Poundmaker, Plains Cree to be featured in popular video game
Canada’s Plains Cree and Chief Poundmaker have been included in the newest edition of the popular Civilization video game series, but one elected official from the Poundmaker Cree Nation is calling it cultural appropriation.
The series allows players to take on the role of a national leader, as they compete in a turn-based game to develop land, research new technologies, establish trade routes and fight against other players. The game is already incredibly popular around the world, with more than 162,000 people playing online simultaneously at the game’s peak popularity. A Jan. 2 trailer for Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Rise and Fall – an expansion pack for the original game – announced the inclusion of the Cree people under Chief Poundmaker as a playable nation.
“[Poundmaker] ruled his people during a tumultuous time in Cree history, judiciously toeing the line between aggression and diplomacy,” the trailer states. “Today he is remembered for his work to secure peace between the Cree and the Canadian Government.”