Civilization 7 Dev Firaxis Working With Shawnee to Ensure ‘Authentic, Sincere Recreation,’ Acknowledges Past Missteps in Franchise’s Treatment of History

ign.com:

Firaxis is working with the Shawnee tribal nation to ensure “an authentic, sincere recreation” in the upcoming Civilization 7.

In Civilization 7, Shawnee are an Exploration Age civilization, which means they will have to become another civ in the Modern Age (presumed to be the Lakota or Iroquois).

Here’s Firaxis’ official description:

Speaking to the Associated Press, producer Andrew Frederiksen revealed that developers from Firaxis had asked the Shawnee to imagine a Shawnee university or library of the future and to create new Shawnee words to describe futuristic concepts for use in the hotly anticipated 4X game.

Shawnee Tribe Chief Ben Barnes, already a fan of 1999’s Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri, jumped at the chance to be involved with Civilization 7 after Firaxis said it wanted to make a playable character out of their famous leader Tecumseh.

“Firaxis was asking questions about language we never would have thought to ask,” Barnes said. The partnership also involves a donation of hundreds of thousands of dollars in language revitalization programs and facilities.

According to Firaxis, Tecumseh, "the one who leaps across the great expanse," was a Shawnee chief "who challenged the westward expansion of the early United States. Together with his brother Tenskwatawa, he spread a message of unity and resistance among indigenous people. Although Tecumseh was killed during the War of 1812, his vision of cultural persistence lives on."

Firaxis historian Andrew Johnson revealed that academics had warned the studio against including Tecumseh as a playable leader, but got in touch with Shawnee leaders directly to find out what they thought. “I think so often you get people assuming that representation in Civ is a reward of some sort. It’s not,” Johnson said.

“This is a company and we’re selling a product and we’re using an image and likeness to make a profit. And getting your ‘civ’ in Civilization doesn’t really help you very much if you’re struggling to preserve your culture.”

AP