The history of The People is long and varied. Furthermore, it is often non-linear, with great periods of inactivity, and intense periods of change. It is often passed down orally or in the form of journal and diary entries of various leaders throughout history.
Below are excerpts of the most important events to happen to the People of the Yellowstone.
History[]
- from Annals of a Wandering People by Chief Two Hawks
Formation on Old Earth[]
No one knows how it happened. There are rumors and anecdotes...tales that it came from the military and others claiming it came from the jungles of the Old Earth...but no one really knows. All we know is that it happened, and we are here to tell the story.
At first, the sickness started in the cities. The first I remember was Hong Kong, but it could have been Rio de Janeiro or New York or Paris. Like a flame to a dry forest, it came…and it consumed. There were many deaths in the region of the Yellowstone Valley, but nowhere near the percentages of those in the big cities. I had heard my grandfather speak of such things with my People before...of the times when the smallpox or the cholera came and destroyed the old ones and the children. But, for some reason, like the angel of death in those old stories of Moses, it passed over us. Some say it was precisely because of the prayers of the old ones and the medicine-keepers.
We called the sickness the Zero Virus though we do not know if it was a virus at all. We called it that because that was the year we started again at zero. The civilizations and governments of the Old Earth shriveled like a rotting carcass. Some of the old ones say it is because the Earth was tired of being disrespected, and she simply disowned her children. Others say it was the result of a bio-engineered weapon gone bad. All we know for certain is that we were alone for several seasons…we, the survivors of the Zero Virus.
The remaining tribal governments of the region came together. We were Crow and Cree, Cheyenne and the United Sioux of the Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota. There were Ojibwey and Métis from the North, and Shoshone and Salish from the West. There were Blackfoot and Blood and many, many others.
And there were the old White governments...the people from Missoula and Great Falls and Billings, from Helena and Butte, from Cheyenne and Sheridan, and even from Denver and Salt Lake City. From the East came the whites from as far as Minneapolis, and from the West as far as Seattle. From the South came people as far away as Tucson. Why did they come here, to this valley? Why, when so many other places were so much more hospitable? We do not know. All we know is that they came, and we provided hospitality, as was the way our ancestors taught.
NationStates[]
After years of struggle, one of our chiefs – for we have no king or president – Sus'n'iya' (Walking Bison), who was well respected, came before the council. He convinced us that it was not good to be alone...that we needed to find other people. After much talk, we decided to look for others. At first, we came to the place the people there called NationStates.
We made ourselves part of NationStates for a time, residing in a region called The Lexicon under the guidance of legends such as Two Hawks and Matron She-Ponders-the-Moon. The People, called Yvians, flourished there. Then, an insult was made on the region by a rival region named the North Pacific. Our warriors demanded war and fought for justice, taking it to the steps of the United Nations itself. A lobbying group, calling themselves ADMINS dismissed our claims, most of them delving out more insults. They determined we were racist as descendants of Native Americans. Our people's spirits languished and dispersed for a long time until a great civil war within The Lexicon region.
- from The Continuing Annals of a Wandering People by Chief Shaudawn
At that moment, an old rival of the People 'activated' the Zero Virus again, this time decimating only the Yvian peoples. With an already wounded spirit, the remaining survivors of the Yellowstone People decided to return to Old Earth.
Cyber Nations[]
- from The Continuing Annals of a Wandering People by Chief Shaudawn
The way between worlds is a mystery to us. A handful of Yvians tried to return to Earth. What they found was something very similar, but not Earth. Yet, the Land invited us to stay. We have found the remnants of many peoples...even some of our own. But most of what surrounds the newly founded capital of Hayden is devoid of anything as Old Earth once was.
The new Yellowstone Valley is dry, but we ready to grow some corn up and down the fertile valley using irrigation. The animals are coming back...the deer and bison and elk flow out of the mountains and the Yellowstone Park. The bear and wolves and coyotes are following. We supplement our corn, beans, potatoes, winter and spring wheat, melons, and squash with game and fish...mostly trout. A few dairy cows and many chickens – preserved by those that remained – are the source of some dairy, but the beef cattle were not hardy and died in the harsh winter.
And so, my people have come to walk this land, to look at its People and its customs. We agree with some things, and do not agree with others, but it is a good place. Our greatest value has included respect.
