Native Preservation Act

Native Displacement

Beginning roughly around the mid to late 1300s, cities and settlements began claiming lands and expanding, birthing the first nations of an industrialized world. These new nations turned their eyes to wide swaths of forests, mountains, and caves for resources. These mineral and resource-rich areas were homes to diverse, growing ecosystems and native humanoid species. The early greater forests and bedrock of Faerun would be cleared and razed, and their precious wood and underground resources used to fuel the expansion of new nations. Unlike the violent displacement and relocation, and even enslavement, of the Goliaths and Drow on the continent of Eberron, the native species on the Western Heartlands were given verbal warning before being physically displaced from their natural homes. Offers to buy the land were rejected outright, and first attempts to relocate were met with violent resistance. For those who did choose to sell, or even go into business with the Alliance, land deals would go in favor of the nations, as acres of land were undersold. The “relocation” of natives from Wood Elves, Dragonborn, and Firbolgs was to land where the soil was un-fit for farming and settling. In the event of any resistance, regardless of how hard one tribe fought, the unstoppable first nations of Humans and Dwarves would pave a swath of blood so great, any future resistance was unheard of. Lest a group wanted scorched earth beneath their feet.

Whole colonies and settlements starved from lack of farmable soil, and were wiped out during the frigid winter season. They didn't have the manpower, wealth, or modern ingenuity that the Alliance had to put up any sort of long-lasting fight. It wasn't until civil rights groups such as the Free Folk formed, that native minorities began to openly protests in large numbers in the streets of Meadowcraft, Freemark, Val-Adin, and Krakenrock. It began with a bombardment of letters, and grew into open protests, thousands strong, outside the castles of Alliance leaders.

The Free Folk and Civil Rights

Formed in the mid-late 1500s, the Free Folk are a union of nomadic and native Wood Elf clans from across the continent of Faerun. When it became clear that the safety and preservation of natives and their homes were the last thing on leaders' minds, a group of the remaining Wood Elf claims came together and agreed to form a council. This council began to bombard the largest nations of the Lord’s Alliance with accusations of mistreatment and outright genocide. Civil rights violations were cast around in every letter that was written. Protests were held. Leaders had members of the Free Folk showing up to open forums, courthouses, and even their front doors. They began to gain the support of citizens of these very cities which they protested at. Support from Archmages, scholars, and pressure from military leadership. It was because of powerhouse groups like the Free Folk that the Native Preservation Act (NPA) was drawn up and signed by the Humans, Dwarves, and High Elves. An impressively large document that granted preserved, livable land to those seeking reparations. These plots of land dwarfed what was stolen, but they were protected, and untouchable by any future nations. They would exist in a grey space, ruled by their own laws, but existing within the boundaries of the Alliance.

Reparations and Protection

Since 1550, federal Alliance law has provided for the repatriation and disposition of certain native species including financial reparations and land rights. Alliance law has also granted reparations in regards to native remains, funerary objects, sacred objects, and objects of cultural patrimony that were destroyed or misplaced during native displacement. The Alliance has recognized that remains of any ancestry "must at all times be treated with dignity and respect." Alliance law has also acknowledged that native remains and other cultural items removed from federal or tribal lands belong, in the first instance, to lineal descendants, Native Wood Elf tribes, and other native organizations. With the NPA, the Alliance sought to encourage a continuing dialogue between governments and native tribes, and to promote a greater understanding and respect between the groups. Since the passing of the NPA, promises of protection from the Alliance have gone unfulfilled. The tribes have been left to fend for themselves, and in some cases, fight one another to survive in a territory ruled on all sides by outsiders. In the event of any further incursions or armed resistance from natives, the Alliance's armed forces have been swift.