This collection proceeds from a few basic observations. First, that there is fairly little representation of Indigenous peoples in video games. Second, that of the games that do exist, many are at risk of being lost to history. Our goal, then, in creating this collection is to bring more attention and access to the types of representations that do exist across computer and video gaming’s over forty year history.
The focus of this site is not to provide an evaluation of what constitutes good or accurate depiction. Instead, we hope to act as a resource providing a starting point for exploring Indigenous representation in gaming. We do not and cannot claim to be a comprehensive list. However, with this site we are attempting to be as comprehensive as possible about commercially released games. The site also includes information on selected free to play online games (particularly those created by Indigenous developers), and we hope to continue to add to those entries as we have time and access to them.
While we have attempted to be as comprehensive as possible in the creation of this site, the list we have created is ultimately a convenience sample. The list has been compiled from a review of scholarly literature, the use of online sources, and the collaboration of a number of scholars and gamers. As new titles are released, or as old titles are discovered, they are added to the list.
In order to make our task manageable, there are some parameters around which games are included in this version of the list:
- Turtle Island/North America: Currently only focusing on games that depict the Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island/North America. Thus, games like Aritana and the Harpy’s Feather, which is based in South American Indigenous cultures, are not included in this list
- Must be reviewable: We are unable to include games that are not reviewable. Thus, all games in this collection must be available in America and/or reviewable in English. Thus, the Korean game Apachacha IS included in the collection because playthroughs of this simple platformer are available. However, Dead End Junction, a Japanese visual novel, is not included
- Must contain a human character: We are currently focusing on games with Indigenous human characters. Thus, games like Until Dawn, which explicitly references the Cree tribe and wendigos, is not included as there are no Native characters in the game. Similarly, games like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy 7 are not included. While the Tauren of WoW and Red13 from FF7 seem inspired by Native American tropes, we have elected to first focus on games with specific human characters.
- Must be available on console or PC. Given both the breadth and the ephemerality of mobile games (which can be pulled from app stores without notice), we have elected to focus first on games that release for PC and/or console. Thus, a game like Marvel Future Fight, which includes Warpath as a playable character, is not included on this list because it was only released on mobile.
Finally, it will be worth briefly commenting on the process and intention of the Game Articles found on this site. These articles not meant to be evaluative about the quality of the games or the quality of the representation. They also do not provide extensive plot summaries. While some game articles may summarize the plot at length, the focus in these descriptions is always on helping a potential teacher or researcher where and how much Indigenous content they will find in the games.
Whenever possible, game articles use information from howtobeat.com to estimate game length. This provides an easy method to look at the average play length across a variety of players. When howtobeat.com does not list a length, video playthroughs and personal experience are used to estimate an average playtime.
It is worth noting that this site will invariably contain explicit and offensive content. Such is the history of Indigenous representation in media, and games are no exception. Nonetheless, when possible, content warnings have been provided on the relevant articles.
The following timeline is a list of all games included in the archive based on the year of release. Included in each entry are the cover art, the genre, and the system(s) of release. CONTENT WARNING: the cover art for some games may be disturbing to some viewers as they contain explicit sexual imagery. Proceed with caution.