Yeah, you right, you right. Exceptions probably made for the chiefdoms, hereditary positions were more of a strict responsibility than a right or privilege. In the northern bands of the Great Plains, if you weren't doing what your people wanted you to do, then they would just leave your band and migrate to the band of another chief, if not simply strip you of your responsibility outright. Besides, power was also shared with the council, the elders, and the warchiefs, so once again, being a hereditary chief was more about representing the will of your people rather than being something of an absolute monarch (in the case of my own ancestors, anyways).
Of course, the role of chief wasn't always hereditary in present-day Canada, nor was it the only hereditary position in many cases. After all, Canada is a huuuuuuge place, spanning across 1/3 to 1/2 of a huuuuuuge continent, and the countless cultures vary... alot. This should probably be taken into account, since we live half-way across the continent from each other, my Algonquin brother.![]()
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