Alternative History
Register
Advertisement
North American Union
Timeline: 1983: Doomsday
Flag of NAU
Flag of NAU
Location of NAU
Location of NAU
Motto
From Many, One
Capital Billings
Largest city Saskatoon
Other cities Salem, Oregon; Porcupine, Lakotah; San Rafael, California;
Language
  official
 
English, Lakota
  others Dinè, Hopi
President Johnathan Nez
Population 13,080,000 (est. 2023)
Established 1997
Currency Buffalo Dollar

The North American Union (NAU) began as an economic and political alliance made up of local survivor communities, provisional governments, successor states and a few nomadic clans scattered across the Great Plains region of North America. Found by the then-provisional governments of the United States and Canada, the bloc has since grown to encompass much of the Rocky Mountains and West Coast.

History[]

Doomsday and After[]

Due to the concentration of nuclear missile silos around the Great Plains area, Doomsday caused large devastation to the area. Nuclear strikes happened in North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Colorado. The strikes on the silos forced the following cities in the area to be abandoned:

  • Great Falls, MT
  • Helena, MT
  • Lewistown, MT
  • Minot, ND
  • Cheyenne, WY
  • Denver, CO
  • Sterling, CO
Horse-pulling-a-car-in-romania

Some refugees made improvised wagons in a desperate attempt to flee the targeted areas

Other targets included the Francis E. Warren AFB in Wyoming, the Malmstrom AFB in Montana, the Ellsworth AFB in South Dakota and the Minot AFB in North Dakota.

Like most places in the continental United States, Doomsday caused the collapse of state governments, except for Wyoming. The remnants of the state government, rallying around Governor Edgar Herschler, were able to re-establish control at Casper, Wyoming. Fort Laramie was also recommissioned as a fort to be used for the training of the new state militia. The government of Wyoming had minimal contact with the remnants of the federal government at Mount Weather until March 1984, when the personnel of NORAD, under Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado, restored radio communications. At that time, Reagan decided to abandon Mount Weather. In May, a portion of his administration came to Leadville, Colorado, to be close to NORAD.

At the same time, the Wyoming state legislature voted to give Governor Herschler expanded emergency powers to get the state through the crisis. One of his first acts was the Strategic Hamlet Initiative. The initiative called for the creation of walled settlements to protect farmers and ranchers from the increasing number of hungry refugees. The communities of southern Montana also adopted such a system as they looked toward Wyoming for advice and aide.

One of the unique phenomenon of the area was the creation of "nomadic clans." As the effects of Doomsday became apparent with the loss of plant life and a horrible harvest, many farmers and their families and close friends took to the road with their horses, cattle and other livestock to seek better pastures for their animals. Feeding themselves "off the hoof", these clans grew as they took in refugees who had certain skills that would be needed. The emergence of this new lifestyle was most apparent among the Sioux/Lakota of North and South Dakota. Only a few months after Doomsday, the Sioux returned to their old nomadic lifestyle, with a twist. Almost immediately they began raiding communities in the Dakotas demanding tribute for Sioux "protection." As the Sioux empire grew it became necessary for a central government to better organize the various Sioux tribes activities. Thus in 1984 at North Eagle Butte, South Dakota, the Republic of Lakotah was declared. Following the creation of the Republic, a group of Lakotah used dynamite to deface Mount Rushmore in an act of radical nationalism.

Meanwhile in the Great Plains Canadian provinces, nuclear strikes on Calgary, Regina and Winnipeg caused similar chaos that was being seen elsewhere in the United States and Canada. As local communities struggled to survive, populations of expatriate Americans reached across the border to seek help from American communities. Doomsday had brought a spirit of cooperation between the surviving communities along the US/Canada border.

The Lakotah War[]

For more information, please see the Lakotah War

As Lakotah consolidated its control in the Dakotas, there were continued calls by Lakota leaders to expand into old Lakota territory in Nebraska, Wyoming and Montana. Russell Means, an important leader in Lakotah, was particularly adamant about this. The only obstacle, however, was the growing power of the State of Wyoming which had managed to remain relatively united after Doomsday and was now beginning to expand its influence into fractured Montana. Some Wyoming organized expeditions father north to find out what happened to Canada even came into contact with the various Canadian survivor communities on the Great Plains. Lakotah analysts all agreed that unless Lakotah struck soon they would be unable to defeat Wyoming.

