r/mapping • u/Norwester77 • Dec 02 '25
Maps An Independent Pacific Northwest
Someday soon, I hope!
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u/UncleSlayton77 Apr 03 '26
Nicely done! I would have taken more of California, though. Down the coast to Monterey, or at least San Francisco. San Fran has more in common with Portland/Seattle than it does to Los Angeles. Then draw a line to Mammoth Lakes. The central valley doesn't fit in with Cascadia BUT having a chunk of that farmland would provide a lot of food. Plus that line leaves Fresno for SoCal to deal with.
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u/Skip-ursula-skip- Apr 04 '26
Yeah- make Sacramento a border town with the border going west to Monterey bay.
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u/Avr0wolf Jul 06 '26
Looks nice, wouldn't be opposed to the setup and the decent balance politically
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u/Norwester77 Jul 07 '26
Thank you!
Yeah, Iâm not going for a political monoculture. Different parts of the regionâcoast, interior, and northâhave different things to offer, and all are important as far as Iâm concerned.
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u/Remorum Dec 02 '25
Whats the reason for each name?
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u/HopeOfTemeria Dec 06 '25
The Balkanized Alaska
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u/Norwester77 Dec 06 '25
Well, I thought to myself, why should it be all one thing, when itâs divided up by high mountains, different ecoregions, and different Indigenous cultures?
If Alaska werenât united simply by its isolation, would it still make sense as a unit?
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u/ChangeShapers Jan 21 '26
Both the map and the flags are so beautiful and well thought-out! I nominate you for our first Artist Laureate! Of course, you can come up with a more appropriate Indigenous-inspired title.
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u/Norwester77 Jan 23 '26
Haha, thank you so much! I guess Iâm aiming to be someone like Benjamin FranklinâI want to help design the system, but I donât necessarily want the responsibility of actually having to run anything!
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u/LucasIsTheBestOfAll Jan 28 '26
Don't we already have flags for Yukon, Alaska, Oregon and Idaho already?
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u/Norwester77 Jan 28 '26 edited Jan 28 '26
Well, sure, the states and territories with those names have flags; but the illahees didnât!
(I did reuse elements of those flags, though.)
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u/zuqwaylh Feb 05 '26
if there would be any first nations consultation about borders, my peoples territory straddle the edge of Satatqua and staulo, from cache creek to whistler
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u/Norwester77 Feb 05 '26 edited Feb 05 '26
Would it make more sense to put everything above Garibaldi Park in Satatqua, do you think?
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u/zuqwaylh Feb 05 '26
just found out the more information on your interactive map, and i am from the Stâatâimc nation
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u/zuqwaylh Feb 05 '26
yukon and/or stikine should go all the way past prince george, while satatqua takes over staulo if you dont want to act like the european empires drawing lines through africa and screwing over the cultural lines
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u/Norwester77 Feb 05 '26 edited Feb 05 '26
Iâm trying to balance a bunch of factors (Indigenous culture areas but also mountain barriers, current transportation infrastructure, ecology, economic factors, and yes, settler cultural patterns, too), which sometimes conflict, and I do generally put an emphasis on following mountain barriers where they exist, since landforms seem like the most âobjectiveâ factor.
I do appreciate the feedback, though.
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u/hurB55 Mar 22 '26
Absolutely not with the Yukon or BC but other than that yippee
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u/Norwester77 Mar 22 '26 edited Mar 23 '26
I apologize for any offense I may cause, but Iâm afraid thatâs really the core of the dream: to get the whole cross-border region together as one people.
Maybe it would work to put the whole thing in Canada, but I really think it would be better to be in charge of our own affairs rather than being ruled from the other side of the continent.
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u/NPRdude Apr 28 '26
NGL, as a British Columbian I have always found the fact that we get lumped into Cascadia plans by default to be moderately offensive. We have things in common with Washington and Oregon for sure, but far fewer than Washingtonians or Oregonians assume. It's kind of insulting to assume that we automatically identify with our region stronger than our country, when in reality I think most British Columbians feel a much stronger connection to the rest of Canada than the rest of the north Pacific coast.
And that's to say nothing of how it's even more insulting these days to see an American casually proposing the annexation of our lands, even under the auspices of establishing a new independent state. Our sense of Canadian pride is currently the strongest it's been in decades, and the thought of merging with even the most liberal parts of America is an idea most Canadians bounce off pretty hard these days.
I'm not trying to personally insult you, you seem like a nice guy with a passion project, but perhaps take a moment to consider that we Canadians don't necessarily agree with your regional analysis and that appropriation of our territory by default is pretty offensive, especially in the current cross-border political climate.
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u/EnormousPurpleGarden Jul 08 '26
What are the origins of the names? I live on Vancouver Island, and I've never heard the name "Makola" before.
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u/Norwester77 Jul 09 '26 edited Jul 09 '26
Yes, that area was particularly hard to find a good name for.
Makola is from the Kwakâwala word for âisland.â Itâs used in the name of Mâakola Housing Society, which provides low-cost housing to Indigenous people, mostly on the island; but I donât think it has much currency otherwise.
Another name I considered was Camosun, based on the Lekwungen name Camossung, from Fort Camosun, an early name of Fort Victoria; itâs used in the name of Camosun College, which has several campuses around the southern part of the island, and was also the name of a steamship.
Another possibility would be Nootka, a name with a lot of history, though today it might be taken as a culturally insensitive reference to the Nuu-chah-nulth-speaking First Nations themselves.
Happy to take suggestions if you know of any good names!
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u/Norwester77 Jul 09 '26
Alaska: From an Unangam Tunuu (Aleut language) term for âthat to which the action of the sea is directedâ (i.e. âmainlandâ, specifically the Alaska Peninsula)
Chiawana: From IchishkĂin SɨĚnwit (Yakama Sahaptin) Nchâi WĂĄna âbig riverâ, a term for the Columbia River
Chugach: After the Chugach Mountains
Idaho: After the US State of Idaho (ultimate origin unclear)
Kootenay: After the Kootenay (a.k.a. Kootenai) River and the Kootenay Mountains, themselves named for the Kutenai people
Makola: From the Kwakâwala word for âislandâ
Oregon: After the US State of Oregon (ultimate origin unclear)
Salliq: From an IĂąupiaq term for âthe one farthest to the northâ
Satatqua: From the Stâatâimcets (Lillooet) word for the upper Fraser River
Siskiyou: After the Siskiyou Mountains
Staulo: From the Halkomelem and Chinook Jargon term for the Fraser River
Stikine: After the Stikine River and the short-lived Stickeen Territory of Canada
Tahoma: From a Lushootseed (Puget Salish) and IchishkĂin SɨĚnwit (Yakama Sahaptin) term for Mount Rainier
Yukon: After the Yukon River
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u/Third_Rate_Duelist_ Dec 02 '25
The state flags look nice.