A YouTube still image of Chief Poundmaker from the new video game.Sid Meier's Civilization/YouTube
A First Nation in Saskatchewan is considering legal action against a
California video game company over the forthcoming release of
Civilization VI, a game in which people can play at colonialism and
imperial expansion, but as an Indian character.
It is a new twist
on the debate about Indigenous cultural appropriation, which is
typically focused on visual representations like head-dresses, not
political behaviour.
The new instalment of the game Civilization,
due out next month, includes a main plot line about the Plains Cree,
under the leadership of Chief Poundmaker, in which players advance by
developing trade routes, building infrastructure, forging alliances, and
other elements of statecraft.
But this use of an historical
figure, and the name of a modern First Nation, without the consent or
involvement of the Poundmaker Cree Nation, is a dishonourable method of
making money off a culture that was nearly exterminated by the Canadian
government, according to a community leader...
http://nationalpost.com/news/saskatchewan-first-nation-outraged-as-video-game-depicts-legendary-leader
