What was significant about Native American society?

Question

What was their social structure and view of property ownership?

Answer 1

I can only answer about the Lenni Lenape.  

They didn't believe in owning the land, in fact, that was such a foreign concept, that they were cheated many, many times, as were other Native People's.

The Lenape were a matriarchal society, so the women owned the wigwam's and the things in it, except for the men's hunting equipment  If a woman wanted a "divorce", she simply put the man's things outside the home and he had to go home to his mother.

A person was known for being wealthy by the amount of things he or she gave away, not what he hoarded away from everyone.  Wealth was meant to be shared, not kept to oneself.  And that extended to food also.  Young men were taught to give their first deer or whatever they hunted to the elders of the village.  The girls gave their first harvest of berries, etc to the elders also.

The chief of the village was the last person to be clothed, housed and fed.  It was his responsibility to take care of everyone else first.

Hope that helps you a bit

Answer 2

To me, the most significant thing would have to be how well they've lived in harmony with the Earth for so long.  

Answer 3

was or IS? and if you mean was I think you need to specify a time frame because the recent years seems to have brought great changes that change the ways we Natives think and live.  

Answer 4

Not all native cultures were the same.

My heritage is Sierra Miwok from central California, and we share similiarities with most northen coast tribes like the Klamath, Yokuts and Modoc. But we were very different than many of the more well known plains, eastern and southwest tribes like the Souix, Cherokee, Iroquois and Apache.

Every culture is significant for different reasons. Most native cultures where distinctly different from European culture in that we had a greater value of the land, and Europeans wanted the land mostly for wealth.

Not all parts of native culture were commendable, though. There was plenty of polygamy and in some cultures women were treated very harshly. Many native cultures also had a different set of standards for other tribes than they did for themselves. I.e., it was forbidden for a Comanche to steal a horse from another Comanche, but perfectly alright to steal a horse from anyone else.

As far as social structure goes, they varied from tribe to tribe. Most Miwok bands operated on a sort of monarchy, but the chief was responsible for everyone's needs and thus it was a great responsibility as well as a great honor to be chief. Being the son of the chief did not necessarily mean you would be chief, though.

Like many cultures, the women were primarily the homemakers and raised the children, while the men did the hunting and defending of the village. As far as property ownership, the Miwok were very generous with one another, but restrictive of what they were willing to share with outsiders. That being said, it was expected of a Miwok chief to be generous when visited by a ranking member of another village.

Answer 5

Um, which Native American society? It's not like all peoples of Native American heritage are one homogeneous group. Different tribes and nations have completely different social structures and views of property ownership. And are you talking about North American or South American?  

Answer 6

They didn't believe in property ownership because they saw the land as a divine being, not something that could be owned. That's why everyone always says they're so stupid for trading all their land for a few trinkets offered by Europeans. The only reason they did that was because they had no understanding of land ownership. To them, land was not something that could be owned by anyone. Hope that helped a little... Good luck!