I'm eager to know what will become of the new century in this timeline. Specially about Latin America and Africa, and their reactions to scientific and technologic discoveries and research...
Keep it up!
Keep it up!
Malê Rising
- Thread starter Jonathan Edelstein
- Start date
Well, we've already seen the emergence of a primitivist, anti-technological movement among fundamentalist Muslims in the rural Sahara; whether they go the way of the Amish or the Unabomber remains to be seen. The German Copperbelt is also home to some increasingly prestigious technical schools thanks to the mining industry, and it's been implied that *Nigeria will be a fairly important place for biological (specifically agricultural and medical) research. I think it's been said that, by the present day, TTL's world will be about five to ten years ahead of OTL's technologically, give or take depending on the field, largely because of the greater human capital and infrastructure devoted to research (especially in Africa).
I suppose that odds are, they'd got both ways. Which is arguably sort of the case IOTL, and I guess that ITTL there are the foundations for both.
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I apologize that I've missed a chance to comment on the last few updates. Been very busy in real life.
That said, I continue to really enjoy this timeline. In particular, one thing that I'm really enjoying is the discussion of the effects, positive and negative, economic, cultural, and social of the vast amounts of oil in certain regions of Africa and the Middle East. It's refreshing to see it explored in a more human way than simply "X finds a metric f**k-ton of oil. X gets lots and lots of money, becomes great power/is immediately exploited ruthlessly by western interests". The backlash evolving in the form of regionalism, Islamic anti-technological movements, rapid urbanization and creation and fomentation of liberal democratic movements means that these regions will have very interesting futures as we reach the last cycle of the timeline.
Is there any possibility of union between Ilorin and the new Sokoto Republic?
In the past, we've discussed that a few European states will directly control parts, however small, of Africa post-decolonization era, though many would still retain some level of influence or shared head-of-state relationship. IIRC, those states were France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Germany. So, a little bit of predictions for who'll stay and who'll go:
Spain's situation is largely settled. It retains Ceuta and Melilla, which already fills the "controls part of Africa" requirement(plus, the Canarias, of course) but also retains Guinea Ecuatorial, which as previously described has become a bridge between the metropol and the Caribbean dominions of Puerto Rico and Cuba and has a close relationship with both. I do not see it leaving the Spanish system, though it may pursue a similar relation as Cuba has, assuming it has not already.
France, as previously guessed, will likely hold onto Senegal. Gabon and Algeria, in part or in full, could remain federated, but as you said there is a lot of internal tensions and history to work through so I'd air on the side of them not remaining directly controlled but perhaps have closely integrated customs and economic relationships. I think the rest of French West Africa will go its own way, except perhaps a few scattered coastal regions where Europeans and mixed-race populations are larger.
I believe Italy will not hold any territory in Tunisia, at this point ITTL. Yes, there's a much larger number of Italians in Tunisia and there will be cultural links, but given those Italians relationship with the government I don't see them fighting to have any territories shorn off of Tunisia for them. Where I see Italy holding on is in the Djibouti/Eritrea area where they are finding themselves surprisingly welcome and integrating to the natives as well as integrating them to some extent. I'm not sure we can guarantee the whole of the colony, but the area immediately surrounding Assab sounds like it will be a sure thing.
Germany's already been mentioned to likely retain a federal relationship with Sudwest Afrika, and from there be entangled in the South African sovereignty web. I believe all of its Congo and Central African territory will be going independent. The Copper Belt states will also go their own way, though probably on better terms and maintaining a close relationship to Germany through Sudwest Afrika. Madagascar seems to be on the verge of a revolution, and given the German political environment, I don't see them really stepping in to preserve the King and his backers.
It's really Portugal that we'll have to watch. It's doing a lot to bring the African territories more fully into the Portuguese fold, especially given the extensive settlement of its citizens there, so I can easily see them retaining some part of Angola or Mocambique, but given their unstable and repressive governmental problems, I think there will be a very large fight for decolonization throughout most of Portuguese Africa. This will be one of the bloodiest and most unstable areas in the coming area(the title of bloodiest will unfortunately be maintained by reigning champion Assorted Central Africa category).
And of course, England and its All-Dominion Empire means that there will be states that share the Monarchy with England, but will be self-governing independent states, so they don't count.
On a separate note, though, how exactly has the extended German presence on Papua New Guinea developed? I studied Unserdeutsch for a bit as a linguistic comparison of pidgin languages so I'm interested to see if there's been a greater degree of cultural influences or hybridization through the colony, though it is far outside of the focus of the TL so I understand if it's not really detailed now.
Also, a quick note I was thinking about as I do research for a TL of my own: The Catholic Liberals and the Legion's ideological conflict will find a lot of theological basis and support for both sides. The Catholic Liberals will favor a Thomasist viewpoint of an individual man's capability for questioning the unjust world around him and finding ways to be a just person worthy of salvation on his own, while the Legionnaire support of illiberal but economically populist states fits easily with Augustinian belief about the inherent and systematic nature of injustice and the necessity for state and church intervention to preserve the souls of the faithful. These are of course broad strokes categorizations, and the reality will likely be a case of mix-and-match. Social Justice-focused Catholic Liberals who argue for state intervention to combat economic inequality will find backing in Augustinian philosophy, for example, even as they support a Thomasist view of the individual's need for liberty and independence in relating to the society around him/her.
To quote Paolo Abacar: "The world has too many kings."
Luckily, with decolonization coming there's gonna be a lot less soon. Pity the Brits didn't take the right path after the Imperials too.
That said, I continue to really enjoy this timeline. In particular, one thing that I'm really enjoying is the discussion of the effects, positive and negative, economic, cultural, and social of the vast amounts of oil in certain regions of Africa and the Middle East. It's refreshing to see it explored in a more human way than simply "X finds a metric f**k-ton of oil. X gets lots and lots of money, becomes great power/is immediately exploited ruthlessly by western interests". The backlash evolving in the form of regionalism, Islamic anti-technological movements, rapid urbanization and creation and fomentation of liberal democratic movements means that these regions will have very interesting futures as we reach the last cycle of the timeline.
Is there any possibility of union between Ilorin and the new Sokoto Republic?
In the past, we've discussed that a few European states will directly control parts, however small, of Africa post-decolonization era, though many would still retain some level of influence or shared head-of-state relationship. IIRC, those states were France, Spain, Portugal, Italy, and Germany. So, a little bit of predictions for who'll stay and who'll go:
Spain's situation is largely settled. It retains Ceuta and Melilla, which already fills the "controls part of Africa" requirement(plus, the Canarias, of course) but also retains Guinea Ecuatorial, which as previously described has become a bridge between the metropol and the Caribbean dominions of Puerto Rico and Cuba and has a close relationship with both. I do not see it leaving the Spanish system, though it may pursue a similar relation as Cuba has, assuming it has not already.
