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.

Elsa, the iconic protagonist of Disney's Frozen franchise, is ethnically Scandinavian, specifically modeled after the people of Norway. The kingdom of Arendelle is heavily inspired by 19th-century Norwegian culture, architecture, and geography, such as the fjords and the city of Bergen. In the sequel, Frozen II, it is revealed that Elsa’s heritage is actually biracial within a regional context. Her father, King Agnarr, was a Northuldra-descended Arendellian, while her mother, Queen Iduna, was a member of the Northuldra people. The Northuldra are a fictionalized version of the indigenous Sámi people, who inhabit the northern parts of Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia. This ancestry is significant to the plot, as it explains Elsa's spiritual connection to the four elemental spirits of the Enchanted Forest. Therefore, Elsa is a blend of the Germanic-Scandinavian Arendellians and the indigenous Sámi-inspired Northuldra. Her design features, such as her platinum blonde hair and blue eyes, are classic tropes used to represent Northern European heritage in animation, while her clothing often incorporates "rosemaling," a traditional Norwegian decorative folk art.