In “The Meeting of the Wild Animals,” we see the said wild animals try to decide on how long winter should last, and ultimately listening to the wisdom of the porcupine and his wisdom. I believe that the characteristics exemplified by Marc Beckoff in his book “The Emotional Life of Animals,” such as cooperation, deliberation, and fairness are represented in this tale. As Beckoff states, “The origins of virtue, egalitarianism, and morality are more ancient than our species” (109), and can be clearly seen in this tale. In Indian belief, they understand that the world around them came to be through the work of spirits and animals, and often animal spirits. Within this tale in particular, we see that the animals do try to work together to achieve a mutual understanding, despite having a bit of conflict at first between the Bear and the Porcupine. Through the act of self-infliction, the porcupine fights for what he believes is the best for everyone, and the bear respects him afterwards.
However, one thing that strikes me as odd in this tale is how the Bear doesn’t just kill the Porcupine and get his way. As we saw in Aesop’s “the Frog and the Lion,” the Lion easily kills the frog with no resistance. If the Bear really wanted it his way, why didn’t he just take it? I would like to believe that, in Native American mythology, the animals really all just naturally worked well together, so as to keep the whole ecosystem in balance.
Environmental Justice in Beast Fables 
In your blog post you were able to provide evidence from both Beckoff and the Native American fables effortlessly, however I believe that more analysis on Beckoff’s part would have made your argument stronger. You used the normal template we discussed in class today and although the attempt was made it might have not reached its full potential, which is okay because after all it is only a blog post. I really liked the fact that you linked it to Aesop’s fables and after reading your post I pondered the answers to the questions you asked. Great Job!
– Katherine Hernandez
I like your style, man. It was nicely written and the ideas expressed were logical and sound. As said above, try linking more to Beckoff next time. The Aesop’s fables reference I found a bit iffy. And the title is good as it is; it was too good to be a placeholder. Overall, well done.
I found this to be really interesting. The thoughts you provoked through your blog post shed light to an important issue regarding our own society. Great work 🙂
the way you provided clear analysis of the Native American fables and Beckoff was great, however I think that in your second paragraph you bring up some great points about the bear and I feel as though that would’ve been something great to elaborate on. great points!