Inclusivity Project: Tribal References

The event that took place in Serenwilde today (Event Post #491) is part of a broader project to address Native appropriation within Lusternia. This segment of the project deals with the concept of tribes and has been split into two parts: commune changes and global changes. The first is now out, the latter is to follow before long.

Our guiding principle for these changes, as with most appropriation-style inclusivity problems, has been to make sure Lusternia’s lore is uniquely ours and, where it is inspired by something, be respectful of the inspiration. While intended as respectful, in Serenwilde we felt that the use of tribes (in Wodewoses) was compounding their identity problem for two reasons: the number of (remaining) Native appropriations present, and the way the word ‘tribe’ was being used.

For the former, the revelation of Seralem, the recent events, and those changes that will still follow, all aim to make Serenwilde its own cultural construct. Real-world inspirations will continue to suffuse our worldbuilding, but we wish to be intentional and considerate there. For the latter, the use of the word ‘tribe’ is especially important as it is commonly used throughout Lusternia, but rarely in an appropriate way. In our changes, we seek to make Lusternia’s peoples reflect a variety of social structures and, at the same time, we seek to not propagate harmful stereotypes.

The changes that have already taken place can be found in Changelog #2633. While we are not yet done, the one thing we will not be reviewing are player-written creations. If you would like to adjust your own designs, help files, etc, please do so. If necessary, feel free to contact us if it concerns creations that only we can tweak – such as by messaging the Charites in the case of designs.

We want to be clear that with these changes we are not saying that the use of tribe/tribal by players is wrong or forbidden. We are clarifying our stance and our usage, and encourage you to join us in this effort to keep things consistent.