The Fire Rises: Indigenous Peoples on the Warpath Again?

A shocking development out of the scattered lands of the Indigenous Social Republic. While the current government has attempted to tap into the rising force of the economically left-wing but firmly expansionist "Native Populism" which has grown in popularity in recent years, those forces have now come back to haunt it. 

While in session today, the Grand Tribal Council held a debate and voted on the "Indigenous People's Liberation Act", a highly contentious bill that would begin to divert resources and manpower currently being used by the workers and the private sector to the government, to prepare for raids/wars with neighboring (mostly White) nations. While many parties inside and outside the current ruling coalition objected to this bill during the nearly 10-hour debate, the vote itself was secret, meaning names were not called per GTC tradition. In the end, the IPLA passed by a margin of 275-225. The Speaker of the GTC was begged to block the legislation after it passed, but with the urging of the High Chairman, it was sent to his desk. He commended the GTC on the move, calling it "An important first step in freeing our brothers and sisters across the Americas from the White Devil." Many other officials from the ruling Native People's Liberation Party (NPLP), and its coalition partners in the First People's Party (FPP) and the Indigenous Socialist Party (ISP) also voiced their support for the bill after the vote. Notably, the Protect Mother Earth Party (PMEP) was the only member of the "Native Coalition" to come out AGAINST the bill, citing the concerns of 'rising CO2 emissions as a result of both weapon production as well as conflict abroad'. The leaders of the opposition parties, to no one's surprise, all condemned the bill strongly. The leader of the Indigenous Democratic Party (IDP) called the Act, "A textbook case of xenophobia gone wild, and a major backward step in foreign relations with the West." The leader of the Indigenous Constitutional Republican Party called it a "Communist plot to strip away what remains of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous freedoms." Independents in the GTC were reportedly split on the reactions to the IPLA, with almost equal amounts speaking out in favor and in opposition to the bill. 

Public opinion seems to be mixed, leaning favorably. Initial polling from the Wounded Knee Times shows that citizens in the capitol are 46% "In Favor" of the Act, 44% are "Opposed", and roughly 10% are "Unsure" about the new legislation. Already, what remains of the private corporations in the ISR are being either nationalized or democratized, turned over to the government or the workers themselves, to comply with the regulations and restrictions on the economy introduced. Pollution has risen substantially since the new government has been in power, and the ramping up of both civilian and military production across the nation does not inspire hopes that this trend will be reversed anytime soon. There have been reported outbreaks of typhoid and other diseases in cities like Pawnee and Sioux City, with no as of yet reported deaths, but rising infection rates amongst particularly vulnerable groups. Discontent, both political and economic, from both the Left and the Right, continues to rise in urban centers throughout the far-flung and stretched-out Republic, and scattered stories of political violence continue to become more frequent occurrences throughout the country. 

With the multitude of problems facing the young nation, and with a "Great Crusade" seemingly on the horizon, many are beginning to wonder if this Indigenous experiment is long for this world. Some are starting to see this as the end of the Republic, the start of a new extremist era. Many others would argue this has been a goal of the Republic since its formation, as various Tribes united in 2090 for this explicit purpose. Whatever the case may be, the fires of war are rising, and at the very least, the world of the "White Devil" is going to get burned.

"...The love of possession is a disease with them. These people have made many rules that the rich may break but the poor may not. They take their tithes from the poor and weak to support the rich and those who rule. They claim this mother of ours, the earth, for their own and fence their neighbors away; they deface her with their buildings and their refuse. The nation is like a spring freshet that overruns its banks and destroys all that are in its path. We cannot dwell side by side. Only seven years ago we made a treaty by which we were assured that the buffalo country should be left to us forever. Now they threaten to take that away from us. My brothers, shall we submit or shall we say to them: 'First kill me before you take possession of my land” - Chief Sitting Bull of the Hunkpapa Lakota Tribe