How Indigenous Writers Are Reinventing Speculative Fiction (Rebroadcast)

WAMU 88.5 | By Kathryn Fink

Published May 16, 2022 at 8:07 AM CDT

Circa 1958: An artist's impression of the future of commuting: a futuristic monorail to transport people to and from suburbia and their waiting families.

Even in its earliest days, science fiction has captivated readers because of its ability to transport them to new worlds. From authors like H.G. Wells to Philip K. Dick, the genre imagined possibilities that have gone on to influence real-life science.

But for some the legacy of science fiction is rooted in racism. It’s a genre that’s struggled to imagine a future with Black and Indigenous people.

But some Native authors are turning sci-fi and speculative fiction on its head by reimagining the genre beyond its Eurocentric tropes. Coupled with the release of shows like “Lovecraft Country,” these storytellers are taking aim at a genre that has historically left them out.

We’re talking to acclaimed Indigenous writers Stephen Graham Jones and Darcie Little Badger about how they’re reinventing science fiction, the publishing industry and beyond.