France, as previously guessed, will likely hold onto Senegal. Gabon and Algeria, in part or in full, could remain federated, but as you said there is a lot of internal tensions and history to work through so I'd air on the side of them not remaining directly controlled but perhaps have closely integrated customs and economic relationships. I think the rest of French West Africa will go its own way, except perhaps a few scattered coastal regions where Europeans and mixed-race populations are larger.
I believe Italy will not hold any territory in Tunisia, at this point ITTL. Yes, there's a much larger number of Italians in Tunisia and there will be cultural links, but given those Italians relationship with the government I don't see them fighting to have any territories shorn off of Tunisia for them. Where I see Italy holding on is in the Djibouti/Eritrea area where they are finding themselves surprisingly welcome and integrating to the natives as well as integrating them to some extent. I'm not sure we can guarantee the whole of the colony, but the area immediately surrounding Assab sounds like it will be a sure thing.
Germany's already been mentioned to likely retain a federal relationship with Sudwest Afrika, and from there be entangled in the South African sovereignty web. I believe all of its Congo and Central African territory will be going independent. The Copper Belt states will also go their own way, though probably on better terms and maintaining a close relationship to Germany through Sudwest Afrika. Madagascar seems to be on the verge of a revolution, and given the German political environment, I don't see them really stepping in to preserve the King and his backers.
It's really Portugal that we'll have to watch. It's doing a lot to bring the African territories more fully into the Portuguese fold, especially given the extensive settlement of its citizens there, so I can easily see them retaining some part of Angola or Mocambique, but given their unstable and repressive governmental problems, I think there will be a very large fight for decolonization throughout most of Portuguese Africa. This will be one of the bloodiest and most unstable areas in the coming area(the title of bloodiest will unfortunately be maintained by reigning champion Assorted Central Africa category).
And of course, England and its All-Dominion Empire means that there will be states that share the Monarchy with England, but will be self-governing independent states, so they don't count.
On a separate note, though, how exactly has the extended German presence on Papua New Guinea developed? I studied Unserdeutsch for a bit as a linguistic comparison of pidgin languages so I'm interested to see if there's been a greater degree of cultural influences or hybridization through the colony, though it is far outside of the focus of the TL so I understand if it's not really detailed now.
Also, a quick note I was thinking about as I do research for a TL of my own: The Catholic Liberals and the Legion's ideological conflict will find a lot of theological basis and support for both sides. The Catholic Liberals will favor a Thomasist viewpoint of an individual man's capability for questioning the unjust world around him and finding ways to be a just person worthy of salvation on his own, while the Legionnaire support of illiberal but economically populist states fits easily with Augustinian belief about the inherent and systematic nature of injustice and the necessity for state and church intervention to preserve the souls of the faithful. These are of course broad strokes categorizations, and the reality will likely be a case of mix-and-match. Social Justice-focused Catholic Liberals who argue for state intervention to combat economic inequality will find backing in Augustinian philosophy, for example, even as they support a Thomasist view of the individual's need for liberty and independence in relating to the society around him/her.
Sigh, it looks like some people can't do anything right
To quote Paolo Abacar: "The world has too many kings."
Luckily, with decolonization coming there's gonna be a lot less soon. Pity the Brits didn't take the right path after the Imperials too.
Me and my fiance really enjoy that part of the TL too. As for the anti-technological movement, my initial assumption is they're more likely to follow the Belloist example of removing themselves from the world. However, as someone mentioned before, there could be a chance they go uni-bomber too. More than likely the ones motivated to use violence will be a minority, but will end up tarnishing the isolationists' reputation, leading to repression and more violence, fleeing the area and the possible spread of the ideology through refugees and such. Or maybe a compromise and a peaceful solution could also be reached. But like you said this and the other factors of the region are going to make it very interesting to see unfold as we reach the TL's conclusion.
It's really heartwarming to see the Malê states go independent for the first century of the TL.
To speak about decolonization, the one big piece will be Algeria and I really don't know weather it can be kept : the dual nature of the society (pied noir/Muslims) and the obvious unequal treatment of muslims will bring tensions. The Portuguese colonies are the other possible flashpoint.
Have a nice trip to Australia!
To speak about decolonization, the one big piece will be Algeria and I really don't know weather it can be kept : the dual nature of the society (pied noir/Muslims) and the obvious unequal treatment of muslims will bring tensions. The Portuguese colonies are the other possible flashpoint.
Have a nice trip to Australia!
I agree about the anti-technological movement. Given that the peoples of this region have been dominated by a Belloist interpretation of Islam for the majority of the TL's timeframe, I think the radical sect that seeks to retreat from modern technology will follow the teachings of retreating from an unjust society to maintain religious purity. Amish would be the best analogue. Given their ideological underpinings, I don't see Amish-Belloist terrorists anytime soon.
Sure, there might be some crazies that are open to Unabomber-esque activities, but I don't see them being numerous enough to be seen as much more than lone gunmen. After all, there is a very big difference between the Belloist approach to "un-Islamic" behavior and practices and say, OTL Wahabist offshoots.
I've also just realized that Germany and the Sahara, of all places, have very similar culture-counterculture matches. Massive growth of per capita income and technological advancement leads to backlash against modernism and romantic embrace of a largely fictional "pure" past of peasants and rural peoples. And both are dealing with this at the same time. Talk about parallel cultural evolution. Somebody needs to write about the adventures of a group of German hippies among the Tuareg Amish.
I agree about the anti-technological movement. Given that the peoples of this region have been dominated by a Belloist interpretation of Islam for the majority of the TL's timeframe, I think the radical sect that seeks to retreat from modern technology will follow the teachings of retreating from an unjust society to maintain religious purity. Amish would be the best analogue. Given their ideological underpinings, I don't see Amish-Belloist terrorists anytime soon.
Sure, there might be some crazies that are open to Unabomber-esque activities, but I don't see them being numerous enough to be seen as much more than lone gunmen. After all, there is a very big difference between the Belloist approach to "un-Islamic" behavior and practices and say, OTL Wahabist offshoots.
I've also just realized that Germany and the Sahara, of all places, have very similar culture-counterculture matches. Massive growth of per capita income and technological advancement leads to backlash against modernism and romantic embrace of a largely fictional "pure" past of peasants and rural peoples. And both are dealing with this at the same time. Talk about parallel cultural evolution. Somebody needs to write about the adventures of a group of German hippies among the Tuareg Amish.
Looking back, I agree now. Was lingering too much on the tensions around the averted civil war. A near century of Belloist influence and practice will lead to the Amish analogue more than likely.
The German hippies and Tureg Amish would be great place for cross-cultural growth. Hell some sick musical influences and fashions could arise out of it.
I’m in Sydney and the hotel Internet is strictly metered, so I hope I’m forgiven for responding generally.
The Tuareg anti-technologists: I tend to agree that their main culture would follow the Amish model, with a few individual Unabombers. As a couple of you have mentioned, the Belloist influence in the region is fairly strong, and withdrawal is a founding Belloist principle – it’s one that has been reinterpreted many times, but one that it would be natural for anti-modernists to take back to its roots. Also, the formation of parallel social and governing institutions has a long history in TTL. So what we’ll get is a collection of self-isolated desert communities – but on the other hand, any ideology can be perverted, and isolation can nurture extreme notions, so the occasional terrorist seems likely.
