Screaming into the void: I'm not your paperdoll.
Disclaimer: I am not gonna name neither the particular author nor book(s) that prompted the following rant. For many reasons, but the main one is this: They are merely one person in an ongoing problem. Pointing directly at them solves nothing in the bigger picture. Hell, this post will probably solve nothing, even small-picture. But I’ll shout into the void, because holding the screams back are leaving my throat raw.
Recently I was made aware of a romance featuring Native Americans. I was hesitant, actually, no. Hesitant is too calm of a word. I instantly bristled. I’ve had too many bad run-ins with supposed Native characters. They’re either built strictly with stereotypes, a walking, talking trope, or blatantly racist. It’s a knee-jerk reaction now. See Native Character, Start Growling Under My Breath.
Right away, just from the blurb, I knew I was right to bristle.
I skimmed the sample. I went back and read it further. I went back a third time and read slowly, taking in every word, every description. Then I set my phone down and screamed.
It was everything I knew it would be. In some spots, it was worse. It was so stereotypical, so trope-filled, so offensive it was racist. And, to the best of my knowledge, no one had breathed a word about it.
Maybe no one has really read it, I thought. Maybe – maybe people just don’t know. A quick glance through goodreads, amazon, and the author’s social media told me otherwise. People read. People squealed. People promoted. People rated it, and their other books featuring Native characters, five stars and praised the author. As far as I could see, no one had brought up how badly the author treated Natives and Native culture.
This isn’t the first time this has happened. It won’t be the last. The writing was a knife in my gut. But the silence was that knife being yanked out, plunged back in, and twisted. This is me. This is mine. This is who I am and where I come from. These are my pieces and parts and they were treated so carelessly and people approved.
The thing is this: Natives aren’t some mythical creatures you can just wing. You can’t make up your own rules. We’re real. We have a real culture and real stories and experiences. Those stories and experiences are vastly different from each other, yes, but our culture, our lives, our identity is not some playset you can plunk down caricatures in and call it representation. You can’t praise yourself for writing diversely when what you’ve done is created an offensive parody. You are helping no one but yourself. In fact, by pushing damaging stereotypes, you’re actually hurting us. Us, who absolutely exist. Who have spent our lives being removed. Who have been forcefully taken from, who continue to be forcefully taken from, who aren’t just scarred but are constantly rewounded.
Stop. Just stop. Stop treating us like toys. Like paperdolls. Stop using us to get a seat at the table, especially when you have the run of the cafeteria. I’m not saying to stop writing Native characters. Please don’t stop writing Native characters. Write them on the reservation. Off the reservation. Write assimilated Natives. Write white-passing Natives. Write Native MCs because they are a shouting voice in your head, a pull in your guts and bones, a demanding presence with a story that won’t leave you alone. Don’t write Natives because you think it’s an easy way to get diversity points. Don’t write Natives if you’re not willing to work, PROPERLY WORK, at getting it right. A quick skim of a wiki article is not properly working. Reading other, offensive portrayals of Natives is not properly working. Do your work and show it. Otherwise, write something else. Anything else. Because we’re flesh and blood and we deserve stories made of flesh and blood. You want to borrow our culture? You want to tell our stories? Okay. At least give us that much respect while you're doing it.
