#indigenous Katniss Everdeen

[autismnation]

seeing people deny katniss being clearly indigenous coded really irritates me.

a lot of people use the excuse that, because she’s in the woods most of her time, she’s in the sun and gets a tan. she says that she, like everyone in the seam, has olive skin/dark hair/gray eyes. so unless everyone in the seam is also going out into the woods (spoiler alert: they’re not. in fact, they’re spending most of the time in the mines, away from the sun.) then katniss is a woman of colour.

but, okay, let’s ignore the signs that she is indigenous. she is still a person of colour! that’s the whole point of the seam/merchant sections in town.

it’s about class inequality and how race plays a part in that!

[birdiebats]

Katnissssss 🥺🥺🥺

[insomniaruler]

Send help, I’m ✨thinking✨ again.

Do you think 60-ish years after the second rebellion. Katniss now wheelchair bound, and her husband. Both old, grey and aching watch dawn come. So so similar too that last morning in the 74th games. They walk in town and a little girl who looks a little like Delly runs up too them, gap between her two front teeth whistling and asks. “Aunt Katniss!!! Are robins songbirds???” And runs off again when given the affirmative.

Katniss laughs, long since grey, she’s seen as an elder among her people. She teaches about the forest still surrounding them, she teaches about the plants and animals within it, just as her father taught her. “What is it?” Peeta asks, leaning heavily on his cane. “Todays reaping day. The square is full of laughter and I woke up happy.” Katniss sighs, realizing this is everything they fought, lost and killed for.

“And believe it or not we’re just the ‘grandparents’. I haven’t heard about The MockingJay or her Mad lover in years.” Peeta chuckles as Katniss scowls up at him. “You know I hear there’s cheese buns back home.” and Peeta takes off as fast as his old leg and cane could carry him. Shouting and cursing in both the languages Katniss knew she followed him, discarding her blanket and her hair flying out of the twin plaits she braided that morning.

It is July the fourth and there are, no tears, or ducklings.

[heartforeyes]

Also! they work in the mines, how are they going to be white and tanned?

Out of curiosity, do you know of any meta/longer essay about Katniss' coding as native? Otherwise I'd also love to hear your thoughts on it!

I don't know of any existing essays but I can share a few quick points that come to the top of my head:

People from the Seam of District 12 are described to have olive skin and dark hair.

I watch as Gale pulls out his knife and slices the bread. He could be my brother. Straight black hair, olive skin, we even have the same grey eyes. But we’re not related, at least not closely. Most of the families who work the mines resemble one another this way.

We do resemble each other, though, quite a bit. We have that Seam look. Dark straight hair, olive skin, grey eyes.

The woman, Seeder, [from District 11, which has a largely described Black population based on how most other characters are described to have dark skin] looks almost like she could be from the Seam, with her olive skin and straight black hair streaked with silver.

I've seen some people before try to say that "olive" could just mean white and tanned, but I'd like to say to that, quit fooling yourself. It's literally said right here that it's a genetic trait carried by multiple people of the same background; Katniss calls it "that Seam look". And before we talk about that background, I want to also zone in on something else about her appearance: that iconic braid. Katniss associates her braid with her identity.

I put my hair in the single braid down my back. This is the first time since the morning of the reaping that I resemble myself. No fancy hair and clothes, no flaming capes. Just me. Looking like I could be headed for the woods. It calms me.

As an Indigenous teen reading these books for the first time, even one with as much internal racism as I had, I high key related to this. For most Native Nations, braids hold more significance than just a style. I can't speak for everyone of course, but for my people it's about a connection with the Creator. But plenty people who don't follow those traditional beliefs still wear their hair long and braided, because it's part of our identity. Just like Katniss. It becomes her "trademark", because this hairstyle, while simple enough, obviously does not hold the same significance to people outside the Seam.

And back to the Seam... District 12 has a divided population that Katniss repeatedly describes as separated by those who come from the Seam like her, and those that don't. People outside the Seam are described to have pale skin and blonde hair, and are generally treated better by the Captiol / have more wealth.

Gale knows his anger at Madge is misdirected. ... "It’s to the Capitol’s advantage to have us divided among ourselves," he might say if there were no ears to hear but mine.

