Northwest Territorial Imperative
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The Northwest Territorial Imperative is an idea popularized since the 1980s within white nationalist and white separatist groups in the United States. According to it, adherents of these groups are encouraged to relocate to a five-state region of the Northwestern United States — viz., Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming[1]. Northern California and some parts of Canada are sometimes also included. The intent is to eventually declare the region an "Aryan" homeland. The primary proponent of this idea was Richard Girnt Butler (1918–2004), leader of the Aryan Nations. The major current exponent of Northwest Migration is Harold Covington (b. 1953) of the Northwest Front.
Beginning in the 1980s, the idea inspired a number of groups, Ku Klux Klan leaders, and Christian Identity churches to set up shop or relocate to the Northwest. Northwest nationalism and a desire for an independent Northwest American Republic was one of the inspirations motivating Robert Jay Mathews (1953–1984) and his group, The Order, to embark on a spree of robbery, murder, and counterfeiting in the region.[citation needed]
The Northwest Territorial Imperative has several left-wing and liberal counterparts in other secessionist movements in the Northwest, such as Cascadia and Ecotopia, which are largely motivated by environmental, regional, or Green concerns.