287311-1

Lakotah sentries stand guard near a church that has been turned into a temporary command post for a war band

In 1986, Wyoming was dealt a harsh blow by the death of three-term Governor Edgar Herschler. The death of the man who had taken the state through its darkest days, however, would signal even worse times for Wyoming. Throughout 1986 and into 1987, increased raids by nomads coming out of Lakotah territory rocked the communities of Montana, Wyoming and Nebraska. Distracted by the raids, Wyoming and the other communities were unprepared when in May 23, 1987, Lakotah "war bands" attacked neighboring towns signaling the official start of the Lakotah War.

Meanwhile, by 1986 NORAD's underground facility was struggling with power and communications failures. Restoring the country from Leadville no longer seemed like a real possibility. In November of that year, the administration took a serious blow when its leader, former House Speaker Tip O'Neill, was assassinated by an angry survivor of the nuclear attacks on Denver. The remaining federal personnel, military and civilian, began to transfer to Wyoming. There they gradually came under the control of Governor Mike Sullivan (Herschler's successor) and the state government. The federal administration did not formally disband, but it effectively ceased to function except as an appendage of Wyoming.

Militia1

Volunteers in the "Continental Army" line up for inspection

Throughout 1987 and 1988, the Lakotah won early victories and eventually besieged the city-state of Billings, Montana. The tide, however, began to turn against the Lakotah. First, Governor Mike Sulivan of Wyoming was successful in convincing the scattered survivor communities and the non-involved nomad clans of the threat that the Lakotah posed to the Great Plains. Volunteers and supplies reached Wyoming from as far north as Canada and as far south as Kansas. Second, Raymond Breedlove "Ray" Hunkins was called into active duty to take over command of the allied forces. A Marine veteran, rancher and law enforcement officer, Hunkins was granted the rank of General. He soon proved to be an effective leader and was able to organize the ragtag army into what was eventually called the "Continental Army."

By early 1989 the Lakotah had been driven back to their pre-war borders. Meanwhile the coalition that Russell Means had managed to create to start the war had collapsed as the war turned against the Lakotah. Rodney Bordeaux established a new coalition government that presented the Wyoming-led alliance with a peace offering. At the border town of Breach, North Dakota, General Hunkins and Chief Facilitator Bordeaux signed a peace treaty ending the Lakotah War. The allied survivors communities agreed to recognize the independence of the Lakotah territory in return for Lakotah recognizing their independence as well. Though a demand to improve human rights for non-Lakotah was refused during negotiations, the Lakotah did agree to allow anyone in their territory to leave for other western states.

Furthermore, the Lakotah agreed to stop arming the nomad clans who had sided with them in the war. These clans were driven west by allied forces, some even reaching the Pacific coast were they challenged the powerful Hells Angels in what was soon to become Municipal States of the Pacific.

Re-Establishment of the USA[]

See main article: Provisional United States

Fresh from their victory against the Lakotah, local leaders began serious talks about re-forming the United States of America. With imperfect knowledge of the outside world and without any contact from the federal government in years, it was assumed by all that the old United States had ceased to exist. Proposals were thus introduced by people in the various survivor communities to form a new nation.

In 1991, a convention of delegates from the various communities met in Torrington, Wyoming to write a new Constitution. The following document was presented on July 4 for the "Provisional Government of the United States of America." It was similar to the old US Constitution in most respects, but specifically stated that this government was only provisional and it would disband upon the re-establishment of the true federal government. Other changes also included the removal of the electoral college, and a modification of the Second Amendment.  

Following the approval of the represented communities, the new US had their first election for the positions of President and both houses of Congress. Ray Hunkins, following in the footsteps of George Washington, ran unopposed and was elected the first president of the Provisional US in 1992. 

Upon the formation of the Provisional United States, the various communities were divided into new states which included Montana, Wyoming, Nebraska, Kansas and Colorado. Due to difficulties in communication, President Hunkins was able to push through Congress the creation of two new states, Kootenai (western Montana) and Absaroka (made up of parts of Montana, Wyoming and Nebraska) in 1993. It was hoped that these new state governments would be more efficient at providing services to their respective populaces. 

The Provisional United States soon began expanding into Idaho. Several communities located in the former Idaho counties of Lemhi, Clark and Fremont, petitioned for admission into the PUS as a state, and were eventually formed into the State of Idaho in 1995. The panhandle of Idaho was organized as the state of Lincoln after a PUSA expedition defeated a Neo-Nazi warlord who had taken control of the area. In the 1996 election, President Hunkins won a second term as president of the PUS. 

