NationStates

Hello all,

I am the Federal Republic of Madrinpoor. This is my first forum, so I hope it goes smoothly.

The Tlingit are the long-suffering indigenous population of Madrinpoor. They lived in the area before settlers, helped explorers, traded with pilgrims, and even fought in the revolution on the side of the Madri, but have been enslaved, murdered, and relocated. Even as recently as the late 1960s and early 1970s, they have been at the end of human rights abuses, after the infamous Tlingit Genocide. In 1968 the government called for the relocation of all Tlingit to reservations, which were essentially ghettos, and installed a system of segregation to keep Tlingit separate from everyone else. When protests broke out into revolution, the government responded by killing Tlingit populations en masse, in 1969. Violence between the government, the Tlingit, and protesters continued for one year, before the government was overthrown and reinstalled.

Now the Tlingit are represented by the Tlingit Tribal Council, consisting of 10 representatives from each of the twelve tribes. They decide matters of the Tlingit, bring problems to the government, and control the reservations, which are autonomous regions. The Tribal council is divided into parties: the FT, Free Tlingit, which are separatist; the Boknohwate, which are integrationist (full integration back into Madrinpoor, no more autonomous zones); and the ATN, Autonomous Tlingit Nation, the ruling party and the one that favors autonomous semi-separation.

The Tlingit council is gathered in the Tlingit Administrative Hall, in Fulgencia, the Tlingit capital. They prepare to vote on this matter, which will affect not just the Tlingit, but Madrinpoor forever.

Representatives from other countries are welcome, to contribute to the debates, send representatives, and engage in discussion.

Political Parties:

FT - 33/120
Boknohwate - 38/120
ATN - 49/120

Current Standing of Vote:

For:
Against:
Abstain:

Chair Amelya Zandar gavels the debate open. The first one to speak is Aldofo Muteka, of the FT.

"My brothers and sisters. We have a duty, not one to our society but one to our ancestors as well. They have been slaughtered. They have been enslaved. They have suffered at the hands of who know rule Madrinpoor! We cannot sit by and hope things are well. We must fully take matters into our own hands! We must free the Tlingit!"

The next one up is Doris Demorto, a member of Boknowhate. She calls for full integration of the Tlingit into Madrinpoor's government.

"These reservations we live on were established by those you wish to part from. We cannot live under their thumb as we do now. We have shown, with Martredi's election (the new president and the first Tlingit ever elected), that we can have representation in the government. We need to become members of Madrinpoor that can serve themselves, and demand our rights. We cannot do that while living separately. We must join Madrinpoor."

Alga Hendoffsen approaches the podium. He is a member of ATN.

"Listen to you! Separate! Integrate! Why choose an extreme? We can find a middle ground. We must remain autonomous, where we can still enjoy the protections of Madrinpoor but also our own independence."

His short speech was met with boos from both sides, but applause from his party members.

The next speaker is Tilda Telludo, a timid integrationist.

"...Um, we should not seperate from, um, Madrinpoor. Separation will, um, lead to infighting, poverty, and, um, economic destitution. We already have the, um, highest suicide rate of any ethnic group in Madrinpoor. Separating, splitting us from, um, Madrinpoor will mean we will not, um, benefit from the economy of Madrinpoor, which, um, is much higher than the Tlingit economy alone. The University of Yumas Mental Health Department says that, um, poverty leads to, um, higher rates of suicide and more mental health crises. With the, um, full economy of Madrinpoor behind us, um, our poverty will decline and therefore our suicide rates will, um, decline. It's, um, science. Thank you."

She exits the stage to scattered applause for her hard-to-follow and slightly incoherent speech.

A thickset representative wearing a "Free Temora" t-shirt named Yanel Hursit seizes the podium. He is the de facto head of FT, and argues that if the Tlingit will not be given independence they should take up arms to gain it.

"We have been silenced for far too long! The ruling class's only desire is to rule us and oppress us as they have been doing the past hundreds of years! Our only recourse is to demand freedom from them at the points of our guns! If they don't give it to us now. Our only recourse, if they do not give us freedom, is to demand it at the points of our guns! We must fight for the Tlingit! For Temora!" he says, using the ancestral name of the South Island of Madrinpoor, where the Tlingit reservation is, and the proposed location of the new Tlingit independent colony.

he is met with loud cheers and boos as he takes his seat.

"At the points of our guns? Are you crazy!" Yells Modi Batrenga, an elderly statesman, and often the only one who dares to challenge Hursit. "We cannot threaten them with violence!"

Modi Bartrenga takes the podium.

"We cannot listen to radicals like Mr. Hursit. We must find a way to work with the Madri while keeping our Tlingit heritage and self-rule. Autonomy is the way. We can avoid the struggles and strife of Madrinpoor, but still remain connected to what is, like it or not, our country."

Bartrenga takes his seat.