Boy, you people eat a lot of beef. Back home, it's more moose and beaver."
5) Using the character as a soapbox to educate the reader, essentially turning her into a walking textbook.
I've gone onto a few sites, one of which has FAQ that includes "Can you help me pick a good Native name for my RPG character?" And the answer to that is "Sure. Click the language you want. If your character is male, use the word for Wolf. If female, use Flower." There's an explanation that names have special significance and it's highly offensive and appropriative to "borrow" a real Indian name. Now I need to find out if there's a problem with surnames in this context. In other words, is it problematic if I name my character "Marianne Lastheels" (Lastheels being an actual last name found among the members of at least one band up around Lake Superior)? Note that I do not know if there's a real person by that name. It's possible, just like there are probably a few Kerri Palmers and Sharon Macklins out there. But it's not deliberate.
The sites that are out there to educate talk about culture, language, and history, but I think what I'm really looking for is someone who could review my drafts/sketches and tell me when I'm drifting into offensive/problematic areas.
I think I am going to go ahead and introduce the character now. Keep her Ojibwe for the time being, as I continue to do research. I've placed some library holds on books and essays by Native writers and I'm hoping that they'll help. Meanwhile, I don't have to do an entire data-dump of lifestory and history in the first paragraph. I'll let her develop and we'll see where this goes. Meanwhile, I'm also going to keep browsing blogs, tumblrs, websites, etc., and do my darndest to get this right. And maybe I'll call up the Native Friendship Centre downtown and see if they have any advice or suggestions.
On the one-hand, I know that "writing what you know" is supposed to be a good rule. On the other hand, I'm writing a story about a fourteen-year-old girl whose best friend is a costumed crimefighter. Something decidedly outside my life experience. Of course... if I mess up on that part, I don't think I'm going to hurt a bunch of best friends of costumed heroes, now. I can't say the same thing about the character I want to introduce.
I'd like to include a Native character and here's where I'm running into trouble. From all my reading so far, I know that there is no more a monolithic homogenous Native culture than there is a monolithic homogenous Asian culture. I also recognize that many of the books that I'm reading now are dealing primarily with life on the reservations, which is a whole other lifestyle to wrap my head around and one that I don't think I can absorb with a two-day vacation up north. Because I know that there are several Ojibwe nations in Northern Ontario, I'm leaning heavily toward that tribe.
Things I know I should either avoid or tread very very very carefully with:
1) A character who embodies every romantic noble savage stereotype from being able to track deer in the woods, to fashioning bows and arrows, knowing all the edible plants, curing everything with medicinal teas, has a special bond with woodland creatures... Yeah, there's no careful treading with this. File under: What am I thinking, drinking, or smoking right now?
2) A character who knows nothing of her culture and heritage, doesn't care to, and basically acts like the token characters on a lot of 70s and 80s TV shows, where nobody (including the character) notices or comments on differences until there's a nasty racist character who gets their comeuppance within the next 22 minutes. So, basically, being able to say, "Oh, look! I'm being inclusive!" and then sidestepping everything that would make the character's background relevant. (If the sole time it comes into play is, they're lost in the woods and she immediately guides them back... well, that's a 'tread carefully' one.)
3) A character with no purpose or goal other than to be a support for the hero. Not a supporting character, but a support with no objectives/dreams/desires but for the hero's success.
4) Pointing out the 'otherness' at every opportunity. "Boy, you people eat a lot of beef. Back home, it's more moose and beaver."
5) Using the character as a soapbox to educate the reader, essentially turning her into a walking textbook.
I've gone onto a few sites, one of which has FAQ that includes "Can you help me pick a good Native name for my RPG character?" And the answer to that is "Sure. Click the language you want. If your character is male, use the word for Wolf. If female, use Flower." There's an explanation that names have special significance and it's highly offensive and appropriative to "borrow" a real Indian name. Now I need to find out if there's a problem with surnames in this context. In other words, is it problematic if I name my character "Marianne Lastheels" (Lastheels being an actual last name found among the members of at least one band up around Lake Superior)? Note that I do not know if there's a real person by that name. It's possible, just like there are probably a few Kerri Palmers and Sharon Macklins out there. But it's not deliberate.
The sites that are out there to educate talk about culture, language, and history, but I think what I'm really looking for is someone who could review my drafts/sketches and tell me when I'm drifting into offensive/problematic areas.
I think I am going to go ahead and introduce the character now. Keep her Ojibwe for the time being, as I continue to do research. I've placed some library holds on books and essays by Native writers and I'm hoping that they'll help. Meanwhile, I don't have to do an entire data-dump of lifestory and history in the first paragraph. I'll let her develop and we'll see where this goes. Meanwhile, I'm also going to keep browsing blogs, tumblrs, websites, etc., and do my darndest to get this right. And maybe I'll call up the Native Friendship Centre downtown and see if they have any advice or suggestions.
On the one-hand, I know that "writing what you know" is supposed to be a good rule. On the other hand, I'm writing a story about a fourteen-year-old girl whose best friend is a costumed crimefighter. Something decidedly outside my life experience. Of course... if I mess up on that part, I don't think I'm going to hurt a bunch of best friends of costumed heroes, now. I can't say the same thing about the character I want to introduce.
