'Civilization VII' makers features Shawnee tribe, fund language recording effort in Oklahoma
An Oklahoma tribe is seeing the inclusion of its historical leaders and language in the latest iteration of a popular video game series.
Civilization VII, which was released on Feb. 11, depicts the Shawnee Tribe as well as chief and military leader Tecumseh, a playable character voiced by Shawnee actor Dillon Dean. It's the seventh release in Sid Meier's Civilization series since its debut in 1991, which encourages players to build empires in a simulation of the real world, but also includes imaginary twists.
Game developers began a partnership with the Shawnee Tribe in 2021 to create an authentic, sincere representation of the group's culture and history within the game, according to a news release. Through the partnership, developer Firaxis Games and publisher 2K, invested in building a recording studio in Oklahoma to support the tribe's efforts in preserving its language and culture, which opened its doors this month.
Here's what to know:
While developing Civilization VII, Firaxis Games approached the Shawnee Tribe in 2021 about a partnership so they could ensure that the inclusion of the Shawnee civilization respectfully represented Tecumseh's vision, according to a news release.
In addition to incorporating the Shawnee language in-game as faithfully as possible, the news release states, developers researched archeological material, studied family photographs, and consulted with cultural knowledge-keepers to carefully shape how the tribe was characterized.
"Seeing cultures portrayed based on ideologies and not on geographic boundaries, and now to see that translated into Civilization VII, where we have the Shawnee as a standalone civilization, represented in a way that we want to be represented, that is just truly an amazing opportunity," said Ben Barnes, chief of the Shawnee Tribe, in a video on social media.
The Shawnee people can only be played by downloading the Tecumseh and Shawnee Pack DLC.
Earlier this month, 2K Foundations, a foundation formed by game publisher 2K that gives back to underserved communities in the country, opened the doors to the George 'Fife' Blanchard Yaatakciitonooteeki (Recording Studio) in Miami, Oklahoma.
Barnes said the tribe had spent years collecting historical text, and the missing step was finding those who could speak it to preserve the legacy.
By opening the studio doors, they plan to record Shawnee history and the spoken language of the Shawnee people further.
'[We want] to be able to hear this musical quality that the Shawnee language and all languages have. Without hearing that, you can't get that from text on a page. You can only get that from listening to a fluent speaker,' Barnes said in a video posted on social media.
The recording studio is named after Shawnee historian and elder George 'Fife' Blanchard, who attended the ribbon cutting.
Tecumseh was born in the Shawnee village of Piqua, Ohio, on March 9, 1768. According to the National Parks Service, his name means The Shooting Star, or Celestial Panther Lying in Wait, named after a meteor that flew through the sky on his birthdate.
He grew up to become an orator and warrior for the Shawnee people. He and his brother Tenskwatawa established a new capital on the banks of the Wabash and Tippecanoe rivers.
Tecumseh sought to form an independent nation for indigenous people officially, so while the U.S. and Great Britain battled in the War of 1812, he allied with the British. This new alliance placed Tecumseh in command of all Native American forces during the war. If the two factions won, the Old Northwest would be a Native American nation under British protection.
As the war ended in a victory for America, Tecumseh's dream was never realized. The Shawnee people were forcibly removed from their Ohio home in 1869 to Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Civ 7: Game features tribe, boosts Shawnee language effort in Oklahoma
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