The World Of Steam Century Kaposia

Goverment

A. Kaposia is the capital of the nation of Tekamthi; despite its proximity to the border, it is a very important location for controlling trade along the Mississippi River

B. Legislative Branch
1. Council of Grandmothers/Nokomiisug (no-ko-miss-ug)
2. Consists of 45 women, one for each clan
3. Female chief/Ogiimaikwe (ogee-me-ee-quay)
4. The Law Council (a subset of the Council of Grandmothers) serves as the supreme court on the national level and consists of a subset of representatives with legal training

C. Judicial Branch (regional and civil)
1. The Crane Bench, made up of leaders of the Crane/ Aan’aawenh clans and sub-clans (about 15)
D. Regional Government, Military, Police
1. Governer/Ogiima (o-gee-ma) of MN province is Henry Schlender (the guy who did all these translations into Ojibwa)
2. Thunderchief (no translation yet) is the executive of the military branch; military members tend to come from the Eagle and Golden Eagle clans
3. The police are known as Guardians, most of them are from the Bear clan

Foreign Policy

A. Tekamthi offers full citizenship with voting rights to foreigners, making it a popular place to immigrate or to escape slavery (before slavery was abolished)

B. Marriage between ethnic groups is common.

C. Tekamthi is also open to other faiths, making it a popular place for persecuted groups to move to (i.e. Catholics in Protestant nations, some of the more esoteric and exotic protestant sects, or Jews from pretty much any nation), and has a strong Catholic presence from French and Irish immigrants

D. The most popular European immigrant group would have been Irish during the famine (they couldn’t have gotten voting rights in the Colonies), followed by French, then Scandinavians and Germans

E. In terms of foreign policy, Tekamthi is sovereign and recognized…it is a strong nation, and not considered to be an area of expansion for the British Colonies; Tekamthi and France have a historically close alliance (imagine the modern US/British relationship) and citizens cross the border between Tekamthi and New France freely.

F. When a foreigner is adopted into a Clan, they become a citizen of Tekamthi, with full rights and responsibilities; you join a clan by being formally invited by the clan Grandmother (though the invitation can be sought by the individual seeking to join the clan)

Industry, Technology, Education, Culture

A. Tekamthi has a vigorous economy, including farming, meat production, iron mining, forestry

B. Tekamthi would probably also export ornamental/luxury goods with an ‘ethnic’ twist in the same way that Mexico sells American tourists sombreros, ponchos, and tequila…perhaps beadwork, jewelry, quillwork, furs, and blankets

C. Tekamthi has high-quality technology…airships, telegrams, etc.  This is NOT the low-tech, uneducated, nature-obsessed stereotype!

D. Kaposia would be an important location for trade, because of it’s location on the Mississippi, and would also be a center of transport by railroad and airship

E. Milling, paper production, and other industries would likely take advantage of the water-power available (as they did in our world, too!)

F. Kaposia is the home of the University of Kaposia, which has a Department of Paranormal Studies and links to an ancient cult

G. the local newspaper is called the Kaposia Mazina’igan (the Kaposia Journal)

H. Just like Minneapolis and St. Paul of the day, it would have a very noticeable upper class that profited from industry and trade, with a large population of factory workers

I. Generally speaking, society in Tekamthi is matriarchal, which would maybe clash with the patriarchal cultures of foreign inhabitants, but will leave women an active and vocal role in the world, at least on par with men