I was writing a fantasy story with a Cree friend of mine that included realistic representation of Native American culture. We did extensive research to incorporate elements of the Cree, Haudenoshone, and Tlingit mythology and culture derived specifically from non-white sources. I don’t have a doctorate or anything, but I know what I’m talking about.
Do you have any recollection if the relationship was many-to-many, like “my (group) takes care of these horses, and you aren’t in our group” or singular stewardship “this horse and I take care of each other” or something?
IIRC a lot of it depended on the size of the tribe. Smaller ones everyone was basically treated like an extended family group, so everything was very communal. Larger tribes had more in-group/out-group politics, where certain families within the tribe maintained their own family property. People being people, there is sometimes bonding that happens with some animals. A horse or a dog becomes “yours” because of mutual preference and affection, not economics.
I was writing a fantasy story with a Cree friend of mine that included realistic representation of Native American culture. We did extensive research to incorporate elements of the Cree, Haudenoshone, and Tlingit mythology and culture derived specifically from non-white sources. I don’t have a doctorate or anything, but I know what I’m talking about.
That’s neat
Do you have any recollection if the relationship was many-to-many, like “my (group) takes care of these horses, and you aren’t in our group” or singular stewardship “this horse and I take care of each other” or something?
IIRC a lot of it depended on the size of the tribe. Smaller ones everyone was basically treated like an extended family group, so everything was very communal. Larger tribes had more in-group/out-group politics, where certain families within the tribe maintained their own family property. People being people, there is sometimes bonding that happens with some animals. A horse or a dog becomes “yours” because of mutual preference and affection, not economics.