The Treaty of Morgan[]

In 1997, President Hunkins extended an invitation to the Canadian communities of the Great Plains to join the PUS. Though the communities had yet to be organized into a central government, they continued to maintain close ties and acted as a confederation in all but name. Hunkins invitation touched off a renewed wave of Canadian nationalism and thus his invitation was rejected. Momentarily take aback, Hunkins nevertheless invited representatives to meet with him in the town of Morgan, Montana to discuss the future relationship between the PUS and the Canadian survivor communities.

What came out of these talks was the Treaty of Morgan. On the condition that the Canadian communities organize themselves under a democratic central government, the Americans and Canadians would be united under a political and economic alliance known as the North American Union. The Union would integrate the two governments while allowing them both to keep their sovereignty. The Union would establish a common market, a common currency and seek to encourage common policies on various domestic issues. Borders would also remain open between the two nations, neither requiring its citizens to obtain a passport before entering either nation. The treaty was signed in 1997 and is considered the start of the North American Union, despite the fact that it was not until 1998 when the PUS Senate approved the Treaty and 1999 when the newly created Provisional Government of Canada did likewise.

Lakotah joins the NAU[]

Ray1

Former President of the PUS, Ray Hunkins

The years following the Lakotah War had not been good for the Republic. Infighting among the different Lakota tribes, rebellions by non-Lakotah demanding civil rights and harassment from the east by Assiniboia had stretched the Republic to the limit. Furthermore, it was obvious to even the dimmest Lakotah chief that the NAU was prospering. When the NAU cut off trade with Lakotah in 2002 in response to a particularly gruesome massacre of non-Lakota rebels, what little economy Lakotah had collapsed.

In the midst of this crisis a new Chief Facilitator, Charmaine White Face, was chosen. Immediately she instituted reforms granting equal rights to non-Lakota in the Republic's territory and sent a delegation to end the border dispute with Assiniboia. Her most controversial decision was to apply for membership in the NAU in 2003.

The application came as a surprise to both the NAU and White Face's opposition. While White Face dealt with dissent back in Lakotah, the NAU debated about what to do about Lakotah's application for membership. Up until now the NAU had never considered expanding its members as the NAU had only been meant to act as an organization to promote free trade and common policy between the American and Canadian survivor communities. Despite not having an official set of membership criteria for which to judge Lakotah's application, it was eventually decided that for the stability of the region it was better to accept Lakotah into the NAU or else the NAU may be forced to invade the country if things continued to get worse. Thus in 2004, representatives from the NAU and Lakotah met once again in Beach, North Dakota to sign the official documents that made Lakotah a full member of the NAU.

Lakotah's entrance into the NAU was not without opposition. Russel Means created the Lakotah Liberation Army with the stated goal of using whatever means necessary of overthrowing the White Face government and removing Lakotah from the Union. For several years he conducted with his followers a guerrilla war against the NAU, until he was captured in 2007. After being tried he was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Contact[]

During the 1990s and 2000s, communication with the rest of the world became more regular and information more reliable. In 2009 the NAU opened talks with the Municipal States of the Pacific about ways to promote overland trade, including a joint project to build a new railway. This required the involvement of Utah as the most accessible railway lines would pass through the Snake River Valley.

Contact with the outside world has also encouraged the NAU to think more seriously about expanding its members now that so many American survivor states have been discovered across North America. Already there are several proposals for an official membership criteria.

Further Expansion[]

Rumors that Utah was planning to join the NAU had been circulating since January 2010. The rumors first began spreading when both states were negotiating with the MSP about re-establishing rail lines to the Pacific coast. Reports stated that Donald J. Atchison, head of the NAU diplomatic team, brought up the idea of potential future membership in the NAU for the two other nations, but Utah was the only one who showed interest.

The rumors were confirmed on April 8, 2010 when in Traverse City, Utah, Governor General Leavitt ceremonially signed a resolution passed by the state legislature in Fillmore before the ambassador of the NAU, signifying the accession of Utah to the North American Union. Utah's accession to the NAU was reputedly prompted by the rumors of wars of conquest to the East and the rumblings of war along the California coast. Utah's leadership, desiring to preserve the peace, felt that joining with the North American Union would act as a means of stabilizing the region further, and hopefully averting wars. This announcement was made on top of an agreement to allow train travel through Utah for supplies from and to the NAU.

