While we are on the topic, has anyone read the Uplift Wars? Startide Rising, the first novel, focuses on humans and uplifted dolphins. In the series, dogs, chimps and a few other species have been uplifted to sentience, and the socio-political consequences of such actions are main points. The dolphin religious tenets are also explored:
Startide Rising, wikipedia Humans are considered orphaned sentient beings, since we have no obvious Patron.
In the Pern series, Dolphins are also established as having a society and complex language skills.
I am agreeing about Avatar here...just because someone does not have a certain concept in their culture (like money, a human invention to track the movement of goods and services), does not mean they are incapable of understanding it. And once they understand it, they may still reject it. Do dolphins care about Wall Street? Well, why should they? But I bet they have a lot to say about human fishing practices and the wanton pollution of waterways seen in some countries.