Oil wealth: I’d have thought that people reacting to it in different ways belonged to the Department of Bloody Obvious – after all, look at how much variation there’s been in the OTL management and cultural effects of resource wealth. Local political and cultural factors are as influential, or nearly so, as global economics and geopolitics. If you think the discovery of oil in the Kingdom of the Arabs has made things complicated, though, just wait till they find it in Libya.
Who will decolonize and how: I’ll hold my peace for now, given that we’re almost there, but some of your predictions are pretty warm. I will point out that Portugal has something of the same problem Britain did with India: that if it turns all its colonies into integral provinces with universal suffrage, then the Portuguese empire will become the Angolan-Mozambican empire. Depending on where Portugal’s political center of gravity is located, that could even happen after the Novo Reino falls, but the ultimate arrangement is likely to be a more nuanced one.
German presence in New Guinea: It has somewhat greater depth in the lowlands – Unserdeutsch has indeed become more widespread, there have been a few mixed marriages, and there’s also been some adoption of German cultural artifacts as ornamental items (if not always the way they would be used in Germany) – but the highlands are still largely unpenetrated. Some German goods have reached the highlands through trade, but there hasn’t been enough contact for cultural influence.
Sokoto and Ilorin’s Independence Day: Yeah, I couldn’t resist making it the hundredth anniversary of Paulo Abacar’s victory, but the symbolism would be obvious in TTL as well, and it’s a date their legislatures could easily choose for precisely that reason. And as to a union between the two: maybe, in time. They do share a great deal of recent history.
Music: I’ve mentioned Mento-Congo (Jamaica meets Sierra Leone meets the blues), Zambo (Portuguese-East African creole music) and Kiswa (Arab-East African with a bit of India on the side). Some variation on Afrobeat would almost have to happen in TTL, and I’d expect there to be many other regional and creole genres – and then there’s everything that will come out of Europe, Asia and the Americas. Pop culture in general will show the effects of TTL’s earlier globalization, especially once international mass communication gets going, and we should start seeing a great deal of it by the 1955-70 cycle. I definitely have an idea of what some of it will be.
And yes, a collaboration between German hippies and Tuareg Amish has to happen, or better yet, German hippies and dissident Tuareg Amish. The world needs more Tuareg folk metal.
The Tuareg anti-technologists: I tend to agree that their main culture would follow the Amish model, with a few individual Unabombers. As a couple of you have mentioned, the Belloist influence in the region is fairly strong, and withdrawal is a founding Belloist principle – it’s one that has been reinterpreted many times, but one that it would be natural for anti-modernists to take back to its roots. Also, the formation of parallel social and governing institutions has a long history in TTL. So what we’ll get is a collection of self-isolated desert communities – but on the other hand, any ideology can be perverted, and isolation can nurture extreme notions, so the occasional terrorist seems likely.
Oil wealth: I’d have thought that people reacting to it in different ways belonged to the Department of Bloody Obvious – after all, look at how much variation there’s been in the OTL management and cultural effects of resource wealth. Local political and cultural factors are as influential, or nearly so, as global economics and geopolitics. If you think the discovery of oil in the Kingdom of the Arabs has made things complicated, though, just wait till they find it in Libya.
Who will decolonize and how: I’ll hold my peace for now, given that we’re almost there, but some of your predictions are pretty warm. I will point out that Portugal has something of the same problem Britain did with India: that if it turns all its colonies into integral provinces with universal suffrage, then the Portuguese empire will become the Angolan-Mozambican empire. Depending on where Portugal’s political center of gravity is located, that could even happen after the Novo Reino falls, but the ultimate arrangement is likely to be a more nuanced one.
German presence in New Guinea: It has somewhat greater depth in the lowlands – Unserdeutsch has indeed become more widespread, there have been a few mixed marriages, and there’s also been some adoption of German cultural artifacts as ornamental items (if not always the way they would be used in Germany) – but the highlands are still largely unpenetrated. Some German goods have reached the highlands through trade, but there hasn’t been enough contact for cultural influence.
Sokoto and Ilorin’s Independence Day: Yeah, I couldn’t resist making it the hundredth anniversary of Paulo Abacar’s victory, but the symbolism would be obvious in TTL as well, and it’s a date their legislatures could easily choose for precisely that reason. And as to a union between the two: maybe, in time. They do share a great deal of recent history.
Music: I’ve mentioned Mento-Congo (Jamaica meets Sierra Leone meets the blues), Zambo (Portuguese-East African creole music) and Kiswa (Arab-East African with a bit of India on the side). Some variation on Afrobeat would almost have to happen in TTL, and I’d expect there to be many other regional and creole genres – and then there’s everything that will come out of Europe, Asia and the Americas. Pop culture in general will show the effects of TTL’s earlier globalization, especially once international mass communication gets going, and we should start seeing a great deal of it by the 1955-70 cycle. I definitely have an idea of what some of it will be.
And yes, a collaboration between German hippies and Tuareg Amish has to happen, or better yet, German hippies and dissident Tuareg Amish. The world needs more Tuareg folk metal.
Oh, yes. I had forgotten the foreshadowing of Libya's problems with relations to the Ottomans and internal unity. That'll be a fun little slice of chaos soon.
Interesting. It sounds like New Guinea has maintained a pretty traditional colonial situation, as unserdeutsch and mixed marriages exist, but are not common and there are likely few settlers and limited control beyond directly controlled posts of the German government. I'd speculate that it's something of a money sink as well. TTL's German government might also create interesting possibilities between the eastern half of the island and the semi-Dutch Nusantra. High German and Unserdeutsch are unlikely to supplant native languages, but the use of Unserdeutsch as a continued and expending language for trade and prestige with the colonial authorities could help forge close ties with merchants in Nusantra capable of speaking Dutch(actual Netherlanders or locals). There'll be a noticeable amount of Germanic loanwords and influence in the region's linguistic families, given that.
I have never known how much I wanted such a thing until now.
Well, I agree in as much as the one king (or queen), over the whole world, should be the British monarch, but still...
Pretty much. The Germans originally set up shop there as a coaling station, and once it morphed into a colony, they weren't quite sure what to do with it. Trade is only profitable on a small scale, and while there's some money to be made in logging, it doesn't offset the expenses of administration. Germany thus never really developed New Guinea the way it did SWA or the Copperbelt kingdoms.
Also, New Guinea isn't one of the better-run German possessions. It's considered a hardship post so it doesn't get the better civil servants, and because the New Guinean peoples are pre-state, the Germans don't have the same respect for them as for Madagascar or the Copperbelt kingdoms. This means that German rule over the coast is often arbitrary, although the flip side is that the highland peoples get mostly left alone.
