What is Indigenous Futurism, and How the Aztecverse Helps Nurture It

If you’ve been following the recent surge in speculative fiction, you’ve likely heard the term Indigenous Futurism. But what exactly is it? Is it a new sub-genre, a marketing trend, or something deeper?

For many readers and creators, Indigenous Futurism is more than just "Native people in space." It is a movement that centers Indigenous worldviews—traditional knowledge, non-linear time, and sovereignty—to imagine futures where we don't just survive, but thrive.

A Growing Movement, Not a "Flash in the Pan"

While the term was first coined by scholar Grace L. Dillon in 2003, the movement has seen an explosion in the 2020s. Industry data for 2025 and 2026 shows that genre-blending and diverse perspectives are no longer "niche." Major publishers are increasingly looking for stories that defy Western tropes—like the "linear progress" often seen in classic sci-fi—and instead offer "Native Slipstream" narratives where the past, present, and future flow together simultaneously.

How Cesar Torres' Aztecverse Fits In

I never set out to create the Aztecverse. To be honest, it took a hold of  me. This may sound odd or esoteric, but it's my lived experience. Every book I have ever published presents the Aztec pantheon intersecting with 21st century humans (and their technology). In How to Kill a Superhero, Roland connects with the god Tezcatlipoca, but through modern costuming like spandex, and in a modern setting where the Internet pervades culture.  I also tend to write into the future, setting 9 Lords of Night in 2025, for example, even though I wrote it in 2016-2017. I write about futurism because I love sci-fi, and I only use historical fiction elements lightly, like in Our Lord of the Flowers. Yet every book takes us forward in time (or at least in the primitive, linear way we understand time). 

Leading Voices Defining the Field

To understand the current flow of this movement, one must look to the authors currently leading the charge.

• Rebecca Roanhorse: Her Between Earth and Sky trilogy (beginning with Black Sun) is a masterclass in Pre-Columbian inspired epic fantasy. It has swept the Hugo and Nebula awards, proving that Indigenous-centered world-building has massive global appeal.
• Cherie Dimaline: Known for the hauntingly beautiful The Marrow Thieves, Dimaline’s work explores the resilience of Indigenous people in the face of climate collapse. Her stories are essential for understanding how futurism can be used to process both trauma and hope.

How the Aztecverse Nurtures This Vision

The Aztecverse—encompassing The Coil, How to Kill a Superhero, and Our Lord of the Flowers—is also kin to indigenous futurism. Rather than competing, I see these stories as part of a collective "sovereignty of the imagination." The Aztecverse helps nurture Indigenous Futurism by:

• Replacing the "Colonial Gaze": In most sci-fi, "first contact" is a metaphor for colonization. In the Aztecverse, the contact has already happened, the apocalypse is in the rearview mirror, and the story is about what we build next.
• Integrating Indigenous Science: Instead of relying solely on Western physics, the Aztecverse looks at Mesoamerican concepts of duality (Ometeotl) and the fluidity of the soul as legitimate "technologies" for navigating the multiverse.
• Decolonizing Identity: By centering Indigiqueer and Two-Spirit perspectives, the Aztecverse asserts that the future is as diverse as our ancestors' most ancient traditions.

Indigenous Futurism may one day be forgotten as a genre or literary movement, or it may not. What I can tell you is that I am not alone in wanting to create futuristic visions of humanity in fiction that are informed by the ideas and teachings of my actual ancestors and their knowledge. I refuse to capitulate to colonialism, and my own body of work reflects that refusal. If you feel strongly about these topics, don't hesitate to contact me.

Research & References

• Grace L. Dillon, Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction – The definitive text that launched the academic study of the movement.
• Literary Hub, Writing Toward a Definition of Indigenous Futurism – An excellent essay on the roots of the genre and its debt to Afrofuturism.
• Strange Horizons, Indigenous Futurisms Roundtable – A conversation between leading authors on decolonizing the "final frontier."
• Rebecca Roanhorse Official Site, The World of Black Sun – Exploring the Pre-Columbian inspirations behind her epic fantasy.
• Cherie Dimaline Official Site, The Marrow Thieves – Resources and background on the themes of Indigenous resilience.
• Cesar Torres, The Aztecverse Series Guide – My interactive map of the gods, tech, and timelines of the Aztecverse.