Tsimshian Crisis

## Tsimshian Crisis of 2064

*excerpted from 'Real Americans: A History of the Native American Nations in the Sixth Fire', ch.10 'Chaos and Consolidations, the trials and triumphs of the 2060's', Maxwell Sparrow's Nest (2071, Cheyenne Publishing, '*Tsêhéstáno).

"...ethnic conflicts within the Ts’msyan Wilg̱a̱g̱oosk dating back to the 2040's between the dominant Coast Tsimshian peoples who controlled the vast majority of political power and the X̱aayda  (Haida), who had always suffered from political disenfranchisement despite composing the majority Ts'msyan military. But while this provided the fuel for the conflagration, the spark was the withdrawal of Mitsuhama Computer technologies on October 25, 2064.

Ever since its secession from the NAN in the late 2030's, the tiny Ts'msyan nation (smallest in territory and second smallest in population of the original Native American Nations) had been something of an odd man out. Without the support of its NAN neighbors it quickly fell into the influence of the megacorporations, specifically Mitsuhama Computer Technologies , which by the mid-2050's had come to dominate the national economy and was the force behind the ostensibly-democratic National Council, and the support of MCT money (and yakuza  muscle) helped to keep political power in the hands of the fourteen hereditary 'Great Names' of the Ts'msyan clan leaders (who dominated both houses of the Council, both the House of Chiefs and the Matriarch Council).

Tensions between the Tsimshian civil government and the X̱aayda-dominated military were on the rise again. A series of disastrous skirmishes and border raids against their neighbors and territorial rivals in the Seliš-Bukwus Chíchelh Sq'èp in 2062-63 saw blame being thrown both ways, and Haida nationalist groups, which had laid dormant since their brutal suppression in the 2040's began to emerge into the public eye once more.

The point of contact came on October 25, 2064 when MCT formally announced it was withdrawing all assets and selling all holdings in the tiny North American nation. This decision was part of an overall program of consolidation, including closing its less-profitable branches, aimed at surviving the declining post-Second Bubble, post-Ring-of-Fire Japanese economy. Without the support of the MCT, the grip of the Names began to slip, with non-Tsimshian protesters in the capital of Kitimat demanding new elections for a more representational government. Along the Selis-Bukwus frontier, X̱aayda unit commanders began to stand down in solidarity with the protests. The Selis-Bukwus stayed their hand, tacitly supporting the X̱aayda uprising and began to gather support for intervention in Ts'mysian among their partners in the Sovereign Tribal Council.

The next several weeks saw a rapid escalation between protesters and government forces, and SDF forces from Očéti Šakówiŋ are massed with Selis militias along the border. The situation comes to a head when the largest of the anti-government groups, the HNF (Haida Nationalist Front), with widespread support within the military, overthrows the government in a lightning coup on December 1, dissolving the council and executing several important Chiefs, including Grand Chief Deborah Jim.

This is the sign the STC forces have been waiting for and an SDF-led task forces steps in to restore order to the country. Most of the Great Names are forced to flee into exile, including Ligeex, Niistaxo'ok, Sgagweet, Gwisk'aayn and others.

Over the next few weeks, STC relief efforts and SDF military force restored order, working with members of the newly-formed X̱aayda National Defense Force, a rebel militia that was legitimized as the police force of the new nation. On January 1, 2065 elections are held to elect a new government, formally recognizing the Haida-Tsimshian state as an autonomous protectorate of the Selis-Bukwus Council. The last Sioux peacekeepers would leave the region to be protected by Selis-Bukwus militias and the Sioux-trained HNDF in late 2067.

In the wake of this crisis, the Očéti Šakówiŋ could turn its attentions to the unruly, newly-acquired territories in the expanded Upper Yankton CF and securing the new eastern border ..."