Hmmm. Eventually there could be a Lingala-like trading patois among the coastal peoples that includes German and Dutch loanwords as well as some English via contact with the Torres Strait islands. This would definitely filter into the primary languages as well.
In that case, I think it's pretty safe to say that New Guinea will be one of the earlier decolonizations. The long-standing prejudice against pre-state peoples and the status as a hardship post makes me think that it's closer to German Central Africa than other colonies in terms of injustice against the inhabitants. Between it's lack of prestige, high cost of maintenance and mainland politicians eventually trying to distance themselves from ugly practices of colonialism, I think the Germans will be withdrawing fairly early into the next cycle of the TL. They'll likely still maintain naval posts and a lopsided economic relationship, but it sounds like political independence would be a net boon for everybody involved in a decade or two down the line.
This is sort of what I was imagining, though Lingala might be a step too far into formalized language systems, given the sheer scope of linguistic differences among the local linguistic families and between German, Dutch, and English, compared to the Lingala situation of mostly Bantu-Romance mixing. On the other hand, I can't really think of a better analogy off-hand. The West Germanic language family will likely have the greatest amount of linguistic influence of all, save perhaps Arabic and the locals themselves.
On that note, there'd likely be a decent amount of Japanese and Arabic influences not present IOTL due to those countries' expanded political relations and commercial ties to the region ITTL, with Arabic being the stronger of the two due to the strength of Islam and Japanese being a source of some more "modern" loanwords. These might be more common on the Nusantran side than Papua New Guinea at this point in time, but there's potential for expansion.
I dunno if this is too late, but I just discovered this whilst researching for my own TL; in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, several planters and entrepreneurs in New Guinea requested the Sarawak government for Dayak workers for "collecting wild rubber and instructing the natives on how to do so".
Considering that the OTL Sarawak Dayaks were able to complain and even sue non-Dayaks since the 1880's-1890's, I wonder how will ITTL German New Guinea's law systems look like. Probably nothing will change, but there is the chance for something to happen...
Considering that the OTL Sarawak Dayaks were able to complain and even sue non-Dayaks since the 1880's-1890's, I wonder how will ITTL German New Guinea's law systems look like. Probably nothing will change, but there is the chance for something to happen...
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Thanks and please keep reading!
Maybe an augmented Tok Pisin with multiple substrates, then - a creole that jettisons much more of the indigenous vocabulary but keeps indigenous grammatical structures and pronunciation. It would be a sort of pidgin German-Dutch with a minor key in English, focusing on words with maximum mutual intelligibility.
What people speak when they're at home, as opposed to when doing business with strangers, will be their native language with a steadily increasing number of German loanwords.
They'll definitely be there in West Papua along with some Dutch, but I doubt there's much contact between the two sides of New Guinea at this point. Overland trade is virtually impossible, and not many Indonesians or Japanese trade at the German-controlled ports. There's some small-scale coastal trade, but the post-independence era is when non-German foreigners will start to trade there in significant numbers.
The differing levels of contact will probably feed a cultural divide between the western and eastern lowland peoples, as indeed exists in OTL.
Hmmm. Interesting. I've mentioned that the Germans are recruiting Solomon Islanders as loggers and colonial police, but they wouldn't have the rubber collecting skills. For that, the Germans would need Dayaks (or people from Kamerun, but the Dayaks would be cheaper to transport). If they do show up in significant numbers, that could be where the Nusantaran cultural influence comes from. And they certainly wouldn't be easy to push around, both because they're used to having rights and because they have nearby patrons who actually give a damn about them.
I think this is one of the reasons I really like this TL. Situations come up where a question leads to some insight about history around the world I'd never heard of. The discussion just adds to the TL.
That sounds about right. The Germanic common vocabulary will be helpful in such a language, but would not have the power to displace native languages. Tok Pisin would make a better analogy, too.
A cultural divide as per OTL seems likely still. I think the advantage may be in economics than anything. A quick opportunity to make connections between similar colonial empires with similar languages could endure to independence and allow for a more diverse economy in Papua and a greater exchange of technical knowledge as the relationship grows. The east will still be unlikely to pursue much unity with the west or Nusantra, though.
This might also affect the situation. Germany's not so keen on being portrayed as the colonial nightmare, and the Dayaks and their nearby patrons would be a good way of publicizing that. It might be another nail in the coffin of German exploitative colonialism if, after the nightmares of Central Africa and the Congo, it's revealed things still aren't much better in New Guinea.
Guest Post: We Look in All Directions
Kichagem, Minnesota, United States.
March, 1931.
Mary's young twelve year old hands held the picket sign up high, proclaiming in big black Norwegian letters, “Vi [FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Ø[/FONT]nsker Rettferdighet.” Next to her, her best friend Chaska clutched onto a sign that had its English meaning of, “We Want Justice,” painted on hers. The multilingual nature of the march went with the Ojibway song that was sung to the beat pounded on the hide of many a hand drum. The song, dedicated to the four cardinal directions, and unofficially to all the people from across earth that could be found in each, was a common protest song heard throughout the Iron Range that hugged Minnesota's stretch of Lake Superior. It was sung proudly, by both Indian and immigrant, despite how often her teachers would strike her hands when any other word of Anishinaabemowin slipped out of her mouth at school.
Waasa inaabidaa, the Ojibway saying of 'we look in all directions' was quite apt when looking at the diverse array of people that had gathered to dig out the land's iron ore, all calling themselves the Norwegian gruvearbeidere over the English 'miners'. And the irony of her people helping defend immigrants while older immigrants spat on them wasn't lost on Mary, even at her young age. Even amongst her own friends and family the Range's mix was reflected. Chaska's family for instance had fled the repression in their home country of Peru, making their way north with others of her people. The fellow Indians, which called their tribe Runakuna, had brought with them the panpipes that added further color to the Rangers' mosaic of music, along with an increasing affinity for bowler hats amongst the women of the area; which could be seen on both girls, sitting over their pigtails and scarves to help warm themselves in the lingering frigidness of the year's late winter. Then their was Mary's little cousin, Junior. The eight year old followed the Indian tradition of being named after his Ojibway father, her Uncle Billy (who was named after his dad too), but his mother was from the mountains of a place called Himachal Pradesh in India. In the hard times following its hard won independence, her Auntie Sarita's family joined their fellow Ghirth in journeying to the Range. His heritage was jokingly summed up by his dad, when his mom announced her pregnancy with him, “Ha, our kid will be both kinds of Indian.” Yet the memory of it stung, especially at the sight of Sarita's belly, swollen with another child.
