Hetalia: The Fifty Stars

Side Chapter 3: Native America

Among Hetalia OCs, Native America is a character that often comes up in relation to the North American continent. Native America is usually shown as a strong guardian who raises America (and possibly Canada and Mexico as well) before European explorers arrived in her home, kick-starting the Exploration and Colonial Eras as a result. If a character like them becomes an official Hetalia character, I hope Himaruya puts a lot of research on Native America and explain the character in an amusing, yet informative way.

In my opinion, it'll be hard to explain Native America considering Native America wasn't exactly a country. There were many Native American tribes that inhabited the land that would eventually become the United States of America. These native tribes were different, each one had their own unique history and culture. Grouping all these tribes into a single character may be simplistic and easy to use. However, I don't think a single Native America can truly represent all the native tribes.

Rather, I think it's better and more accurate to personify Native American tribes instead. After all, these tribes are unique enough to have their own personifications. If anyone wanted to put the time into researching the tribes, I'm sure these OCs will turn out great.

Of course, not everyone likes to do research, nor do they want to create over twenty characters personifying tribes they're not interested in. As such, some may find creating a Native America OC to be much simpler and easier to use. Unfortunately, it somewhat dampens the Native America OC for being 'too simplistic'; sometimes labeling it as ignorant due to the creator's failure to understand Native America's diversity within itself.

Overall, OCs relating to Native America are quite tricky to create.

For this fanfiction, I won't have a Native America OC. Sure, there are a couple of 50 States fanfiction I saw that have a Native America OC. Their Native America OCs usually play a role in terms of a state OCs' initial development prior to becoming colonies/states. However, I honestly prefer to personify the tribes than a single Native America OC. Even then, a bunch of Native America OCs seems like a lot of work to do. Besides the issue of additional work, I also have some gripes with this kind of OC in terms of Native America's relationship with the rest of the world.

One problem I see with a Native America OC in relation to 50 States fanfiction is their role. It's common to have a Native America OC be a 'mother' figure to the states. In some ways, it makes sense. Some of the states are named after Native American tribes. But if that is the case, it makes colonization seem very terrible.

Another reason why I refused to create a Native America OC is due to the dark history that came with the personification. Even before the arrival of Europeans, the tribes had been in various territorial wars with each other, even after the first Europeans established themselves in America. These tribes also suffered from wars with European colonists whether it be violence or diseases. Such harsh treatment continued with the federal and state governments who have done so many injustices to the point it infuriated me.

It's already difficult trying to write stories in relation to Native American history and culture considering information on the subject is hard to pinpoint, even on the Internet. It's also bad enough the tribes' history with European-Americans paints an ugly picture that's too dark for even this fanfiction. I can't bare to imagine a Native America OC having to undergo all those difficulties, especially at the hands of those she raised. This reason alone is enough to convince me not to create a Native America OC.

I'm sure there are plenty of people who have or wish to make a Native America OC. I'm sure some have put in the time and effort to create one. If so, props to them. I doubt I'll ever get around to the idea of creating an Native America OC. Even though I won't be incorporating a Native America OC in this fanfiction, I'll place my thoughts on what I think a character based on the region would be like in my headcanons written below. Thank you for reading this chapter on an interesting topic and feel free to continue reading this fanfiction.

APH Native America Headcanons

• I mainly see Native America as a female being around 23-26 years old.

• She's a strong character who's talented and knowledgeable in hunting, foraging, herbal medicine, weaving, and crafting tools.

• She loves nature, often observing the forest and watching the animals, respecting the creatures and making art of them.

• Eventually, she learned how to ride horses after the first horses from Europe were introduced to her home.

• She has the ability to communicate with ancestral spirits.

• She tends to avoid war and bloodshed as much as possible.

• Her first impression of the Europeans was miscommunication and hostility (she didn't seem to mind the French).

• She played a minor role on raising America, Canada, and Mexico along with some states, territories, and provinces whenever their colonizer wasn't around.

• For many years, she constantly fought to protect her people from the Europeans, sustaining injuries as a result.

• She also fought against the American military, however, she became much weaker with the continuing wars and losses. 

• She'll eventually find peace, however, the losses she gained had been too great to where a full recovery is impossible.

• Regarding the 50 states, she's the closest to Arizona, the Dakotas, and Oklahoma; such states often visit and take care of her.

• She currently secludes herself in one of the Native American nations, occasionally receiving the states and America as rare visitors.

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Feel free to vote or leave a comment on your thoughts of APH Native America or this side chapter here.