What is documented is that the women in her household were referred to as her wives by Denig, and that this arrangement was sufficiently recognized within the Crow community that it was unremarkable except to outside observers.

Whatever framework is most appropriate for understanding these relationships, they were part of a household and social identity that Crow society accommodated and recognized.

The important point, when thinking about her chieftaincy, is that the multiple wives were a marker of status — they demonstrated that she had achieved the material success and social standing that allowed a chief to support a substantial household.

They were evidence of her achievement, not a separate curiosity attached to it.