This march through Kichagem [1] was largely brought about for Billy and Peter, his own best friend and another unofficial uncle of her's. Peter's dark complected and wavy-haired wife, her 'Auntie' Maritza, stoically held a picture of the two men as she led the protest, guarded on each side by her two young sons, András and Juraj. In the photograph, the shaggy-haired Ojibway happily shared a mug of beer, at the local bar, with the massively muscled son of Slovak refugees – part of a wave of people that fled the collapse of Hungary after the Great War. Maritza too had come from that country, but she had told Mary how her own parents were refugees from Egypt, something that truly amazed Mary – That would be so 'electric', to live by the pyramids, where the mummies are buried. That her people, the Magyarabs, were Hungarians that had settled there long long ago, and thought they'd find welcome in their ancestral homeland. “But no...we'd become too different I guess, especially since we're Muslims now.” A fact Mary never would have guessed if she hadn't known Maritza all her life, rarely seeing her ever go to Kichagem's mosque that the gruvearbeidere originally from Albania, Bosnia, and Sierra Leone shared, along with the Muslims from India [2]. And Uncle Peter never liked church in the first place, just like Uncle Billy. Only doing ceremonies with us every now and then.
Heading down mainstreet, they traveled past its collection of businesses that held signs in northern Minnesota's predominant languages of English and Norwegian; though in regards for the later the Norwegian immigrants preferred to call themselves Nylanders now a days, since the 'New Landers' had largely left Scandinavia in their grandparents time, but still took pride in the cultures and languages they combined with America's, becoming something new. But they act like the rest of the Chemokes, just like the other 'Long Knives' or white folks who were all going crazy across the country, thinking only their way can be. Only their color. Only they can be different and proud of that. It was almost like it didn't matter they weren't forcing Indian kids to be shipped off to the boarding schools anymore.
Yet not all Nylanders were with Mayor Hagen and his 'nativist' agenda, a word that raised roars of laughter from the Ojibways of the Range; her grandmother would say, “If they want only natives here, they should either go home themselves or come live on rez with us.” In fact many had come out to join the protest, whether they were fellow Rangers or from other parts of the state, traveling up from as far as the Cities [3], holding signs letting Hagen and his cronies know they didn't speak for all Nylanders. It joined a coalition of numerous groups that swelled what was originally started as just another gruvearbeidere strike. The loggers had put down their axes and saws to join their brother-laborers, followed by many of the shopkeepers in town. Most of the religious leaders had spoken out against the brutality, particularly the mosque's ulam, the pujaris of the Hindu temple, and the spiritual elders of the Ojibway's own Midewin society. Even the militants that named themselves after the Ghost Dancers, who wanted the reservations to close themselves off and become true nations like the Mapuches had in South America, showed solidarity. The Citizens League spoke out in support also, connecting their strike with the greater struggle for equal rights raging down south, and across the whole country.
Arriving at their destination of Kichagem's jail, their opposition made themselves known as well. The scowling Sheriff Sedlák and his deputies stood outside, joined by police brought in from elsewhere and 'deputized' company-hired goons, like whenever the gruvearbeidere got 'uppity'. Sedlák was particularly despised, since the Czech was the first immigrant and former gruvearbeider that they managed to get elected, but he backed the mine-owners and Hagen the moment they pinned that badge to his chest. Sadly he wasn't the only Knud - the traitors and strikebreakers that shared the name of one of the most infamous scabs that undermined the gruvearbeiders' early efforts to organize [4]. Many in their union didn't support the new cause it undertook.
“Forget this leg, I'm ready to give those Knuds another good lick,” Mary's father proclaimed as he adjusted the crutches he relied on because of his broken leg. The black man of medium build pushed his taut braid of wooly hair, which he shared with his daughter, over his shoulder where it fell to the small of his back; adopting the tribe's belief, as the Ojibway had adopted the fugitive agent of the New Underground Railroad, that one's power resided in one's hair.
Mary's mom, a wide faced woman with fiery eyes – that she gifted to her child - stopped him. “Henry, gaawiin,” telling him 'no', a word Mary long knew from being scolded with it herself - for all the times her little tomboy self ran wild with Junior, and Maritza and Peter's sons. “Don't talk that way. We didn't come here to fight them with our fists.”
He was annoyed by that, but Mary knew it was because he felt guilty over what happened to her uncles. How he only walked away from that mess with a broken bone and some bruises. Yet it was like him, always trying to do too much, as her mom complained all the time about. That trait was how he got in trouble down south. “And if you don't calm down Henry, you're gonna have to flee to Canada next,” she overheard many a time from her mom when they fought about his activities in the union and beyond. Mary knew her mother wasn't afraid to stand up for herself and others either, but after what happen when the Knuds broke up the picket lines a few days before, and all the rumors the National Guard were going to be called up, she was just worried for their safety.
“Fine Rose, fine,” he bowed to his wife, and rejoined the final chorus of the sacred song.
In contrast to her dad, Chaska could barely contain her fear, confessing in a whisper to her friend, “Mary, I'm scared. The sheriff looks like he wants kill us.”
“Don't worry, remember I told you I saw a rabbit before we marched out?” Mary had pointed out the little white waabooz to her mom, before it hopped off in the very direction they were headed. The stories of Wenebozhoo was the first thing that came to her mind, the great shapeshifter that was half-spirit and half-flesh, who watched over the people. He was first found as a child by Nokomis, his grandmother, in the shape of a little white rabbit.
Junior however wasn't impressed, “That's stupid Mary. It was just another dumb rabbit, not Wenebozhoo.” It went with his anger against seemingly everything since what happened to his dad.
“Shut up! It was too,” and she pulled her cousin's stocking cap over his eyes, which caused him to shove her back.
“Knock it off, both of you,” her dad lowly commanded, backed up by a wrathful glare from both of the cousin's mothers. “What is this about?” And after the explanation, he smiled, “I believe Mary on this. Cause down south we have stories about a rabbit that guides us too. The Gullah down there told me about him when I was hiding out on their islands, about the Br'er Rabbit. One old-timer, who was small when the Great Rising happened and when the Ogeechee Republic rose up too, said the Br'er Rabbit led his Pa' from some Gray Coats coming after his unit. He even told me the Br'er Rabbit was down helping people in Brazil too, told to him by some traders that go between South Carolina and Africa, called Coasters. That he helped some slaves in a big revolt down there, guiding them up into the hills from the soldiers that came hunting for 'em, and eventually guided them all the way back to Africa where they were forever free, down to their descendents to this day. So I think Wenabozhoo and the Br'er Rabbit are the same, just different names from different places. So Junior, he must be guiding us, since whole different folks have the same stories of him.”
Then Chaska broke her bashful streak, and excitedly spoke, “Oh that sounds like a story my parents told me. They said when the Concha came over to conquer the Inca, that our last emperor swore, right before they killed him, that he would return to have his vengeance and free us. We call him Inkarri. But the Concha knew of this legend too, and killed him every time he came back from the dead. So Inkarri decided to trick them, and came back as a slave amongst the Grone, I mean the colored people. He led a big revolt, uniting the slaves and poor people of all colors, and then he would come to the Andes and free us too. But they somehow found out he was the Inkarri, and banished him across the sea before he got too powerful for them. And my mom and dad say that maybe one day he'll sail back and free everyone...He's not a rabbit, but Inkarri watches over us like Wenabozhoo and the Br'er Rabbit...right?”
