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Show 1900] INDIAN SOCIETY 201 whites, an exaggerated idea of the chief's importance has grown up.^ With the passing of the emergency the chief tended to lapse back to the level of the other members of the tribe, and special authority often did not exist for him. The Indian is essentially individualistic and will not brook authority except where long- continued customJaasL proven its nprft^ fty,^ X) n the northwest coast, the essential condition of chieftainship is wealth, which is acquired for the purpose of making great feasts and gifts . and thereby attaining increased rank in the order of nobles or chiefs. There is in that region, too, a sharp line drawn between the social classes, which makes it almost impossible for a plebeian, and quite so for a slave, to rise to the rank of chief. These social differences do not appear so much in manner of life or in the intercourse of every day as in ceremonials and in questions of marriage. " In Indian society, therefore, the privileges pertaining to the clan were the main heritage of any individual- name, position, and ceremonial rights were perhaps the most valued of all these privileges; but that of ownership of property as such seems often to depend upon the clan organization. ' Where clans existed, land was the common property of that group; where clans were absent it belonged > to the band or tribe. It is said that in certain regions of the northwest individual proprietorship existed in the case of fishing and hunting locations, but such a condition was exceptional. |