Full ascension into the NAU for Utah took about five years. During that time referenda were to be held in the disputed parts of Idaho and Wyoming to decide whether the local populations will officially be a part of Utah or the PUSA. Meanwhile, Utah's telephone, telegraph and semaphore lines would be connected with the NAU grid. Furthermore, Utah agreed to less participation from the LDS Church in the government and to ensure non-Mormon representation in the Utah political process, at least on paper; to this day the LDS Church remains a "shadow government" within the state.

The status of Dinétah, however, remained an issue. Lakotah suggested that Dinétah be allowed to join as a full member of the union, thus making it the second Native American state to join. Utah publicly announced that it would support Dinétah in whatever course the nation chose to follow. Following intense lobbying on the part of Lakotah, Dinétah joined the NAU officially on May 6, 2010.

On June 1, 2010, the Pasco Free State became the next state to join the NAU after its government requested to join the Union and was accepted. This decision came shortly after a referendum was held in Pasco where voters approved a measure to join the NAU, over remaining independent or joining PUSA instead.

On July 4, 2010, the PUSA formally declared itself the successor to and continuation of the USA and dropped its "Provisional" status. This event would be one of the major factors behind the American Spring.

On August 5th, 2011, the United Communities of Cascadia joined the Union, following discussions with NAU representatives over the previous year. Not long thereafter, Cascadia itself would become the last piece of former Idaho to join the Union.

On March 20th, 2014, Utah was declared to be a fully-integrated member of the NAU. With this integration Utah's coal reserves became more fully available to the wider NAU, allowing a decrease in fueling costs.

With the dawn of the 21st Century, the SNU has slowly begun to change aspects of its isolationism and as of 2010, active internal discussions were underway to consider joining the NAU. After a change of leadership, the Sierra Nevada Union resumed its talks with the NAU during 2011, although accession process would not be completed until 2017, which was also hallmarked by their formal resolution of their long-standing border dispute with the California Republic, with the treaty itself being brokered in Salem, Oregon.

The California Republic itself would join some 4 years later in 2021, with its victory alongside the Chumash Republic over despot-ruled Santa Cruz and its ensuing restoration to normalcy kindling renewed goodwill between the former rivals, clearing its obstacles to acession. Surely, with its growing presence in San Rafael and other maritime outlets, many in the NAU were dreaming for the moment they could begin sending their goods out of the Californians' rag-tag ports.

International Player[]

Forty years from the destruction of the old world order, the American continent north of the Rio Grande is a shadow of its former behemoth, in both population and "presence" in the slowly-reviving international community. That being said, the birth of the Union in 1997 led the Great Plains on an parabolic path of growth. With the abolition of trade barriers between the member-states, goods previously inaccessible to the far-flung reaches of the Provisional United States, the woods of the Pasco Free State, or the deserts of the Dinè domain returned to the shelves for the first time and decade, and in turn, raw materials, including "liquid gold" - oil, began to slowly flow out and away into the maritime markets of the wider world.

Compared to the turn of the Century, the North American Union is now a ubiquitous name to political analysts, LoN officials, and even foreign military officials. It is easily the single largest power-player on the North American continent, Although many still doubt the viability of the Torrington-based United States presenting itself the geopolitical successor to its name-sake, the North American Union's credibility is taken with a grain more credibility than its individual-member states.

Member Nations[]

Associated Nomadic Clans[]

Road-warrior

Nomadic warriors during the opening days of the Lakotah War

Some survivors in this part of North America adopted a nomadic lifestyle in an effort to survive the aftermath of Doomsday. They have evolved into clans made up of several large extended families. Their wealth comes from their large herds of animals which they take to different pastures during the years, following them in the few remaining motorized transports or horse-drawn wheeled tents based off the yurt design used by Central Asian nomads (this became popular thanks to a history professor who joined a nomadic clan after Doomsday).

During the Lakotah War several clans fought as mercenaries on both sides of the war. Afterward, a few clans moved west and challenged the Hells Angels of the MSP for control of the area. Those few who remained eventually all became associated members of the NAU.

Member clans (named after their patriarch/matriarch):

  • Johnson
  • Balis
  • Carmichael
  • Williams
  • Holt

Economy[]

Although it has diversified in many ways since its founding, the heart of the NAU's economy remains agricultural. Many towns and cities had to relocate most of their populations to local farms and ranches. These farms and ranches have been transformed with defensive walls built to protect against raids during the Lakotah War. Today these farm and ranches are the center of life in the NAU. Only recently have the towns and cities begun to grow again and light industry has increased.