Mary put a hand around her friend's shoulder, “Actually, no.”
“Hey,” she meekly protested.
“You know I'm just messing around,” and Mary laughed, urging Chaska to as well.
Maritza joined in, “Sounds like Juraj Jánošík,” and glanced down to her youngest son, “Right, who your father insisted you be named after.” No further explanation was required, since Mary had been hearing stories of Slovakia's Robin Hood since she was swaddled on a cradleboard; a poor peasant, much like they all were when it came down to it, who stood up to the land's rich lords. “He wasn't magical, but he still inspires people even after he died centuries ago. Oh my Peter wanted to be just like him...” Tears silenced any further comment, earning sympathetic hugs from Mary's mom and Sarita.
Her older son, close to Mary and Chaska's age, spoke of his own name, “Kind of like that András guy who saved grandma and grandpa?”
“Yes, András Weisz,” forcing down her tears to answer him. “He helped lead the Magyarab all across Africa during the Great War, and then back to Hungary. That's why your uncle was named after him...and you from him.” The mention of her brother didn't help with Maritza's sorrows, having died in a mining accident just after Mary was born.
“Like Behenji of the Dalit Army,” Sarita added to the list of heroes, struggling to shape her words into English. “She was as mortal as any of us, and the lowest caste in India, and a widowed woman, but she still raised an army to protect her people. From not only the British, but the soldiers of India who forgot who their own people were...just like these Knuds.” Mary really liked hearing stories about Behenji, but Sarita rarely discussed anything directly about the country she left as a teen. Junior said she still had nightmares about the bombings, famine, and other horrible things that occurred during the war. “My parents look down on her because she was a Dalit, but they make us all Dalits here. And now I'm the widow fighting instead of my husband too,” falling into bitterness on her last words.
Then the protest's collective attention was called to the union's newly-elected local president, Olav Cole. He was a broad shouldered square-jawed man whose father was from Sierra Leone and his mother a local Nylander. She'd seen him rattle off a speech in English, Norwegian, and Kriol with equal ease, and he used those language skills to convince the majority of the gruvearbeidere to take up the cause the old leadership refused to deal with. “Our current strike has been about an issue long ignored both here on the Range and across the whole country. And though it's divided us, it must be addressed. My own little brother is down in Georgia fighting to bring rights to colored people there, and it's only fair we do the same right here. We swore to uphold the rights and dignity of all gruvearbeidere after all. And for too long so many of us have been abused, even more than we all are already, simply because of our skin color and our faiths. They forget we all dig the iron out of this land. That we all immigrated here from somewhere else, or were here long before all our ancestors came to this land. This has to change, because we are ALL gruvearbeidere! We are ALL Rangers!”
The marchers all yelled, clapped, or pounded on the drums with approval. Once he managed to quiet them down, Olav continued, reaching the issue that set this whole affair aflame. “And now we come here not only to demand our rights owed to every man in this country, but to seek justice. Again, our wives and children, you all here today, have to take up the line, march down the streets holding signs and braving the cold because the Knuds have most of us behind bars...Except for two women here, and their children. These two are here because their husbands were permanently taken from us. And what's most tragic of all,” pausing to swing around at the Sheriff and his men, pointing an accusing finger, “is it was done by their fellow gruvearbeidere!”
Mary, instead, glanced to her father, who couldn't bring himself to raise his eyes up. She was happy her dad hadn't of joined them on taking their journey [5], but understood his guilt. If Peter hadn't of hit that deputy, he'd probably of died too. No one told her directly, but she overheard enough to know when the Knuds broke the picket line her dad was beat badly. It was how his leg got broken. Then Peter used his hamsized fists to knock one of the deputies out cold, which caused them all to turn on Peter. And Billy wouldn't let his best pal face them down alone...Just the thought of it made her hug her dad.
Junior raised his voice again, determination soothing much of his tongue's earlier anger, “You know who I want to be like now? My Dad, and Uncle Pete. They're my heroes now.” It drew smiles from all around and his own mother's hand to pull him close.
And as sappy as that kind of sounded to Mary, she agreed, “Maybe one day people will tell stories about them when they stand up to Knuds or whatever.”
“They probably will honey,” and her mom put an arm around her shoulder.
And as Mary watched her aunts get called up by Olav to speak for their dead husbands, she thought of them as heroes too, to one day tell her future children about. The same went for her parents, her grandma, Olav, and all the others that would inspire Rangers and anyone else who heard their stories to stand up - right along side Wenebozhoo and the Br'er Rabbit, Inkarri and Juraj Jánošík, and András Weisz and Behenji too. She would look to all directions for heroes. And I'll be just like them all when I grow up, because I want to be gruvearbeider too. And no one's gonna stop me.
[1] In OTL this town would be named Virginia, the central hub of the Iron Range. It was named after the first mayor's wife, and since decades of butterflies have passed since the PoD, it's unlikely TTL's first mayor would have had a wife named Virginia too. So I based the name off a corruption of the area's Ojibway name of Kweechakwepagem – 'Lake of the North Birds.'
[2] This isn't as odd as it sounds compared to OTL. The Iron Range had a high amount of Jewish immigrants, and there were once many synagogues in the communities of the region.
[3] Local slang for Minnesota's largest urban center - the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
[4] Took this from a page in Norwegian history of turning the names of infamous traitors, like Vidkun Quisling and Arne Treholt, into a general pejorative for all of them.
[5] Common Native euphemism for death. The Ojibway and many other tribes traditionally believe one goes on a journey that lasts a number of days, passing several tests to cleanse their spirit, before reaching the afterlife.
Kichagem, Minnesota, United States.
March, 1931.
Mary's young twelve year old hands held the picket sign up high, proclaiming in big black Norwegian letters, “Vi [FONT=Times New Roman, serif]Ø[/FONT]nsker Rettferdighet.” Next to her, her best friend Chaska clutched onto a sign that had its English meaning of, “We Want Justice,” painted on hers. The multilingual nature of the march went with the Ojibway song that was sung to the beat pounded on the hide of many a hand drum. The song, dedicated to the four cardinal directions, and unofficially to all the people from across earth that could be found in each, was a common protest song heard throughout the Iron Range that hugged Minnesota's stretch of Lake Superior. It was sung proudly, by both Indian and immigrant, despite how often her teachers would strike her hands when any other word of Anishinaabemowin slipped out of her mouth at school.
