First People
A collection of smaller tribes led by the Oceti Sakowin tribe and composed of a variety of peoples and cultures in one overall umbrella. While the overall stance of the First People is that the The Horrors were a punishment from the gods, many of them have learned to find a kind of peace out in the wilds.
This has produced two large factions within the First People, often differing on a tribe by tribe basis - Futurists and Traditionalists.
While the average member of the First People have marked ideological differences with the people of Olympia about their embrace of the technology they believe caused the Horrors to return, that generally takes the form of disapproval and not interacting with Olympian society -- not open hostility or physical violence. Most simply want to be left alone.
Notably, these cultural differences are particularly pronounced with the Oceti Sakowin nation -- who are well organized and vehemently against the technology that causes trouble for their magic. Again, any encounters with the Oceti Sakowin are unlikely to include violent hostility, but travelers to the Ocetit Sakowin lands and communities are unlikely to receive warm reception or be given social leeway in them
This has produced two large factions within the First People, often differing on a tribe by tribe basis - Futurists and Traditionalists.
Traditionalists
As a whole, many of the First People, Native Americans, and Indigenous people of Mexico, Central, and South America are vehemently anti-technology and embrace their magic and shamanistic histories, preserved through their own oral traditions that include some pre-Horror legaends and tales.While the average member of the First People have marked ideological differences with the people of Olympia about their embrace of the technology they believe caused the Horrors to return, that generally takes the form of disapproval and not interacting with Olympian society -- not open hostility or physical violence. Most simply want to be left alone.
Notably, these cultural differences are particularly pronounced with the Oceti Sakowin nation -- who are well organized and vehemently against the technology that causes trouble for their magic. Again, any encounters with the Oceti Sakowin are unlikely to include violent hostility, but travelers to the Ocetit Sakowin lands and communities are unlikely to receive warm reception or be given social leeway in them
Futurists
Unlike their Traditionalist peers within the First Nation, many of the tribes in the Futurist Faction embrace technology and have, in fact, embraced a sort of techno-shamanism which allows them to combine magic and cyberware in ways unheard of, and likewise unable to be mimicked. While any given Futurist Tribe may find themselves allied or opposed to Olympia, the tribes of this faction tend to at least base such disagreement over more material things as opposed to the Traditionalists more philosophical enmities.Founding
No one is entirely certain when the First People were founded, though it is likely they have existed in some form or another since the wasteland period of history. In the case of the First People, their own oral tradition claims to have lived through the Horrors themselves and to have never gone into the Arks in the first place.Founders
If the scant history that the People are willing to discuss with outsiders is true, the First People were never really founded, per se, but instead evolved from ancestral tribal councils and, owing to their embrace of Shamanistic magic, was able to survive the Horrors mostly unscathed.Leader
The First People is led by a tribal council of the various smaller tribes leadership – often the eldest of the tribe. One member of the Council is selected to lead in times of war, of which the First Nation is always in. The current leader is named Chatan, a hawkish looking elven man of cunning intellect and fierce warrior skill.Leader Title
“Caska” – a word in their native tongue which amounts to “Eldest Son”, representing the duty the leader of the People has towards the council and the tribes.Location
For the First People, many of the smaller tribes are scattered all over the Wilds, though the further west one goes from Olympia the most likely they are to encounter a First People scouting party.Structure
The overall structure of the various First People tribes are egalitarian with a sort of ‘open door democracy’ where anyone affected by a decision gets to have a say in the Circle called on the topic.
Culture
Ancestor Veneration, Living With Nature, Shamanistic Cultures and Traditions
Public Agenda
Due to the current leadership being staunchly Traditionalist, the First People do not have a particular agenda for Olympia, and in fact many of their younger Lost travel to the city to experience what life is like there, the Nation on the whole doesn’t presume to tell anyone else how to live. However, their agenda for their own people is aggressively anti-technology and anti-LOSTech, often going so far as to burn out Arks and Bunkers they find along their way.
This often shifts with time and leadership as the role of “Caska” changes hands and based on the tribe that said ‘Eldest Son’ comes from.
This often shifts with time and leadership as the role of “Caska” changes hands and based on the tribe that said ‘Eldest Son’ comes from.
Assets
While it could be argued that the First People have a wide variety of knowledge about the natural world as their main asset, it is the oral traditions of their culture that allegedly predate the Horrors which are often thought of as their main benefit – though many Apollo scholars argue that their version of history is biased via their culture norms and shamanistic beliefs.
History
As is perhaps obvious, when magic returned to the world, the deeply spiritual and ritualistic Native American Tribes found their centuries of tradition paid off – giving them a massive magical head start on the entire rest of the world. They chose to focus on the survival of their own people, perhaps reasonably so given their history, and the various Council Elders came together to create the First People – an amalgamation of all the various tribes who put any prior conflicts or historical disagreements aside. With their traditions being more or less proven correct, the nascent First People gathered out in the west and midwestern parts of the country and enacted a massive shamanistic ritual known as a Circle Dance. Often called the Shadow Dance by the Lost, this great ritual called all the spirits of the First People together into a great magical weaving that obscured their reservations and homes from the ravages of the Horrors. With the rest of the world going into hiding inside the Arks, and their lands invisible to the Horrors, the First People were finally able to grow back into the size and strength that they once had, reclaiming ages of culture and space that the Ancients had taken from them.
"Honor the sacred. Honor the Earth, our Mother. Honor the Elders. Honor all with whom we share the Earth:-Four-leggeds, two-leggeds, winged ones, Swimmers, crawlers, plant and rock people. Walk in balance and beauty."
Demonym
The Lost (or the Lost People), Savages (Extremely rude, be prepared to fight for your life)
Subsidiary Organizations
Location