WARNING: The following contains spoilers for “Mirage: Multifaceted” in Marvel's Voices: Indigenous Voices #1 by Darcie Little Badger, Kyle Charles, and Felipe Sobreiro.
In House of X #1 by Jonathan Hickman and R.B. Silva, the X-Men established the sovereign nation of Krakoa. While they had much to offer the world such as cures for cancer and life-extending drugs, being a country came with a different set of problems. Schools and teams of adventurers don’t need to worry about diplomatic relations or making international allies.
The X-Men picked up more than a few new enemies and lost some allies. In “Mirage: Multifaceted” in Marvel Voices: Indigenous Voices #1, the mutants made a powerful new ally in the Yavapai, creating a partnership that could benefit them for years to come.
It all begins with a young Yavapai man, Julian, helping his grandmother wheel her award-winning pumpkin away from the county fair. The sheriff’s jealous son attempts to mug them for the prize money and Julian’s latent mutant powers activate. Julian summons monsters that protect his family, but he’s forced to hide out in the desert. His tribe calls on the X-Men, who send Mirage, Dani Moonstar, and Wolfsbane, Rahne Sinclair. The two were New Mutants together and had a romantic relationship in Josh Boone’s film adaptation, which appears to be crossing over into the comics in this story. The duo race against the Sheriff’s men to find the boy.
With "X of Swords" focusing on heroic swordplay and interdimensional tournaments, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that Charles Xavier formed a school to educate young mutants on how to use their powers. This story brings that back, as Mirage and Wolfsbane talk about how much trouble they had controlling their abilities when they were Julian’s age. When they finally do find him, Julian asks Mirage if she's Cheyenne or Krakoan. Mirage answers perfectly by saying that she's both. "And I’m a sometimes-Valkyrie, a teacher, and a connoisseur of black coffee. Krakoa isn’t about assimilation.
This story certainly opens the door for Krakoa to become allies with other native nations as well. X-Men stories are at their best when they’re boldly political, and this is a new direction for the team to go in. While there are relationships between Native Tribes and other countries -- the Choctaw nation gave money to Ireland during the Potato Famine, for example -- the Logan Act of 1799 forbids individual U.S. citizens from negotiating treaties with foreign governments, though this is complicated by tribal sovereignty.
While it seems like “Mirage: Multifaceted” will be a one-off, it would be excellent for the future X-Men comics to tease out what it means for Krakoa to have a diplomatic relationship with the Native Tribes residing within the United States separate from its relations with the U.S.