Waasa inaabidaa, the Ojibway saying of 'we look in all directions' was quite apt when looking at the diverse array of people that had gathered to dig out the land's iron ore, all calling themselves the Norwegian gruvearbeidere over the English 'miners'. And the irony of her people helping defend immigrants while older immigrants spat on them wasn't lost on Mary, even at her young age. Even amongst her own friends and family the Range's mix was reflected. Chaska's family for instance had fled the repression in their home country of Peru, making their way north with others of her people. The fellow Indians, which called their tribe Runakuna, had brought with them the panpipes that added further color to the Rangers' mosaic of music, along with an increasing affinity for bowler hats amongst the women of the area; which could be seen on both girls, sitting over their pigtails and scarves to help warm themselves in the lingering frigidness of the year's late winter. Then their was Mary's little cousin, Junior. The eight year old followed the Indian tradition of being named after his Ojibway father, her Uncle Billy (who was named after his dad too), but his mother was from the mountains of a place called Himachal Pradesh in India. In the hard times following its hard won independence, her Auntie Sarita's family joined their fellow Ghirth in journeying to the Range. His heritage was jokingly summed up by his dad, when his mom announced her pregnancy with him, “Ha, our kid will be both kinds of Indian.” Yet the memory of it stung, especially at the sight of Sarita's belly, swollen with another child.
This march through Kichagem [1] was largely brought about for Billy and Peter, his own best friend and another unofficial uncle of her's. Peter's dark complected and wavy-haired wife, her 'Auntie' Maritza, stoically held a picture of the two men as she led the protest, guarded on each side by her two young sons, András and Juraj. In the photograph, the shaggy-haired Ojibway happily shared a mug of beer, at the local bar, with the massively muscled son of Slovak refugees – part of a wave of people that fled the collapse of Hungary after the Great War. Maritza too had come from that country, but she had told Mary how her own parents were refugees from Egypt, something that truly amazed Mary – That would be so 'electric', to live by the pyramids, where the mummies are buried. That her people, the Magyarabs, were Hungarians that had settled there long long ago, and thought they'd find welcome in their ancestral homeland. “But no...we'd become too different I guess, especially since we're Muslims now.” A fact Mary never would have guessed if she hadn't known Maritza all her life, rarely seeing her ever go to Kichagem's mosque that the gruvearbeidere originally from Albania, Bosnia, and Sierra Leone shared, along with the Muslims from India [2]. And Uncle Peter never liked church in the first place, just like Uncle Billy. Only doing ceremonies with us every now and then.
Heading down mainstreet, they traveled past its collection of businesses that held signs in northern Minnesota's predominant languages of English and Norwegian; though in regards for the later the Norwegian immigrants preferred to call themselves Nylanders now a days, since the 'New Landers' had largely left Scandinavia in their grandparents time, but still took pride in the cultures and languages they combined with America's, becoming something new. But they act like the rest of the Chemokes, just like the other 'Long Knives' or white folks who were all going crazy across the country, thinking only their way can be. Only their color. Only they can be different and proud of that. It was almost like it didn't matter they weren't forcing Indian kids to be shipped off to the boarding schools anymore.
Yet not all Nylanders were with Mayor Hagen and his 'nativist' agenda, a word that raised roars of laughter from the Ojibways of the Range; her grandmother would say, “If they want only natives here, they should either go home themselves or come live on rez with us.” In fact many had come out to join the protest, whether they were fellow Rangers or from other parts of the state, traveling up from as far as the Cities [3], holding signs letting Hagen and his cronies know they didn't speak for all Nylanders. It joined a coalition of numerous groups that swelled what was originally started as just another gruvearbeidere strike. The loggers had put down their axes and saws to join their brother-laborers, followed by many of the shopkeepers in town. Most of the religious leaders had spoken out against the brutality, particularly the mosque's ulam, the pujaris of the Hindu temple, and the spiritual elders of the Ojibway's own Midewin society. Even the militants that named themselves after the Ghost Dancers, who wanted the reservations to close themselves off and become true nations like the Mapuches had in South America, showed solidarity. The Citizens League spoke out in support also, connecting their strike with the greater struggle for equal rights raging down south, and across the whole country.
Arriving at their destination of Kichagem's jail, their opposition made themselves known as well. The scowling Sheriff Sedlák and his deputies stood outside, joined by police brought in from elsewhere and 'deputized' company-hired goons, like whenever the gruvearbeidere got 'uppity'. Sedlák was particularly despised, since the Czech was the first immigrant and former gruvearbeider that they managed to get elected, but he backed the mine-owners and Hagen the moment they pinned that badge to his chest. Sadly he wasn't the only Knud - the traitors and strikebreakers that shared the name of one of the most infamous scabs that undermined the gruvearbeiders' early efforts to organize [4]. Many in their union didn't support the new cause it undertook.
“Forget this leg, I'm ready to give those Knuds another good lick,” Mary's father proclaimed as he adjusted the crutches he relied on because of his broken leg. The black man of medium build pushed his taut braid of wooly hair, which he shared with his daughter, over his shoulder where it fell to the small of his back; adopting the tribe's belief, as the Ojibway had adopted the fugitive agent of the New Underground Railroad, that one's power resided in one's hair.
Mary's mom, a wide faced woman with fiery eyes – that she gifted to her child - stopped him. “Henry, gaawiin,” telling him 'no', a word Mary long knew from being scolded with it herself - for all the times her little tomboy self ran wild with Junior, and Maritza and Peter's sons. “Don't talk that way. We didn't come here to fight them with our fists.”
He was annoyed by that, but Mary knew it was because he felt guilty over what happened to her uncles. How he only walked away from that mess with a broken bone and some bruises. Yet it was like him, always trying to do too much, as her mom complained all the time about. That trait was how he got in trouble down south. “And if you don't calm down Henry, you're gonna have to flee to Canada next,” she overheard many a time from her mom when they fought about his activities in the union and beyond. Mary knew her mother wasn't afraid to stand up for herself and others either, but after what happen when the Knuds broke up the picket lines a few days before, and all the rumors the National Guard were going to be called up, she was just worried for their safety.
“Fine Rose, fine,” he bowed to his wife, and rejoined the final chorus of the sacred song.
In contrast to her dad, Chaska could barely contain her fear, confessing in a whisper to her friend, “Mary, I'm scared. The sheriff looks like he wants kill us.”
“Don't worry, remember I told you I saw a rabbit before we marched out?” Mary had pointed out the little white waabooz to her mom, before it hopped off in the very direction they were headed. The stories of Wenebozhoo was the first thing that came to her mind, the great shapeshifter that was half-spirit and half-flesh, who watched over the people. He was first found as a child by Nokomis, his grandmother, in the shape of a little white rabbit.
Junior however wasn't impressed, “That's stupid Mary. It was just another dumb rabbit, not Wenebozhoo.” It went with his anger against seemingly everything since what happened to his dad.
“Shut up! It was too,” and she pulled her cousin's stocking cap over his eyes, which caused him to shove her back.
“Knock it off, both of you,” her dad lowly commanded, backed up by a wrathful glare from both of the cousin's mothers. “What is this about?” And after the explanation, he smiled, “I believe Mary on this. Cause down south we have stories about a rabbit that guides us too. The Gullah down there told me about him when I was hiding out on their islands, about the Br'er Rabbit. One old-timer, who was small when the Great Rising happened and when the Ogeechee Republic rose up too, said the Br'er Rabbit led his Pa' from some Gray Coats coming after his unit. He even told me the Br'er Rabbit was down helping people in Brazil too, told to him by some traders that go between South Carolina and Africa, called Coasters. That he helped some slaves in a big revolt down there, guiding them up into the hills from the soldiers that came hunting for 'em, and eventually guided them all the way back to Africa where they were forever free, down to their descendents to this day. So I think Wenabozhoo and the Br'er Rabbit are the same, just different names from different places. So Junior, he must be guiding us, since whole different folks have the same stories of him.”