Technological progress was initially slow, as the Union concentrated more on building up its former agricultural and material prosperity. Due to the early lack of oil, all five members of the Union rationed its use among civilians. As time went on, however, oil fields across Provisional Canada, Wyoming and Montana began to be exploited with rudimentary wells, with the Union's northern neighbor in the oil giant of Athabaska always eager to sell its surplus, at a steep profit of course. There has been some advancement in bio-diesel and steam powered trains have become more common again. Despite this, the primary mode of transportation for the common man in the Union has once again become the horse. As time goes on, Mexican, Australian and Great Lake cars are slowly returning to the urban areas of the Union, although more horse shoes are still sold per year than tires as of 2023.

PUSAColoOil

A modern oil rig in the Colorado Rockies of the North American Union

Currency[]

Buffalo Dollar Reverse

Facsimile of a buffalo dollar

Shortly after Doomsday, the collapse of the world market made paper currency useless among the member states of the NAU and the economy devolved into a barter system. Following the establishment of the Provisional Government of the United States, a new currency was introduced to replace the dominant barter system. Called the "New Dollar", for its similarity to the old US dollar, it was backed by the "full faith and credit" of the government, and was somewhat successful in replacing the barter system, at least in the more developed parts of the country.

With the establishment of the NAU in 1997, a new common currency was created, called the "Buffalo Dollar" (for the American icon appearing on the reverse of both the paper and coined currency) to replace the New Dollar and the old Canadian currency the Canadian communities were using. Lakota also adopted the Buffalo Dollar when it joined the NAU. Since its admission, Utah has begun the conversion to the new currency as well. All member states, however, still honor any of their own currencies that may still be in circulation.

Imports and Exports[]

Trade has picked up ever since contact in 2009. Guarded convoys have already begun to move between the Municipal States of the Pacific and the Republic of West Texas.

Throughout the 2010s, the growing Union made securing common access to goods and markets for all member states a top priority. With railyards linking Utah & Dinetah to Pasco and the U.S. state of Oregon by 2013, trade and travel exploded. Soon enough, lines into the non-Union Sierra Nevada would provide another artery of opportunity. The very few ports in NAU territory, namely Newport and the Tillamook Bay, offered opportunities for commercial and fishing vehicles to dock and embark with goods, with this trickle of foreign activity opening new dimensions to the North American Union economy.

As 2020 began the Union was the second-largest net exporter of agricultural goods in North America west of the Mississippi other than the reformed Republic of Texas.

International Relations[]

The NAU sends a diplomatic observer to the League of Nations, and most of its member states have applied to be members as well. It also sends an observer to the United Communities.

There has considerable inroads made with two other supranational blocs -- the Oceanic Organization and the Caribbean Federation. Due to the latter containing the associated United States Atlantic Remnant, officials from all three parties were able to secure a visa-free travel agreement in 2022 (ameliorating complications caused by USAR and USA merging their legal concepts of citizenship and new singular Passport), with direct jet liner flights between Kingston and Billings being a high point of the deal. A caveat of this has also been an explosion in knowledge caused by the increased contact between the citizens of the two blocs. Likewise, relations with the Oceanic Organization were greatly assisted by the California Republic's close relationship with ANZC constituent state New Zealand, whose aid groups were instrumental in getting the weakened government at Placerville back on its feet. Visa-free travel with the Oceanic Organization still eludes the Union, due to "security concerns" on the side of the Australia-New Zealand Commonwealth.

Relations with the South American Confederation are lukewarm; many North Americans argue that the South American Confederation's ban on North American agricultural imports due to radiation fears have stunted its economic growth (with agricultural goods and crude oil being its two largest exports) and increased false stigmas about the continent remaining a "radiated wasteland". With several SAC member-states such as Venezuela and Chile arguing to lift the ban as of 2023, many look to current debates in the Confederation Assembly with hope.

Regional Relations[]

Being one of the founding members of the alliance, the Provisional United States and Provisional Canada were quick to hold a de facto dominant position in the NAU. With the admission of Utah in 2010, however, influence within the Union has become roughly split between it and the US, the two being the largest and most dominant powers in practice. As time goes on, the United State's hegemony within the Union has waxed and waned, with it currently finding its delegates' propositions challenged in the Continental Congress, due to several member-states displeased after a series of hasty annexations left several NAU states entirely surrounded by the US.

