Guest Post – by Nicole Fawcette, Sr Marketing Manager, Killer Instinct

Hi Killer Instinct fam!

It’s the Winter Solstice here in North America – for most it means the shortest day of the year, but for most indigenous tribes, especially here in the Northwest North America, it’s the tribal new year. A time of celebration.

In the spirit of celebration, I’m really proud to announce on behalf of the entire KI team at Microsoft & Iron Galaxy, that you can now access the FREE Legend of Thunder costume pack. If you haven’t already, check out the story on the Xbox Wire to learn about how this collaboration with the Nez Perce came to be, but I want to reiterate that this pack is our way of saying “Thank You” and to celebrate the Nez Perce community for their partnership in making Thunder who he is today, and to you, the fans, who continue to support KI.

We want to thank two very important contributors to this project – Josiah Blackeagle Pinkham and Thomas tátlo Gregory. We first met these gentleman back in May when we travelled to Lapwai, Idaho and have been working hand-in-hand with them. They provided us so much valuable insight – from bringing truck-loads (literally!) of reference material to letting us visit their archives of some of the oldest artifacts and items they have stored from families that have been part of their community for hundreds of years.

Okay, so let’s get to what’s changed on Thunder:

Headdress has been removed: We learned that headdresses are mostly worn for ceremonial events vs battles or combat

Hair: Thunder now has a traditional warrior style pompadour hairstyle, based off historical photos

Added arm braces and a belt with traditional Nez Perce beadwork in the common color palette of pink & green with geometric pattern

Buckskin pants with the same traditional Nez Perce beadwork in pink & green with geometric pattern

Traditional moccasins: Worn for more agile combat and handcrafted from raw materials

Traditional metal-work axes (you can see the original in the photos below!)

















Again, a heartfelt thanks goes out to our Nez Perce (Nimiipuu) Consultants

Josiah Blackeagle Pinkham (Cultural Consultant)

Thomas tátlo Gregory (Language Program Coordinator)

Anthony toyáaxnin Smith (Composer, Singer)

We hope you enjoy this costume pack – tell us what you think in the forums.