Hi, I am making a world with a friend and we’re trying to write a few characters who are based on alaska native cultures since we live up here. it’s about two friends and one of them meets a sphinx god, saying how they need to find its siblings. but we haven’t gotten that far into the writing lol because we are trying to do more research on different cultures.
We are trying to make a few fantasy characters who are based on Inupiat culture specifically. Is it okay to give them both traditional tattoos? I’ve heard that it’s a closed practice that only Inuits can do. I am only 1/4 Inupiaq(on my mother’s side) but I would not feel comfortable giving a character a closed practice tradition. How would I go about giving them tattoos (Inuit or not)?
Adding on to this how would I go about writing a fantasy native culture based on a real native culture without being offensive? I mainly live in more urban areas without much native culture around me, plus i was raised by my white dad lol. I would love to learn i just don’t know where to start.