Counterculture/Lone Star Indian Territories

The Lone Star Indian Territories, also known as the LSIT, Indian Territories, or IT, are a group of 37 territories in the Lone Star Republic.

History

The North Indian Territory and West Texas Indian Territory originated with alliances between various Indian tribes and Sam Houston during the formation of the Lone Star Republic.

In early 1865, Sam Houston spoke with various chiefs of the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole who lived in the former United States Indian Territory and with whom he had had friendly dealings with in the past. He convinced many that they would be better off separate from both the Confederate States and United States. He proposed an alliance between the various Indians and his proposed nation of the Lone Star Republic. He promised them that the lands they held would always be theirs.

It is likely only because of his previous friendly relations with them, as well as his status as a Cherokee citizen under the name Raven, that an agreement was reached. The former United States Indian Territory would become the North Indian Territory and be handled as a semi-autonomous nation bound only to aid in the defense of the Lone Star Republic and to abide by some basic rules, such as the abolition of slavery.

Through some intermediaries, Sam Houston was also able to make an alliance with many of the Apache who had troubled both Confederate and Union forces during the Confederate Revolutionary War. The land promised to them was the foundation of the West Texas Indian Territory, the second of the two Lone Star Indian Territories that have been around since the begining of the Lone Star Republic in 1866.

Since the foundation of the Lone Star Republic the number of territories in the LSIT has grown from two to thirty-seven. The territories have also united together on many issues and are a influential force entirely apart from the Lone Star Republic. In 1887, the first Council of Chiefs was organized. The Council of Chiefs is a body of government that speaks on behalf of all the different tribes of Indians within the LSIT. The Council of Chiefs has proved incredibly influential in both the Lone Star Republic as well as the rest of both North America and South America.

1893 was the year the Council of Chiefs took their first major stance that affected the Lone Star Republic's foreign policy. The Mayan populace of Chan Santa Cruz, who had been waging the Caste War of Yucatan since 1847, turned to the LSIT, asking for aid in keeping Mexico from claiming the Yucatan peninsula after the United Kingdom withdrew its acknowledgement of Chan Santa Cruz as an independent nation. Over the next several years, aid from the Lone Star Republic, mostly in terms of supplies and gunpowder, grew fivefold under pressure from the Council of Chiefs.

Despite the assistance from the Lone Star Republic Mexico captured the capital of Chan Sanata Cruz in 1901, effectively ending the nation, if not the battles which continued for years afterwords. In response the LSIT, in conjunction with the Lone Star Republic president James Adams, opened their borders to any and all Indians of the Americas, promising them a safe place to live and carry on their cultures as long as they would abide by the same loose rules which bound the tribes already within the LSIT to the Lone Star Republic in the Open Indian Territories proclamation. Although the LSIT had not been able to bring enough assistance to bear to keep the Indian nation of Chan Santa Cruz alive, their involvement in the Caste War of Yucatan helped shape the power and focus of the Council of Chiefs.

This opening of the borders fueled both the rapid population growth of the Lone Star Republic as a whole and continued to strengthen the voice of the Council of Chiefs and the LSIT within the Lone Star Republic and the world. In the years since, the LSIT has consistently pushed for aid for Indians throughout the Americas, which has caused severe trade and diplomatic problems with the countries of South America in particular.

Below is a list of the names of the territories and when they officially entered the Lone Star Republic.

Name	Date	Notes
North Texas Indian Territory	February, 1866	Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Creek and Seminole
West Texas Indian Territory	February, 1866	Apache
Navajo Indian Territory	April, 1872	Navajo
Lakota Indian Territory	December, 1883	Lakota
Chippewa Indian Territory	January, 1884	Chippewa
Maya Indian Territory	May, 1901	Mayan

Law and government

All of the Lone Star Indian Territories are part of the Lone Star Republic. The individual territories retain extensive but limited autonomy and are allowed to govern themselves individually. In addition to the government of the individual territories there is a coalition of leaders from each of the 37 territories that form the Council of Chiefs. The Council of Chiefs speaks on behalf of all of the territories and often works to shape the Lone Star Republic's policies, domestic and foreign, on affairs that are important to the people of the LSIT.

The forms the individual governments of the territories take vary widely.

Demographics

Ethnicity and race

The largest five tribes found within the LSIT are the Cherokee, Navajo, Choctaw, Apache, and Mayan. In addition there are dozens of other Indians, including, but not limited to: Lakota, Pueblo, Chickasaw, Blackfeet, Chippawa, Iroquois, Creek, Seminole, Paiute, Cheyenne, Hopi, Arawak, and Crow.

Religion

Whether there is an official religion, as well as what it is, varies by territory within the LSIT. While many of the traditional religions are practiced, Christianity has a strong presence in many of the Indian tribes, especially those coming from Mexico and South America, who are predominantly Catholic.

Class

Class inequality within the Lone Star Indian Territories varies, but is generally less than within the Lone Star Republic as a whole.

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