So I will try to make this as coherent as possible. Basically I am in the portion of my story where the origin of a fictional town I created is revealed. It starts with a discussion between Mormon Leaders about what to do with a piece of territory not too far from Moab's settlement. This would be around the time that Moab's town was permanently established (1878). Some time after that they discover another piece of land fit for ranches as well as rich in ore deposits for mining. However, as they attempt to establish a town in the area, they find themselves under hostile attack from a fictional tribe of Native Americans in the area. The meeting is interrupted by a man who declares that he will take the territory. A night raid is then conducted in the tribe’s camp leading to the slaughter of their majority as well as the capture and enslavement of the remaining survivors. The territory is successfully appropriated and a town is built. What I am going for here is that the tribe was secretly guarding a cave that the settlers discover and turn into a mine shaft, where they find a horrible secret awaiting them. What should the timeline be here to have it make sense in regards to the mine shaft being built? Would it make sense for an unknown tribe to inhabit the area around this time period? Also, would it make sense for Mormon Leaders (or whoever) to have a specific meeting about this territory? Please feel free to point out the weaknesses in any other inaccuracies for me. I am looking to improve and make sense. Thanks for any help or insight from you guys ^^
How fictional, exactly? If you are ready to stray far enough from history to create a fictional tribe, then it seems like you could do whatever you wanted with the dates, etc. I feel like fictional characters within a real tribe would be more believable, unless you are ok with creating a completely faux-historical piece. Unless... part of your story was to explain why all history/knowledge/evidence of this fictional tribe survived. Then you would need to pay closer attention to dates. Google mining in Utah, 1870s?? Again, define "unknown." When did tribal relocations happen in that area? What tribes were involved? How would your fictional tribe avoid detection/relocation? Are these fictional natives cave-dwellers with a fear of sunlight and conflict, and thus guarding the ages-old "horrible secret" while going undiscovered for decades? The trick, I feel, with historical fiction is to create characters who move believably within true events and interact believable with historical people. After that, do whatever your heart desires. Just make sure you are believably explaining your inventions.
Thank you so much for taking the time to help me out with this! I am just always cautious about how fictitious I am willing to go when it comes to historical accuracy on these. This definitely helped
