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A History of the Numuh Nation

An experiment in alternate history…

The Numuhs originally roamed the plains of Northern Columbia, hunting buffalo and fighting neighboring tribes. However, once the Angles and Benjians arrived from Northern Evroop in 5636, their way of life was doomed.

The Angles from Angleland built a strong city on the Specific Coast, in eastern North Columbia in 5742. As more and more Angles immigrated to North Columbia, they forced the people who originally lived there to move farther west. These tribes had to move into the Numuhs’ territory. The Numuhs responded by fighting and raiding the displaced tribes.

In 5862, the Angles had taken over much more North Columbian land. The people who were displaced were moved to central North Columbia, where the Numuhs lived. The Angles had a very large establishment in North Columbia by this time, and had a large army. With this army, they drove the Numuhs south into Benjaland. Benjaland was very sparsely populated at that time, so the Numuhs were content to live there.

However, the Benjians, who had moved to North Columbia in 5797, began building cities in northern Benjaland, where the Numuhs then lived. Disturbed by the Numuhs’ raiding the new cities, the Angles and Benjians joined forces against the Numuhs. The Benjians did not have a large army, but they killed thousands of buffalo, which the Numuhs depended on. The Angles, in turn, drove the Numuhs north to Indian Territory, the area set aside for the native Columbians. Thousands had been forced to move there already.

The Numuhs fought back, but it was of no avail against the large armies of the Angles. The Numuhs were forced to leave their former way of life.

In Indian Territory, life was hard for the Numuhs, as for all the native Columbians who were forced to live there. The Angles divided the land and assigned a section to each tribe. The Numuhs were assigned a section with their old allies, the Koygwoos, and the Nadeens.

The Numuhs were miserable in the reservation. Their old way of life was completely gone. They would never again roam the plains, hunting and fighting. The Angles took their children and tried to teach them to be like the Angles. They dressed them in Anglic clothing, and taught them the language and culture of the Angles.

There was a certain young man of the Numuhs who was called Wuutsabaya, which means “rattlesnake” in the Numuh tongue. He was extremely angered at the Angles’ treatment of the Numuhs. He could see that the Angles were attempting to rob the native Columbians of their cultures and languages. They were trying to make them into Angles.

Wuutsabaya was a very eloquent speaker, and knew several tongues. He traveled throughout Indian Territory and gave rousing speeches urging every young man of the native Columbians to take up arms against the Angles. To every tribe he spoke the same words:

The white men have conquered us,
They have taken our land.
Individually we have been defeated.
Now they take our language,
They rob us of our customs.
With their great army they conquered our few.
We must fight back!
Let not the name of the red people be defiled.
Alone we have yielded;
Together we may conquer!
Divided, we fell.
United, we shall stand!
Let every young man of you take up arms!
Together, we can free ourselves,
And retain our languages.
We shall stand against our enemies,
And establish anew our nations.

Thus he urged every tribe that dwelt in Indian Territory, as well as his own Numuhs, to take up arms against the Angles. He dreamed of all the tribes uniting, and fighting against the Angles. When the tribes were defeated, they were too few to resist the strong force of the Angles. However, Wuutsabaya thought, if all the tribes united, maybe their combined forces could defeat the Angles.

As it was aforementioned, Wuutsabaya was quite an eloquent speaker. His speeches moved many chiefs to decide to join him, and most of the tribes gave him their confidence. Only a few small tribes decided against it.

In September of 5882, Wuutsabaya assembled his troops. He had altogether 11,753 young warriors. He divided them by tribe, and gave each a commander who spoke their language.

Their first mission was to drive the Angles from Indian Territory. This was done fairly quickly since there were just teachers and missionaries sent by the government there. After a few buildings were burned and warnings sent, they moved out in about a week.

However, the native Columbians knew that the war would not be won as easily.

In October, the army moved into Columbia, the Angles’ territory. A few days later, the Angles’ army arrived. The Columbian government had heard the reports of the teachers and missionaries, and they sent an army of 30,000 soldiers to punish the native Columbians.

It was a long and bloody war, and it lasted nearly two years. Although Wuutsabaya had not been a warrior before, he turned out to be a valiant commander in the war. Many lives were lost, but in the end, the Angles agreed not to invade Indian Territory, to recognize the native Columbians as free and sovereign nations, and to not allow Anglic settlers to live in Indian Territory.

The native Columbians were overjoyed, and none were as happy as the Numuhs. They had regained their freedom, and Wuutsabaya was their hero. He had not only freed his own people, but also all the rest of the native Columbians living there. Although the Numuhs had lost their former way of life, they could live with pride, knowing that the Angles had been defeated.

The years following were by no means easy, but the Numuhs were a hardy people. They rounded up wild longhorn cattle, and learned to be ranchers. Many Numuhs established large ranches, with enough cattle to feed all the Numuhs.

In 5883, the Numuhs established a government for their nation. They simply called it Numu, the Numuh nation. They used the same boundaries of the old reservation, and the nation included the Koygwoos and Nadeens.

Today the Numuh nation is an internationally recognized free and sovereign nation, with a population of 2,700. Although they still speak their language, they are much more modern. Most Numuhs drive cars, and live in permanent houses. However, they still wear traditional clothing.

They have a democratic government, and the capital of the Numuh Nation is Sookahni.

One thought to “A History of the Numuh Nation”

  1. That’s a nice “what if” scenario. You should read Bury my Heart at Wounded Knee to find out what really happened, and why your scenario could never be.

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