I appreciate @Toastie pointing this out a while back, because I see it everywhere now. Lummi people don't "consider" a whale to be their relative. Everyone agrees, whether genetically or culturally, that whales and humans are relatives. It's introducing a completely unnecessary mystical separation to word it this way, and just as easy to say "who celebrate their relationship with Lolita" or something like that.
I am not dunking on this. This is by a writer I respect, making an error I absolutely could have made before getting it explained to me.
If you're going to write about Indigenous people, hire Indigenous writers. Hire Indigenous editors. Set up style guides and trainings. It's just a thing we can learn to do better.
@ianrosewrites nods in Black writer.
(Relevant: I recently discussed “storytelling colonialism” in an interview.)
Ian Rose
Leta McCollough Seletzky