Since contact the NAU has always been keen on expanding the membership of the Union. Though territorial disputes between Utah and the US states of Idaho and Wyoming caused tension at times in the past, relations with Utah have improved over the years as the changing borders became more fixed with the passing of time, hence their agreement to join the union. In early 2010 Utah joined the alliance, becoming the first state to do so since Lakotah. Utah has also been encouraging its neighbors to apply, with all having joined the fold by now. The Pasco Free State followed, joining in June. Cascadia, joined its neighbor to the north as a likely candidate for membership in the Union, especially since the proposed rail line to the MSP went through its territory. After joining the Union, the state would join the United States proper. Overtures have been made to the Republic of West Texas, Assiniboia and the Republic of Lincoln. Though West Texas and Lincoln rejected the initial offer, Assiniboia has been more receptive and negotiations are continuing. The now reunited Republic of Texas has since reconsidered its decision and is leaning towards making its own formal request to join the NAU.

In former American states that do not have any large survivor states (such as Arizona, New Mexico and Oklahoma) there are plans in the work to sponsor the creation of larger states that could some day join the NAU. One such plan is already underway in Okanogan

The Union established permanent diplomatic contact with the rest of the world following the arrival of a WCRB sponsored expedition from the Municipal States of the Pacific in the 2000s. Soon enough, plans among the NAU leadership to build a safe trade route to reach the MSP unfolded, with plans include reopening old railroad lines between the two areas having borne fruit before the reformation of the Municipal States as Jefferson. Today, the railroads which run through Sierra Nevada and California to the Bay Area (with San Rafael now being the primary port, and its safest) have led to an explosion in maritime trade.

The Committee to Restore the United States of America applauds the efforts of the NAU to increase membership and sees the union as the perfect avenue to re-establish the USA. However, as contact with Torrington was made, many CRUSA officials came to believe that this alone was the true restored "United States of America". Other CRUSA officials believe, though, that an incorporation of any states within the boundaries of the former nation by whatever means is acceptable. The independent nations of the Union are, of course, against the idea of being absorbed by their neighbor.

The NAU has also opened talks with Superior; however, due to the 2009 Saguenay War, the Provisional Government of Canada was hostile to Superior for some time.

Law Enforcement[]

Each City/Town in the NAU maintains its own Police/Sheriff's Department. While national Law Enforcement Agencies still exist, the Union Mounted Police (UMP), serving as a FBI/RCMP style unit, has NAU-wide jurisdiction. Because of this, most of the higher ranking officers of the NAMP were formerly agents of the FBI or officers of the RCMP.

Military[]

The NAU requires all member nations to maintain a strong, professional Militia and Air Militia and if and when it is appropriate, a Naval Militia. The Militias originally were equipped with old American and Canadian weapons from National Guard stockpiles and bases that survived Doomsday, along with some new weapons built since Doomsday including the Union Standard Automatic Rifle (USAR), based on the old M63 Multipurpose Weapon (MW), designed by Eugene Stoner. The USAR has replaced all other rifles and sidearms as the main weapon of the Militias. M2 HMGs are also used, as are Dragon Anti-Tank (AT) missiles. The Union Reconnaissance Commandos (URC or "Reconndos"), made up of volunteers from the national militias, are the elite force of the NAU and keeps peace along the member nations border while also keeping brigands in check. They are also trained as counter-terrorists and in the event of war, would act in the reconnaissance and commando roles (hence their official name and their nickname). The NAU nations also maintain various pre-Doomsday military vehicles and aircraft. The standard Main Battle Tank (MBT) of the NAU is the M60A3 with the M113 operating as the standard Amoured Personnel Carrier (APC). The M109 Self Propelled Gun (SPG) is also used the by the national Militia forces. The Air Militias operate a mixture of F-4 Phantom IIs and C-130 Hercules, as well as UH-1 Huey helicopters, alongside AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters. Other aircraft are also in Service, such as the F-111 Aardvark and the C-141 Starlifter. The various Nomadic clans also have there own private "armies", although they are not as well equipped or as well trained as the national Militia. In the context of the NAU, "Militia" refers to a nation's or clan's military, and not a body of citizen soldiers.