Then Chaska broke her bashful streak, and excitedly spoke, “Oh that sounds like a story my parents told me. They said when the Concha came over to conquer the Inca, that our last emperor swore, right before they killed him, that he would return to have his vengeance and free us. We call him Inkarri. But the Concha knew of this legend too, and killed him every time he came back from the dead. So Inkarri decided to trick them, and came back as a slave amongst the Grone, I mean the colored people. He led a big revolt, uniting the slaves and poor people of all colors, and then he would come to the Andes and free us too. But they somehow found out he was the Inkarri, and banished him across the sea before he got too powerful for them. And my mom and dad say that maybe one day he'll sail back and free everyone...He's not a rabbit, but Inkarri watches over us like Wenabozhoo and the Br'er Rabbit...right?”
Mary put a hand around her friend's shoulder, “Actually, no.”
“Hey,” she meekly protested.
“You know I'm just messing around,” and Mary laughed, urging Chaska to as well.
Maritza joined in, “Sounds like Juraj Jánošík,” and glanced down to her youngest son, “Right, who your father insisted you be named after.” No further explanation was required, since Mary had been hearing stories of Slovakia's Robin Hood since she was swaddled on a cradleboard; a poor peasant, much like they all were when it came down to it, who stood up to the land's rich lords. “He wasn't magical, but he still inspires people even after he died centuries ago. Oh my Peter wanted to be just like him...” Tears silenced any further comment, earning sympathetic hugs from Mary's mom and Sarita.
Her older son, close to Mary and Chaska's age, spoke of his own name, “Kind of like that András guy who saved grandma and grandpa?”
“Yes, András Weisz,” forcing down her tears to answer him. “He helped lead the Magyarab all across Africa during the Great War, and then back to Hungary. That's why your uncle was named after him...and you from him.” The mention of her brother didn't help with Maritza's sorrows, having died in a mining accident just after Mary was born.
“Like Behenji of the Dalit Army,” Sarita added to the list of heroes, struggling to shape her words into English. “She was as mortal as any of us, and the lowest caste in India, and a widowed woman, but she still raised an army to protect her people. From not only the British, but the soldiers of India who forgot who their own people were...just like these Knuds.” Mary really liked hearing stories about Behenji, but Sarita rarely discussed anything directly about the country she left as a teen. Junior said she still had nightmares about the bombings, famine, and other horrible things that occurred during the war. “My parents look down on her because she was a Dalit, but they make us all Dalits here. And now I'm the widow fighting instead of my husband too,” falling into bitterness on her last words.
Then the protest's collective attention was called to the union's newly-elected local president, Olav Cole. He was a broad shouldered square-jawed man whose father was from Sierra Leone and his mother a local Nylander. She'd seen him rattle off a speech in English, Norwegian, and Kriol with equal ease, and he used those language skills to convince the majority of the gruvearbeidere to take up the cause the old leadership refused to deal with. “Our current strike has been about an issue long ignored both here on the Range and across the whole country. And though it's divided us, it must be addressed. My own little brother is down in Georgia fighting to bring rights to colored people there, and it's only fair we do the same right here. We swore to uphold the rights and dignity of all gruvearbeidere after all. And for too long so many of us have been abused, even more than we all are already, simply because of our skin color and our faiths. They forget we all dig the iron out of this land. That we all immigrated here from somewhere else, or were here long before all our ancestors came to this land. This has to change, because we are ALL gruvearbeidere! We are ALL Rangers!”
The marchers all yelled, clapped, or pounded on the drums with approval. Once he managed to quiet them down, Olav continued, reaching the issue that set this whole affair aflame. “And now we come here not only to demand our rights owed to every man in this country, but to seek justice. Again, our wives and children, you all here today, have to take up the line, march down the streets holding signs and braving the cold because the Knuds have most of us behind bars...Except for two women here, and their children. These two are here because their husbands were permanently taken from us. And what's most tragic of all,” pausing to swing around at the Sheriff and his men, pointing an accusing finger, “is it was done by their fellow gruvearbeidere!”
Mary, instead, glanced to her father, who couldn't bring himself to raise his eyes up. She was happy her dad hadn't of joined them on taking their journey [5], but understood his guilt. If Peter hadn't of hit that deputy, he'd probably of died too. No one told her directly, but she overheard enough to know when the Knuds broke the picket line her dad was beat badly. It was how his leg got broken. Then Peter used his hamsized fists to knock one of the deputies out cold, which caused them all to turn on Peter. And Billy wouldn't let his best pal face them down alone...Just the thought of it made her hug her dad.
Junior raised his voice again, determination soothing much of his tongue's earlier anger, “You know who I want to be like now? My Dad, and Uncle Pete. They're my heroes now.” It drew smiles from all around and his own mother's hand to pull him close.
And as sappy as that kind of sounded to Mary, she agreed, “Maybe one day people will tell stories about them when they stand up to Knuds or whatever.”
“They probably will honey,” and her mom put an arm around her shoulder.
And as Mary watched her aunts get called up by Olav to speak for their dead husbands, she thought of them as heroes too, to one day tell her future children about. The same went for her parents, her grandma, Olav, and all the others that would inspire Rangers and anyone else who heard their stories to stand up - right along side Wenebozhoo and the Br'er Rabbit, Inkarri and Juraj Jánošík, and András Weisz and Behenji too. She would look to all directions for heroes. And I'll be just like them all when I grow up, because I want to be gruvearbeider too. And no one's gonna stop me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
[1] In OTL this town would be named Virginia, the central hub of the Iron Range. It was named after the first mayor's wife, and since decades of butterflies have passed since the PoD, it's unlikely TTL's first mayor would have had a wife named Virginia too. So I based the name off a corruption of the area's Ojibway name of Kweechakwepagem – 'Lake of the North Birds.'
[2] This isn't as odd as it sounds compared to OTL. The Iron Range had a high amount of Jewish immigrants, and there were once many synagogues in the communities of the region.
[3] Local slang for Minnesota's largest urban center - the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
[4] Took this from a page in Norwegian history of turning the names of infamous traitors, like Vidkun Quisling and Arne Treholt, into a general pejorative for all of them.
[5] Common Native euphemism for death. The Ojibway and many other tribes traditionally believe one goes on a journey that lasts a number of days, passing several tests to cleanse their spirit, before reaching the afterlife.
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I love this post, othyrsyde! All of these cultures coming together, the use of period slang (it's really electric! ), tapping all the previous events of the story...I really like it.
), tapping all the previous events of the story...I really like it.