Our nation is still new, and our ways are still untried. There are many cultures within our nation, and we have many problems and challenges that face us. Some of us are still in mourning for the people of old regions, and some of us are hungry for the things of the new lands around us. Until we have been accepted among your people, we are nomads and wanderers. We seek trade and food. And we seek peace. But, most of all, we seek to share the good talk...the good stories of this Land. As refugees, we bring the spirit of the Land and Yvian Language. We bring the religion and stories of our People with us.
Great War IV: The Unjust War[]
- from A Wandering People in Chains by Doug Spotted-Eagle
When the alliance known as Nueva Vida was new, the People were promised that it would be a peaceful alliance that would mobilize only in defense of one another. But leaders change, and the old ways always become forgotten.
In war, one loses much. When our old ones fled, there was little they could take with them. The Valley is all we had, and now there are men with machine guns pointed at us, though we who remain have tried to be a peaceful people.
We have traveled long, and winter is coming. Our crops are destroyed. There is a sickness, and our doctors have been taken prisoner.
Those who remain behind grumble and loathe the day we agreed to become a part of any alliance, for though we were promised safety in numbers, and peace when it first came into being, it has since become allied with others who think of nothing but war. Better is it to live without an alliance and starve than to be a target for those who thirst for blood.
Yet there are others who will do worse. We survived an Old Earth ravaged by a war that escalated until not one blade of grass remained. We will survive this Earth, because we remember the old ways.
Events[]
- 1/5/2007 2:43:55 PM: The People of the Yellowstone Valley has wandered to Planet Bob in search of refuge
- 1/7/2007: The Yellowstone joins the Union of Consolidated Leftist Nations
- 1/10/2007: Refugees (majority Jewish) from the Great War II begin to appear in Hayden
- Council of Matrons and Elders denounce organizations involved in Great War II -- both members of The League and The Initiative, especially the GOONS, Fark, LUEnited Nations, New Pacific Order, and other associated alliances.
- First synagogue built in Hayden.
- 1/12/2007: A protection, trade, and aid pact is signed with the small towns south of the Yellowstone River: Big Timber, Absarokee, Joliet, New Fromberg (est. on the ruins of Old Earth Fromberg) and Red Lodge.
- Fort Clark is established where the Clark's Fork River enters the Yellowstone River -- across from the ruins of Old Earth Laurel in response to rumors of the Great War II occurring in the world.
- 1/29/2007: Expansion of Yvian influence provokes neighboring unrest. Northeastern communities demand a dictatorship-style government. The Tribal Council refuses, but decentralizes from federal authority.
- Islamic refugees from the Great War II now surpass the Jewish population as the majority religion. Hayden's first mosque built.
- 2/2/2007: The controversial Non-Interaction Bill is signed, beginning an isolationist stance with the nations of Planet Bob.
- 3/18/2007: The Union of Consolidated Leftist Nations dissolves because of the ravages of war. A special emergency session of the Council of Matrons and Elders adopts a policy of reclusion and withdraws from all alliance affiliation.
- 4/8/2007: The Council of Matrons and Elders agree to apply for another alliance. The Yellowstone Valley enters into a treaty with Nueva Vida.
- 9/13/2007: The Yellowstone Valley is viciously attacked by Waland and Vampires under fire, members of the Coalition of Defensive States in response to The Unjust War. Casualties: 1,457 defenders, no attackers. The Council of Matrons and Elders calls for a state of emergency before evacuating into the Montana countryside.
- 9/15/2007: Remaining members of the Council of Matrons and Elders unconditionally surrender to the Coalition of Defensive States and are taken as prisoners of war to the COD camp in the nation of New Brittanica under the care of Harry Paratestes. The Matrons and Elders are treated respectfully and with dignified care. Total war casualties: 1,863.
- Dark Tyrant of the nation of Cobra Organzation sends aid in the form of blankets, food, and medical help via cargo plane to the Yellowstone Valley.
- 9/16/2007: A major faux paus by General D'Monarch of Emerica sparks controversy within the imprisoned Council of Matrons and Elders. The once controversial Non-Interaction Bill is resurrected and passes overwhelmingly.
- 9/22/2007: Word reaches Yellowstone Valley of the surrender of the Coalition of Defensive States to Nueva Vida[1]. The Council of Matrons and Elders returns to Yvian lands. The decision to remain neutral stands.
- 10/12/2007: The Beginning of The Great Massacre Wars in which nations preyed upon The People. Attackers: Haggler of Genocide; brohhhh of Gan Gan; Sokolova of Russia federation. Peace: Haggler of Genocide
- 10/13/2007: Genocide continues against the People: Cowboy Cornholio of Orwellia (bombed civilians); Shelbourne of Glendalough.