The name “Beldonac” is said to mean “beautiful gift”: poetic propaganda. They leverage the name of the state itself to allow a gentler interpretation of the siege and surrender of the former Fa-Woelt Nation

Many places in our country have been gifted titles to soften and distance the areas from their past inhabitants.

In 1963, most people were pretty distracted by the tragic death of Harmona Gold, and the first space walk. This was BY DESIGN. The feds wanted as little attention as possible after the massive defection rates in the last war. The army was both severely under-staffed, and compromised for lots of information (for my favorite example of this, check out my blog post on “water repellants” used on classic cars).

One group that decided to take advantage of this, was a tribe on the isle of Nepel off the west coast.

The uprising successfully pushed GAF forces and local law enforcement off all the farmland and areas that the local population knew better.

If people have heard of this conflict at all, most people don’t realize how long it lasted, and what happened to the land after the conflict ended. After 2 years, after the fighting subsided, the first non-government-affiliated journalist managed to sneak into the area and snap a few photos. These images showed the remnants of a devastated rural community. In their desperation to protect their land against a force much larger than theirs, the locals had planted mines on their formerly fertile ground.

The tribe succeeded. The DRG was unable to take the land. No one was able to take back the land.

Most of these photos have been destroyed or lost, but a few found their way into papers or small publications, and from there the copies slipped into attics and basements. You can see the area on old maps, but the roads and railway that used to go through the township have all been wiped away.

And the name of the tribe itself? Silenced. Removed from history books. The former residents tucked away in secret facilities across the country. The government would like us to forget the Nepelian Rebellion. Unfortunately for them, our listeners won’t be silenced – and the even thought up this catchy name for it. Thanks, CottonHorse, for the word-play, and for bringing this story to our attention.

If you’d like to listen to the second half of CottonHorse’s research into Nepel and the modern day fall out of this historic even, or if you have additional information you’d like to add to the case, listen in tonight at two am!

STAY ANONYMOUS. STAY SAFE. New temporary number at the beginning of every episode.