Anna and Elsa are not white either. They are Northuldra raised Arendellian, aka Native Raised Other. Regardless of where they end up by the end of the movie, they are and always will be Native women.
As for whether Elsa and Anna are white … the Northuldra are modeled on the Sami, an indigenous people scattered across northern Scandinavia and northwestern Russia who have faced a great deal of discrimination, but there's a lot of disagreement about the genetic and linguistic origins of Sami to this day.
This is the land of the Sami, Norway's reindeer herding indigenous population. The filmmakers of Frozen 2 collaborated with the Sami on elements in the film that draw on their culture, including details for the Northuldra characters who Anna and Elsa meet in the enchanted forest.
Frozen 2 introduces the Northuldra people, an indigenous tribe with a deep connection to the past of Anna (Kristen Bell) and Elsa (Idina Menzel). The record-breaking Frozen sequel introduces The Enchanted Forest to the north of the kingdom of Arendelle, which is being threatened with catastrophe.
Disney tours in Norway even claim Bergen as the “storybook village” that was the “inspiration for Arendelle, the kingdom and home to Anna and her sister Elsa.”
Various Artists - Into the Unknown (In 29 Languages) (From "Frozen 2")
What is Elsa's disability?
Anna's parents rush her to the sacred realm, where discussions with the trolls reveal that Elsa was born with her powers/ depigmentation and deafness, rather than them being due to illness or accident. Grand Pabbie troll heals Anna but removes her memories of Elsa's magic.
As the lies on which the Kingdom of Arendelle is founded start to unravel, we discover that Anna and Elsa's mother, Iduna, is from the Northuldra tribe – she was the mysterious saviour who rescued their father during battle.
Disney's animated film Frozen was inspired by Sámi culture, and for its sequel, Frozen 2, Walt Disney Animation Studios received consultation from a Sámi working group (“Verddet”) on elements within the film that are inspired by the Indigenous People's homelands.
(Note: Much of Frozen 2 appears to be a reaction to the reaction the first film received for not including many people of color and for “whitewashing.” The problem with how Frozen 2 handled this is that they really couldn't up and change the race of the lead characters, so instead they just had them retroactively ...
And even though Kristoff's Sámi heritage is not central to the story of Frozen, it is in part the music by Frode Fjellhiem, in addition to the reindeer and gakti, that should situate the film and the character in an inarguably Sámi—not Old Norse—context.
Kristoff is a Sámi iceman who lives together with his reindeer companion Sven. Albeit preferring a solitary life, he helps Princess Anna of Arendelle to find her older sister Elsa in the North Mountain.
Inspired by Disney fairytales' true origins, YouTube channel Movie Munchies translated the princesses' most famous songs into their native languages. For example, Elsa and Anna from Frozen are Norwegian, Jasmine from Aladdin speaks Arabic, and Snow White is German.
Despite what Disney fans may believe, Tarzan is not related to "Frozen" characters Anna and Elsa. "Can I put one rumor to rest that is my fault? Tarzan's parents are not Anna and Elsa's parents," said codirector Chris Buck during a 20th anniversary panel for "Tarzan" to a lot of applause from the crowd.
Elsa is never properly identified as asexual or aromantic, something that would help immensely to increase visibility and awareness. Considering Disney's record with LGBT characters (remember the underwhelming 'gay moment' in Beauty and the Beast?)
Honeymaren, a member of the Northuldra tribe who was trapped in the Enchanted Forest by the curse, could return for Frozen 3 as Elsa's girlfriend based on the two characters' shared chemistry.
Although Elsa's disability is encoded as a magical ice power, the language the film uses to talk about her condition maps on to the experiences of people with physical, mental, and intellectual disabilities in recognizable ways.
The Frozen movies drew inspiration from the customs and traditions of the indigenous Sami people of Northern Europe. Norway's reindeer herding Sami population has ancient traditions and a strong heritage which Disney wanted to pay homage to.
When they showed what was finished of the film to a Story Trust group several months prior to release, many were still confused about who the voice was supposed to belong to. It was after that the decision was made to fully commit to the voice calling to Elsa being that of her mother, Iduna.
While the voice was calling Elsa to reveal her past to her, it was ultimately revealed that Queen Iduna (Evan Rachel Wood) - Elsa's mother - had a lot to explain as well. This, coupled with the reveal that the call was Iduna all along, means Elsa was hearing the voice of her long-lost mother.
Because of the kingdom's negative feelings towards the Northuldra, Iduna kept her heritage a secret for many years, though she finally told him everything shortly before their deaths. Agnarr and Iduna's oldest daughter (Elsa) was born with the power to control ice and snow.
Elsa and Anna's parents didn't die by shipwreck where we thought they'd died by shipwreck (always a fun, uncomplicated topic for kids!); they actually died by shipwreck trying to journey to Ahtohallan, the mythical island they believed held the answers to Elsa's powers.
Elsa freezes in response to the trauma of discovering her family's colonial past. Similar to the plot in Frozen, Elsa is overcome with emotion and loses control of her powers — she is so overwhelmed by her own ice magic that she is literally frozen.
