I’m considering writing the merfolk in my story as a sort of metaphor for indigenous peoples, as well as other sea-dwelling or otherwise aquatic humans. Is this inherently problematic in and of itself, or is there a way to write this that works and is respectful to actual indigenous folks? If it’s inherently disrespectful, I can nix the idea, but as of current I don’t have any other equivalents to write them in with. I’m sure I could figure something out easily enough, though.
If you haven’t already explored the literary genre of Afrofuturism or Caribbean futurism, it would be good to read some exisiting literature. The Deep by Rivers Solomon depicts merfolk as the descendents of pregnant African women thrown overboard from slave ships. Tentacle by Rita Indiana doesn’t explicitly contain merfolk, but it does focus on water deities and mystical properties of the sea (as well as time travel and colonialism) in order to represent indigenous perspectives.
Have you watched Avatar: The Way of Water? It’s pretty much what you want 😂
What aspect of indigenous peoples would you want to represent? Think about that in detail, and think about whether what you want to represent might just be a stereotype.
I can imagine that this can be done tastefully. But it could also turn out really horrible. What specifically do you mean by a sort of metaphor? Do you want to go into some indigenous social constructs and living conditions? If so, WHAT groups specifically?
Do you only want to talk about stolen land and shamans? I would advise against that. The question is more nuanced and you have to be more detailed to get usable answers
Being overpowered by civilization is a universal human experience. You are allowed to write about that. Everyone’s ancestors were conquered, and each of us is tyrannized by the mere existence of civilization.
The books that get various complex cultures right, have friends/advisors that are native to those cultures to explain nuances - read drafts and offer edits.