The Militia are as follows:

The United States Armed Forces, consists of the United States Army, the United States Navy (USN), the United States Air Force (USAF), the United States Marine Corp (USMC) and the United States Coast Guard (USCG). Until the recent acquisition of Oregon, both the USA and NAU were landlocked, leading to no naval forces existing, and a coast guard that consisted of little more than small river craft. Since Oregon joined the United States, the small amount of vessels under its naval arm have been put under the banner of the USN, giving both the USA and NAU a very small and limited naval force. There is a movement to rename the United States Armed Forces the United States Defence Force (USDF), in light of the situation the USA is in.

The Provisional Canadian Forces (PCF), consisting of the Provisional Canadian Air Force (PCAF) and the Provisional Canadian Army (PCA).

The Lakotan Liberation Army (LLA). A unique unit in the LLA is the Lakotan Foreign Legion (LFL), made up of non-Lakotans in their territory as both a Special Forces unit and a way of reassuring the Non-Lakotan population.

The Deseret National Guard (DNG) and Deseret Air National Guard (DANG).

The Dinetah Self-Defence Force (DSDF). This is the combined military of Dinetah, which operates under a similar structure to the old USMC.

The Pasco Free State Guard (PFSG) and Air Guard (PFSAG).

The Cascadian Defence Force (CDF), primarily composed of militia units.

National Symbols[]

For its first ten years, the NAU had no need for a flag of its own. Union buildings flew the US, Canadian, and, after 2004, the Lakotah flag side by side. As the NAU evolved with more of its own institutions and activities, there was a need for its own identifying symbol. The NAU's member states thus authorized the creation of a new flag in 2006. It was first unfurled in 2007 in time for the tenth anniversary of the Treaty of Morgan.

The flag shows three mountain peaks for the three member nations. The NAU's terrain is mostly flat prairie, but all three nations include some mountains: the peaks are said to represent the American Rockies, Canadian Rockies, and the Black Hills, as well as "the lofty goals of our Union". The colors combine the red and white of Canada with the red, white, and blue of the USA; the specific dark shade of red comes from the Lakotah flag. The flag also represents a landscape with red earth and a blue sky, symbolizing commitment to the land of North America. The white stripe on the flag represents peace, both within the NAU and throughout the world.

Utah's admission to the Union in 2010 made it appear likely that the NAU would continue to grow and acquire new members. The committee that first adopted the current flag has recommended that the number of peaks remain fixed at three, to avoid what what the report calls "a seismograph effect" of multiple peaks.

Sports[]

Within the states of the United States, the traditional American sports - American football, baseball, basketball and, in the northern states, ice hockey, along with tennis and golf - retained their interest and popularity among the public.

In Alberta and Saskatchewan, people are interested in the same sports as their U.S. counterparts, with a few notable distinctions. Ice hockey is the most popular team sport. The Canadian version of American football is the preferred code in the two provinces. And, the Canadian sport of curling has retained some interest and popularity.

In the nation of Lakotah, sports meshed well with Lakotahian life, particularly basketball and American football. Basketball is very popular in Lakotah, and former high school and college coach Larry Brown has worked for years helping build up the sport in Lakotah and elsewhere in the NAU. Lately, as news of the outside world has come to Lakotah, some in the country have proposed that association football (aka soccer) be considered as a national priority, with the idea that as the world's preeminent sport, it would help raise Lakotah's awareness and status in the eyes of the outside world. Many tribal leaders have failed to understand this, but nevertheless preliminary work on establishing a Lakotah Football Association has begun.

The Saskatchewan Roughriders, a gridiron football club, were based in Regina pre-Doomsday and re-established in Saskatoon in the 1990s. They play in the North American Football League, under American football rules. There is currently no professional league for Canadian football, which is played by youth and by amateurs, though talk of establishing one has been heard in some corners.

Professional Leagues[]

There are professional leagues in the NAU for American football and ice hockey. The key here is they are 'professional' in the sense that players do get paid for their services, but not enough for them to have it as their only work, year-round. Plans for a baseball league are currently in motion as well.

The NAFL teams play in high school stadiums, and the quality of play is judged roughly to be at a pre-Doomsday semi-pro level. The lack of pay players receive means that they do not give up their day jobs upon joining a team. Thus, games are played on the weekends, which has the added effect of easing travel expenses. The teams are divided into two divisions, with first and fourth place teams and the second and third place teams in each division playing each other in the playoffs, followed by the winners of those two games playing for the division title and then those two teams for the league title. Currently, the cities of Casper, Pasco, Provo, and Spokane are thought to be pursuing teams in the league.

