Civilization 7 Dev Firaxis Working With Shawnee to Ensure ‘Authentic, Sincere Recreation,’ Acknowledges Past Missteps in Franchise’s Treatment of History

Firaxis is working with the Shawnee tribal nation to ensure “an authentic, sincere recreation” in the upcoming Civilization 7.

In Civilization 7, Shawnee are an Exploration Age civilization, which means they will have to become another civ in the Modern Age (presumed to be the Lakota or Iroquois).

Here’s Firaxis’ official description:

An Algonquian-speaking people originally from what is now the eastern United States, the Shawnee fought hard to keep their land and traditions. Their fiercest battles were with the United States, as the new nation pushed westward. Seeking to build a coalition of indigenous people to form a united front, the Shawnee established a settlement at Prophetstown, but the U.S. Army loomed on the horizon.

Speaking to the Associated Press, producer Andrew Frederiksen revealed that developers from Firaxis had asked the Shawnee to imagine a Shawnee university or library of the future and to create new Shawnee words to describe futuristic concepts for use in the hotly anticipated 4X game.

Shawnee Tribe Chief Ben Barnes, already a fan of 1999’s Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri, jumped at the chance to be involved with Civilization 7 after Firaxis said it wanted to make a playable character out of their famous leader Tecumseh.

“Firaxis was asking questions about language we never would have thought to ask,” Barnes said. The partnership also involves a donation of hundreds of thousands of dollars in language revitalization programs and facilities.

Image credit: 2K Games.

According to Firaxis, Tecumseh, "the one who leaps across the great expanse," was a Shawnee chief "who challenged the westward expansion of the early United States. Together with his brother Tenskwatawa, he spread a message of unity and resistance among indigenous people. Although Tecumseh was killed during the War of 1812, his vision of cultural persistence lives on."

Firaxis historian Andrew Johnson revealed that academics had warned the studio against including Tecumseh as a playable leader, but got in touch with Shawnee leaders directly to find out what they thought. “I think so often you get people assuming that representation in Civ is a reward of some sort. It’s not,” Johnson said.

“This is a company and we’re selling a product and we’re using an image and likeness to make a profit. And getting your ‘civ’ in Civilization doesn’t really help you very much if you’re struggling to preserve your culture.”

AP said the partnership comes after an acknowledgement from Civilization creator Sid Meier and other Firaxis executives of "past missteps in the Civilization franchise’s casual treatment of history, including how it incorporated Indigenous groups and colonization more broadly."

The report mentions that Firaxis ditched its plan to add a historical Pueblo leader in 2010 after tribal leaders objected, and that the studio faced public criticism in Canada for including a Cree leader in Civilization 6.

In 2018, a prominent Cree leader complaining that it "perpetuates this myth that First Nations had similar values that the colonial culture has, and that is one of conquering other peoples and accessing their land. That is totally not in concert with our traditional ways and world view."

Meier talked about the early Civilization games’ inclusion of Indigenous leaders such as Montezuma of the Aztecs, as well as the likes of Josef Stalin and Mao Zedong. "We never realized people would take it as seriously as they do," Meier said. "We always kind of felt, ‘Here’s a way that you can change history.’ Maybe we can make Stalin a good guy. But that might have been stretching things a little too far.

"We learned a lot as time went on. It is now a badge of honor for a nation to be included in Civilization. We’ve been lobbied by different countries, et cetera.”

In Civilization 7, Tecumseh specializes in diplomacy and defense. His unique ability, Nicaakiyakoolaakwe, increases food, production, and combat strength based on the number of allied city-states. Shawnee as a civ excel at utilizing natural resources. Their unique ability, Nepekifaki, gives more food for settlements built on river tiles but slightly reduces food for any cities not built on rivers. Its associated wonder is the Serpent Mound.

The Shawnee civilization is part of the Tecumseh and Shawnee Pack DLC, which is included in the Deluxe and Founders Editions of Civilization 7. It is not included in the Standard Edition of Civilization 7, but is available as a bonus offer for pre-orders of the Standard Edition until February 11, 2025, and will be available for separate purchase thereafter.

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].