Several tales show that the natives were quite nurturing and cared deeply for their children. Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca tells of the natives’ love for their children in his letter to Emperor Charles V, writing that, “These people love their offspring more than any in the world and treat them very mildly” (45). He further details their mourning rituals for their children that last for an entire year (Cabeza de Vaca 45). It does not seem fitting that a brutish and barbaric people could love anyone so intensely. Very few, if any, other cultures have ever mourned so deeply over the loss of