The North American Football League teams are:

American Division

  • Billings (Billings Mustangs)
  • Coeur d'Alene (Coeur d'Alene Miners)
  • Dodge City (Dodge City Chiefs)
  • Fort Collins (Colorado Cougars)
  • Porcupine (Lakotah Warriors)
  • Scotsbluff (Nebraska Cornhuskers) Current Champions
  • Torrington (Torrington Eagles)
  • Salem (Salem Wizards)
  • Hannibal (Missouri Captains)
  • Moorehead (Minnesota Vikings)

Canadian Division

  • Brandon (Brandon Wild)
  • Lethbridge (Lethbridge Stampeders)
  • Medicine Hat (Medicine Hat Rattlers)
  • Prince Albert (Prince Albert Rams) New for the 2011-2012 Season
  • Red Deer (Red Deer Packers) New for the 2011-2012 Season
  • Saskatoon (Saskatchewan Roughriders)
  • Steinbach (Assiniboia Blue Bombers)

Teams in the NHL (no relation to the former league of that name) are usually considered to be the equivalent of a team from the former American Hockey League, which functioned as a farm league to the former National Hockey League before Doomsday. The players play full-time during parts of fall and spring, and all of winter, while working other jobs during the remainder of the year. The teams are divided into two divisions, with the top four teams in each advancing to the playoffs, playing a semi-final of seven games and a division final of seven games, followed by a league finals of seven games between the two division winners. The cities of Estevan, Grand Prairie, Pasco, and Spokane are thought to be currently pursuing teams in the league.

The Northern Hockey League teams are:

American Division

  • Steinbach (Assiniboia Jets) Current Champions
  • Billings (Billings Bighorns)
  • Brandon (Brandon Wheat Kings) Playing since 2012-2013 Season
  • Butte (Butte Magic)
  • Casper (Casper Ghosts)
  • Coeur d'Alene (Coeur d'Alene Colts)
  • Porcupine (Lakotah Thunderbirds)
  • Fargo (Dakota Wildcats)

Canadian Division

  • Lethbridge (Lethbridge Broncos)
  • Medicine Hat (Medicine Hat Tigers)
  • Moose Jaw (Moose Jaw Canucks) Playing since 2012-2013 Season
  • Prince Albert (Prince Albert Raiders)
  • Red Deer (Red Deer Rustlers)
  • Saskatoon (Saskatoon Blades)
  • Swift Current (Swift Current Flames)
  • Grand Prairie (Grand Prairie Barons)

Collegiate Sports[]

A few universities in the NAU, most notably Brigham Young University in Utah, have re-established limited athletic programs. These schools compete against each other and against schools from Victoria, Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Lincoln.

The gridiron football teams of the University of Saskatchewan, Brandon University, and the University of Lethbridge play under American rules when competing against universities from American survivor states. However, when playing the University of Victoria, the four schools have agreed to play under Canadian gridiron rules.

Culture[]

North American cultural landscape is as varied as its geography. From the many nations of Dinètah and their storied peoples, to the stoic frontiersmen of Sierra Nevada, to the "cowboy chic" of the new United States and the Lakotah's formative counter-cultural experience, Doomsday's isolating effect led to the evolution of the extant cultures without influence from the outside world.

Language[]

With the independence of Dinètah and the Lakotah, tens of thousands of children are raised in a language other than English in numbers not seen since centuries before Doomsday. Crow, Lakotah, Dakotah, Hopi, Navajo, Mojave, and even European languages such as Danish, German and Spanish being spoken by many across the Union. With the focal importance of local community as the first building block of the Union, the languages spoken by the families and towns of the Union are passed down with importance -- often times as a means of communicating with ones group in the presence of strangers.

North American English[]

Standard American English as it would be spoken by a televised newscaster before Doomsday is seldom heard, with a variance in Western, North-central and Canadian accents accompanied by significant vowel shift from before Doomsday in many cases. In contrast, the accents heard by many across the American diaspora are often "frozen in time" to the states from which they or their parents hailed as they were in the 1980s. Many newer arrivals from the diaspora to the Union are easily identified, just as North Americans traveling abroad may also find themselves singled out by their strange pronunciation of many words.

Media[]

See Also: Television in North America

External links[]

See also[]

Advertisement