People within the Seam treat each other like family, making it easy for people in the Capitol to think Gale and Katniss are directly related. They are called cousins even though they aren't by a white lens/use of that word.

There is also a disapproval of people intermarrying, as alluded by Katniss asking about what Peeta's parents think of his crush on her.

"I’m sure that would thrill your parents, you liking a girl from the Seam," I say. "Hardly. But I couldn’t care less."

It is a deliberate sectioning off of people based on their racial/ethnic background to create a further class divide. It reads like a reserve. The Seam equates to a res.

[diyvampyrism]

People who draw katniss indigenous I owe my life to you

[generisydtoo]

Katniss Everdeen

Currently rereading the first book (this time with an audiobook), and I’m loving it so far! I hadn’t read the series since middle school, and I forgot just how detailed and immersive the books can be. I especially love hearing Katniss’s thoughts and humor— many of which gets lost in the movies bc she isn’t the narrator.

I’m excited to listen to the rest of story! Shout out to the person narrating the one I’m reading.

[bethanyeliseart]

the sound of snow falling

lucy gray & sejanus drawn as portrayed by rachel zegler & josh andrés rivera but I drew katniss & peeta to how I pictured them in the books

[punkeropercyjackson]

Spiderman aus?No,Spiderpunk aus.I want more characters as Hobie Variants

[sixseasonsofodestawithatardis]

🔥?

Okay, so I'm not sure if this is an unpopular opinion, but to me, many of the characters within the narrative of THG are disabled/ have experienced disability in some way! Sorry for how long this post this about to be!

I'll explain further just so others can understand my thought process:

Katniss- Goes deaf in the first book, and whilst that is cured in the 2nd, throughout the rest of the trilogy has PTSD/ trauma, which is a disability/ becomes disabling.

EDIT: Katniss is indigenous (Gale and Haymitch are also part of the seam!) How disability and race intersect is important, too!

Peeta- Loses his leg and has to use a prosthetic, a visible disability, on top of the hijacking and how that affects his mental health.

Johanna- Also has PTSD and severe Hydrophobia due to being electrocuted by the Capitol- to the point where she can't go out into the rain and is used against her when applying to D 13's army. (Not sure if that's 100% correct, but Johanna stans, feel free to correct me!)

Beetee- Again, most likely has PTSD, but also in book 3, due to the lightning ( I think), he is in a wheelchair.

Enobaria- Again, PTSD; I also want to include how her teeth were fashioned into fangs ( Idr if it happened in the book!) But I'm unsure how that would affect her emotionally, physically, medically, etc., so I can't get deeper into that. I've put it down anyway.

Mags- Had a stroke, and her speech isn't as clear as it used to be. Also, she uses a cane, which was taken away from her during the 75th games, presumably because it can be used as a weapon, and she had to rely on Finnick to be mobile during that time in the arena, on top of PTSD or some form of trauma.

Haymitch- Has PTSD (i.e. the bad nightmares), and whilst nothing is said in the book, the alcoholism he has to use to cope with everything has probably messed his liver up. On top of that, the withdrawal symptoms whilst sobering up in D13 were probably disabling, too.

Annie- Has PTSD or Psychosis. She has hallucinations, putting her hands to her ears when triggered by things that remind her of the 70th games or being tortured.

Finnick- PTSD and had multiple breakdowns in D13. On top of the trauma that comes with sexual exploitation, which many other Victors would also have (maybe not the same presentation of symptoms/ coping mechanisms!) if/when Snow forced them into prostitution.

Also, obviously, Chaff, Seeder, Wiress, Cashmere, Cecilia, and basically every Victor is dealing with the trauma and various mental and physical problems after the games, which again are disabilities or disabling!

Non- Victors

Mrs Everdeen- Has depression that renders her mute and unresponsive after Mr Everdeen's death.

Gale- Not stated explicitly, but having to work in the same mines that killed your father, having to then be the one to have to hunt so they survive on top of being in poverty, and then having to save as many people from your district when Snow tries to bomb it would lead to some sort of impact on your mental, physical and emotional health. Also, the whipping he received in Catching Fire would leave a massive injury and be a nightmare for anyone.

Madge's mom- Has constant migraines, which I assume increased after Maysilee's death.

