Abstract

The present paper presents in some detail evidence from selected Algonquian languages (Cree, Ojibwa, Micmac, Blackfoot and Arapaho) that strengthens the case against a putative "Algonquian person hierarchy" and shows that, at least at some levels of description, there are multiple nominal hierarchies to be taken into account. In addition, I sketch a tentative way to resolve the problem of multiple hierarchies in Plains Cree, a language that is often at the center of attention in studies dealing with hierarchical alignment and/or personal hierarchies.