indigenous characters in animation — the thread 🧵

indigenous characters in animation — the thread 🧵

lilo & stitch (2002) — lilo, nani and their family are native hawaiian; the story is set on kaua‘i

+ the directors worked with hula master mark keali‘i ho‘omalu to stage the hula sequences and he also contributed to standout songs like “hawaiian roller coaster ride” youtu.be/kXB-Ibr55LI?si…

avatar: the last airbender (2005) — katara, sokka and the water tribe take heavy inspiration from inuit culture

the legend of korra (2012) — korra and much of the water tribe are inspired by inuit cultures from greenland, canada and alaska

moana (2016) — moana of motunui is rooted in polynesian / māori traditions and is voiced by auli‘i cravalho, who is indigenous the film was also released in te reo tahiti, te reo māori and ʻōlelo hawaiʻi.

brother bear (2003) — kenai, sitka and denahi were influenced by inuit traditions disney consulted angayuqaq oscar kawagley (a yup’ik anthropologist and language educator) and incorporated aspects of his inuktitut work into the film

the road to el dorado (2000) — chel is portrayed as a young indigenous woman from south america el dorado blends elements from aztec, maya and inca cultures

the emperor’s new groove (2000) — kuzco is framed as a young inca ruler early drafts of the story referenced inca names and places (for example manco capac and cusco) kids.nationalgeographic.com/history/articl…

golden kamuy (2020) — asirpa is a member of the ainu people, who traditionally live on hokkaido and nearby islands hiroshi nakagawa (emeritus professor at chiba university) contributed as a language supervisor and cultural consultant for the series

spirit: stallion of the cimarron (2002) — little creek is depicted as a member of the lakota tribe

frozen (2013) & frozen II (2019) — iduna, elsa, anna and the northuldra draw on sami culture disney partnered with sami representatives to improve authenticity and some proceeds from frozen II were directed to a sami council

kida from atlantis: the lost empire (2001) — though she’s not from a real indigenous culture, her character design and world draw from many indigenous influences (mayan, polynesian, west african, etc) and she’s voiced by cree summer, who is cree herself

infinity train (2019) — jesse cosay is written as apache in the original english cast, robbie daymond (who also has apache ancestry) provides the voice

encanto (2021) — the madrigal family and their village were inspired by the zenú people of colombia zenú consultants participated in the film’s production culturalsurvival.org/news/indigenou…

klaus (2019) — margu and her family are sami. sami actress neda margrethe labba voices margu; director sergio pablos traveled to tromsø to record her, using interpreters because she didn’t speak english and he didn’t speak sami

molly of denali (2019) — molly mabray is an alaska native (the show centers on alaskan native culture) the show provides an authentic reflection of life in alaska with alaskan native voices (like sovereign bill) involved in all aspects of production

spirit rangers (2022) — an animated show created by karissa valencia (a member of the santa ynez chumash tribe) that features Indigenous characters and themes

the casagrandes (2019) — introduced a lakota character, charles little bull, making him one of the first lakota figures in a widely watched american cartoon

end of thread — i might’ve missed some, so if you know other indigenous characters or shows pls feel free to drop them below ❤️🪶

how could i forget 😭 king of the hill (1997) — john redcorn is a comanche/apache character. he was voiced by jonathan joss (of comanche + white mountain apache descent) for most of the show unfortunately joss was tragically murdered in 2025