For the benefit of the non-Canucks out there I'll quickly describe the Metis. (If there are any actual Metis out there, please feel free to correct my eastern misapprehensions.)
The Metis are a mixed-race people arising from European fur-traders (mostly French, with some Scots and English) and several aboriginal tribes. They developed a unique culture that blended elements of both European and aboriginal cultures.
They relied upon the buffalo for their main source of food and materials, like their aboriginal ancestors. Unlike the aboriginals, they did most of their hunting in one major hunt in the spring. They would preserve enough meat to supply themselves for the year. (Preserved bison meat, pemmican, was also their major trade item for the fur-traders passing through their territory.) The hunt was a highly organized affair, with almost a military structure. The hunters rode horses. The rest traveled in two-wheeled carts with the supplies pulled by oxen.
They also practiced agriculture. Farms were laid out in narrow strips from river banks. Native prairie grass was gathered as hay for winter feed.
They spoke French and followed the Catholic religion. Their artistic styles used European themes, but often in native materials.
What can we adapt from this for the Pol Joni?
The PJ might use carts pulled by cattle for heavy transport. If their horses don't reproduce so well in Prax, this takes some of the demands off them. The Red River carts used by the Metis are interesting vehicles that could be fun to have for their own sake. The carts are two-wheeled, made entirely of wood, leather, and rawhide. The axles are wooden and are ungreased. (The prairie dust gets into the grease and grinds away the axle in no time.) The ungreased axles shriek as the wheels turn. A convoy of Red River carts can be hear miles away. The wheels can be quickly removed to float the cart across any rivers or streams that may cross the trail.
The PJ might practice some agriculture in the valleys near the Sartar or the Dagori Inkarth. They could gather natural hay in the Good Place to supplement winter feed, or Fire Season feed. This would allow them to stay in more in one place rather than having to migrate as extensively as the Praxians. It would give them more reason to hang on to their traditional Orlanth/Ernalda religion. Barntar might remain of some importance.
The spring hunt could be a major event. It might be more about raiding tribal herds that are encroaching too near the PJ lands than hunting wild herds.
Maybe someone else can suggest cultural and religious parallels that should be developed.
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