WI: City-States in North Ameria

I think there could be a very interesting potential regarding American Indian city states had things gone a bit differently (no collapse of the Mississippians, indigenous agriculture in the Pacific Northwest, etc.). Although it seems hard to tell to what degree OTL major cities (like Cahokia) acted as hegemons or if they were simply trading with more distant cities.

Could Denver, Colorado, be a good city-state candidate?
As part of the United States or a remnant United States, definitely, but as noted, any number of cities in the area could take Denver's place. But OTL Denver is a hugely important transportation hub and has a very central location, so much so that it's neck and neck with St. Louis for best city to move the US capital to (and thus create "Denver, District of Columbia" or whatever).

Could city-states be established at national borders?
There's not a lot of opportunity for that to ever happen, barring a major shift in political arrangement (where, for instance, El Paso and Juarez could function as a single political unit for the benefit of themselves, Mexico, and the United States).
 
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