Pollux—He has his tongue cut out and communicates through gestures; this also applies to the rest of the Avox's.

District 10 Boy- in the 74th games, this tribute is described as having a crippled foot.

Those are all the characters from the book who are disabled or become disabled by the system. And I think the fandom forgets that a lot—which isn't helped by the movies erasing things like Johanna's Hydrophobia or Peeta's prosthetic leg. This is annoying to me as many characters, such as Annie, will get ableism thrown their way, yet that person's favourite character will actually be considered disabled- also because I am a disabled woman and having to put up with ableism is a nightmare anyway.

I know we talk about trauma such as PTSD and Psychosis a lot in this fandom, as we should! It's imperative to the message of THG's and the characters of these books! But I've never seen someone explicitly say these characters are disabled; they count as disability representation. And I think if we did that, then

a) We could talk about things like psychosis, PTSD and other traumas these characters experience with greater insight and find empathy and strength within characters we couldn't before and maybe the ableism thrown at the characters would lessen a bit as well.

b) Calling it disability/ disabling on top of the diagnosis would enable us to examine other bits of Panem and see another way it affects people. It would also provide a greater depth of analysis in terms of how we talk about poverty, the games, and other things within the narrative.

Such as how if you were a wheelchair user in the districts, especially D8-12, you wouldn't have access to a mobility aid, so you are either forced to find or create an unsuitable mobility aid such as a cane or are effectively left without aid. On top of this, if they did have a wheelchair (I highly doubt it!) It would be taken away because it could be used as a weapon ( like Glimmer's ring or Mags's cane- also, wheelchairs make good battering rams), so you would be left immobile. We could also discuss how D1-D4 are wealthier and how that affects things like disability and healthcare compared to D7, 8, 9, 10,11,12. Also how D1, D2, D3 and 5 or 6 have the materials or would be the Districts most able to make mobility aids if the Capitol even let them.

This is also a double-edged sword because I know if this conversation around disability within THG starts, there will be many that are going to have some terrible takes. It's going to make my blood pressure rise, and it'll be a nightmare to combat and, as a disabled woman, worse to read. And if this discussion does take off, then I'm gonna need this fandom to understand the three models of disability at a bare minimum! Not that you can't comment without that knowledge at all it just will save a lot of bad takes!

DISCLAIMER- I am just one disabled woman. There are plenty of disabled ppl within this fandom with a different opinion from mine, and I AM NOT AN EXPERT on disability!

TLDR: Many of the characters are disabled and yet face ableism within fandom when they shouldn't. We should start explicitly analysing the series through a disability lens on top of the ones we already explore, but I am terrified by the terrible takes and analysis that would occur.

Thank you for sending in an ask; I'm always happy to answer more! Also, I'm so sorry it's so long. It's probably not what you were expecting for an unpopular take ask. I had a huge thought process for this one, and I really wanted to go in-depth and try to make sure others understood!

Also, I love your odesta fanfiic's and can't wait to read more 🙂!

[thelightningthicf]

i reread the end of mockingjay recently just to feel something and i was reminded that katniss has gray eyes, cuz for some reason my brain cannot accept it.

and it got me thinking about a parallel universe where kat has brown eyes like i've always imagined it. because brown eyes are usually described as being big, soulful, deep, innocent and katniss is literally a feral chihuahua, while peeta has blue eyes. blue eyes are usually described as cold or icy, but peeta is literally the kindest golden retriever ever. i think it would be sweet.

[anniecrestalover]

indigenous Katniss>>>>

[birdiebats]

Angsty angst times

[sukibenders]

Sometimes I think people only read the part of Katniss describing Rue as being similar to Prim in size and demeanor, but nothing else because it's still wild to me how people thought Rue was white/were surprised that she was played by a black actress, even though she's described as having "dark brown skin and eyes". Like some people either can't read or were just making dumb excuses for their racism (both).

[billihill]

I asked an AI text to image generator to picture Katniss Everdeen as an indigenous woman and the results have me on a chokehold

[ladyimaginarium]

i'm beautiful and bad and i'll destroy everything

beautiful and bad — nicole dollanganger.

[scout-sms]

If I see y’all fancasting Katniss Everdeen, the actor better be fucking Indigenous.