"Am I writing the literary equivalent of no-man's land?" / "It's my story and I'll do what I want"
Not long ago I got the urge to write a fantasy story that would be my answer to the seeming abundance of Medieval European-based stories. I realized that the cultures and mythologies of native societies of North and South America are practically infinite sources of ideas.
I created a world and filled it with people, a pantheon, magic, and magical creatures based on creatures from native mythologies, along with some creatures I just made up. I love my story and I believe in it.
I've searched for similar Native-inspired fantasies and haven't found much. Note that I say Native-inspired. I make the distinction from Native-based in that I am not using any names or words from real life native culture, I am making up as much as I can and only flavoring the story so that it has the feel of a story about native people. It's not even Earth. The most common weapons are bows, spears, and hatchets (not tomahawks, which would be a real world reference).
Anyway, my point is, there is a trope about "magical Native Americans". I'm not trying to go there, but yes, my fantasy people live in tribes, use Stone Age technology, and there is magic in the world (though only a small percentage of the people can use it, most everyone else is just "normal"). I guess part of me is like, should I be writing this? And the other part says, yes, it's your story and you love it. I'm trying to be confident in the story and not worry that I might, Heaven forbid, offend someone.
Sorry for the long post, it's just been on my mind lately.