Allegheny
The Allegheny occupy a territory in Pittsburgh that stretches from the northern shore opposite from the Point, north to Latodami. They live primarily by hunting and gathering across that range, making homes in old bunkers made of stacked urbanite built by the founders of the confederacy in their uprising against the region’s warlord at the end of the Rusting Age. They keep these in good repair, which reinforces a practical ethos that focuses on repurposing the relics of the past.
#Seasonal cycle
In the spring, the Allegheny focus on the Aviary. They use nets to create enclosures for returning birds, offering them food and shelter. They make colorful bird costumes and participate in a cycle of ceremonies and dances intended to lead migratory birds home. They collect the most colorful and brilliant feathers they can find, sometimes using these for their own costumes, and sometimes trading them to neighbors as a precious luxury good. They have traditions about the meanings of feathers, though they do not share this knowledge widely outside their community, and some practice augury.
In the summer, the Allegheny focus on fishing in the river that bears their name. The use a variety of techniques to fish, grouped into several schools. Each school bears the name of a different bird, which, they claim, taught them that technique. For example, Kingfishers fish using spears, out in the middle of the river, by diving into the water spear-first. The Herons also fish using spears, but using a more traditional technique, standing in the shallows and stabbing at fish that swim by. The Pelicans use nets, the Macaws compete to weave the most beautiful flies using brilliant feathers, and the Crows build weirs.
In the autumn, the Allegheny traditionally move to the northern edges of their territory to hunt pig. Though easier cuts predominate, they take the time to make kielbasa a few times each season. Every few years, the Allegheny conduct controlled burns in a wide cycle to produce the dense brush that pigs favor.
In the winter, the Allegheny collect the potatoes that they scattered throughout their territory throughout the preceding months. Around the winter solstice, they make pierogis — dumplings made with a mixture of cassava and coconut flour wrapped around mashed potatoes, often seasoned. They interpret the semi-circular shape as resembling the rising sun, eating them on the longest night as a way of encouraging the sun to rise again.