this post was submitted on 14 Feb 2026
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They still had private property. You try to take a man's only horse and you think he is going to be okay with it?
They had "personal property", property that is movable and possessable; chattel or personalty.
But they most assuredly did not have "private property,", ownership of immovable, "real property" by non-governmental entities. Who can own a lake or a sky? Obviously that belongs to all of us.
It's a minor phrasing difference but is foundational to out understanding of class inequality.
I'm not an expert, and perhaps it varied by tribe, but I don't think native Americans believed they "owned" horses.
I imagine the mere suggestion is offensive to them.
Ownership is probably the wrong word, but you can't overstate the importance of a horse to a Native American. "He took my horse so I stabbed him" would get a bunch of approving nods.
You know horses aren’t native to North America and were brought over by the Europeans right? Horses are only a brief part of their history.
Based on.....
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?
"Owned" as the definition we use no, but there definitely was a sense of 'this is not yours, don't use this'. I think the point that the speaker was trying to get across is that between people they considered the same as them there was no ownership. It wasn't all peace and free love but it wasn't being okay with watching a community member starve to death because they're poor and therefore deserve it.
But you still talk about owning a horse. It has a name and temper and it's offensive to attack the bond, just like it would be offensive to "take" a daughter