The creators of Coyote and Crow open up about tabletop RPGs made by Native Americans

Every year, thousands of school-aged children from the Midwest make their way down to Illinois. On the banks of the Mississippi River, between St. Louis and the world’s largest catsup bottle, they spend a day visiting one of the oldest cities in North America, now known as the Kahania mound.

Cahokia is a mysterious place. Shortly before it was abandoned in the 1300s, it became the same size as contemporary London. But, long before European settlers invaded the region, Cahokia had largely emptied over 80 man-made hills and terraces for centuries. Nobody really knows who built the dunes or why. The only certainty is that they were ancestors of the modern Native Americans.

That mystery – and a matter of pride – is partly why game designer Connor Alexander chose Cunania for the setting Coyote and Crow. His tabletop role-playing game is now gathering steam for the better part of a month, grossing over $ 816,000 in crowdfunding. It ranks among the highest-grossing TTRPG campaigns of the year on Kickstarter.

What makes this project distinctive is that it is originally being built by a team made up of Native Americans and First Nations members. Alexander is a member of the Cherokee Nation, and his team consists of members from more than a dozen other tribes.

Alexander describes Coyote and Crow As a fictional world, one cleaned up its colonial goods. He wants this time to represent a safe place for native and non-native players to explore a world together, and to make Cahokia the perfect setting.

“No living culture can claim Cahokia as a direct descendant at this point,” Alexander told me. Those mounds in downtown Illinois represent a space on the map where an unknown American American culture once stood. It is a meaningful place for the original inhabitants of modern times as it represents their past. But it is also worthwhile for non-Native residents who today identify Cahokia as a place where they can learn more about the history of the colony and their role in it.

What could be a better place than Cahokia to set an alternative history of native Americans and First Nations?

Alexander explained that Native American and First Nations peoples were migrant and highly friendly. Over the generations they blended and consumed themselves completely with other core groups, transforming themselves together into something new. By extending that history for hundreds of years with a parallel time span – completely uninhabitable by Europeans of any kind – he and his team have been able to create different new cultures and traditions apart from those of ancient or postmodern Americans. .

This is a place that he hopes native and non-native players can easily find. The final product, he says, will be filled with guidance on how the two groups can safely share that narrative space.

“We have these callouts throughout the book,” Alexander said. “If you are a native, you can do that. Or, if you are a non-native, please do not do so. But, outside of that, I cannot emphasize that the game has been created by a group of natives for all – and as an offering. It is meant as a place for us to share something. “

I had something at the forefront of my mind while reading about this Coyote and Crow, And a concern I raised with Alexander. Should I feel comfortable playing in a fictional world of people of white European descent, American and First Nations people? He said that this is a concern that has been raised by many people and potential players of their game. So much so that he wrote an essay on the topic of cultural appropriation in an update posted on Kickstarter.

From that update:

Let’s talk about the word “A”. And I want to start by providing a simple analogy. Suppose someone travels to a country different from their culture and someone invites them to their house for dinner. They sit at the table and when they offer food, they say, “I would not like this food. This will be appropriation. “Hopefully, it is clear how far the goal is. Yes, the analogy is not correct. But my point is this: appropriation is, at its root, about taking. We are giving what we are doing. And what we are giving you is imaginary.

In addition to helping players avoid the loss of cultural appropriation while playing, Alexander and his team are also adding Native American and First Nations players to bring their live experience to the game. In this way, players can find space for their own modern-day cultures within this ideal, unknowable future.

“Hopefully there is an acquaintance who is comforting the natives, and they can see themselves in.” [Coyote & Crow] Without realizing that they are being caricatured, ”Alexander said. Right now, he is keeping most of those parts and mechanics near the chest. We will have to wait to see if he and his team are successful until the final product is delivered in November.

But what does the success of this Native American-led project mean for the future of independent TTRPGs? Alexander says he is cautiously optimistic about the possibilities of more inclusion.

“I hope so, especially in the last few months,” he said, pointing to the success of Wizards of the Coast Candle Secrets, Which included material from a wide array of diverse writing talents.

“I think inspiration is fine,” Alexander said, speaking of the desire to bring a fresh voice to the industry. “But I think the execution is still flawed. I think part of the problem is that a lot of the execution is coming from one place, ‘Hey, we need to do this because we’re not doing it a lot. Are screaming. ‘ I think when people started to realize that the flip was about to come, ‘Oh, there’s really really good money that would be made by making this in the first place.’ ‘

Most importantly, he sees success Coyote and Crow A path forward for Native American and First Nation writers and artists to gain a foothold in the sports industry.

“I hope my specific RPG turns a corner and gives everyone the opportunity to work on further games – role-playing games or not,” Alexander said. “But I want everyone in my team to be able to use this and say, ‘Look, I worked on this Kickstarter. Get me a job in the industry.’ I loved it.”