Headdress of Distinction. James Ayers. Photo info.
These stories all feature male heroes who are usually wise as well as skilled warriors. Also, though the stories come from different tribes and even different regions, they still have the same governing structure with a chief. Always a man, always a good warrior, and at some point he would have proven his wisdom or strength by defeating an enemy and gaining approval by the rest of the tribe.
Most of these stories feature a chief who has gone bad, and our hero is the one to replace him. But since the bad guy is still the man in charge, whatever evil things he does are not met with justice until he is overthrown.
In "The Jealous Uncle," the chief keeps killing his own nephews, and everyone knows and disagrees, but they do nothing to stop him. Even the father and mother do not avenge their children in any way, or even run away. If another man in the tribe were to act so murderously against his own family, then we would be brought to justice, but the chief is given ultimate power and with it, an ultimate pardon. In this particular story, the last nephew outsmarts the uncle and survives, but the only reason he ever exacts his revenge on his uncle is because he uses the resources of another tribe. What makes this character a hero is that he is the only one in the entire tribe who keeps the leadership accountable to their own rules.
In "The Son-In-Law Tests," the chief waits for his daughter to be married, and when he decides that he does not like them, he kills them. This happens multiple times without anyone doing anything to stop him. The father in this instance has more reason to be feared since he is not only the chief but also a god. Native American gods are often similar to Greek gods in that they are very flawed and interact with humans on the regular, causing trouble. Still, the only way that the justice of the land (which was supposed to be upheld by him) was brought was by outsmarting him and bending the rules.
All these stories show a common trait that the most important law in these communities was to obey the leaders. Even when the leaders had turned evil, the hero found ways to overcome them while still doing what the evil leaders had commanded. It is an odd and twisted trait, but it reveals a great loyalty to the tribe and to its leadership.
Read the full stories.
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