Where are the deer? (a theory)

Sooooo, this is has been on my mind the past couple weeks. For those of you who don't read the comics, back in the day there was an arc that featured sentient deer. I have not personally read it, but I know of its infamy. Later on, in "Fluttershy Leans In" we see deer are as sentient as birds and bears. This really made me confused at the time, since I knew about the comic's arc with the deer. I wanted to spend some time talking about times in the show there were hints of deer existing as sentient creatures, and why the show staff may have decided to shelve the idea.

Hint #1: Dreamcatcher in Magic Duel
Waaaay back in "Magic Duel," we see Trixie get the Alicorn Amulet at a shop filled with mystical items. In the same shots with the Amulet, we see what is likely a dreamcatcher.

For those of you who don't know what a dreamcatcher is, here's the gist: it's a charm to ward of dreams originating from the Ojibwe people. Specifically it comes from their Spiderwoman stories. Her web catches both the good and bad dreams, the bad dreams are dispersed and the good dreams are given to the owner. Here's the important part: the buffalo should definitely not be the originators of dreamcatchers, deer should be. The Ojibwe live near the Great Lakes, so definitely no buffalo there.

Hint #2: All of Legend of Everfree, All of It
Spoiler Warning for some of Legend of Everfree!
This is the only time I'm gonna tie in the comics again, because it is interesting. In the deer comics, all of the deer are named after trees. For instance the leader of the deer is named King Aspen. In Legend of Everfree, Timber Spruce is one of the camp counselors. Not only that, but a big part of the conflict is Filthy Rich wanting to take a land that has been owned for generations. Sounds familiar. There's also the fact Rarity's fashion theme is "Boho Chic" which is prettttyyyy close to Native American styles, especially for the region they go to. Lastly, and the biggest hint of all:

This is from the credits scroll, one of the last things from the movie. What's so special about the carvings? The first symbol is likely inspired by The Four Directions, which is found in many, many Native American cultures. The second symbol is what really drew my attention when I first watched this with a friend. It seemed so familiar....then it hit me.
The second symbol is so clearly based on symbol/flag for the Iroquois Federation. There are differences yes, but the inspiration is just so obvious to me. Maybe I'm just seeing things. It's just so clear to me that's what they were going for.

Now for the big question, why aren't deer sentient? Here are some reasons I've come up with:

Reason #1: The Comics were Panned
A lot of people didn't like the comics featuring the deer. I personally attribute the main problem being mixing of two tropes associated with deer. See, at least from my perspective, there are two ways deer are portrayed in media, in no particular order:
1. Representation for Native Americans
2. European Myths
Both of these portrayals make sense. After all, a symbol for Artemis is a deer. There are some Native American peoples who literally use deer antlers as part of their garb. The Iroquois Federation I mentioned earlier? A few of their leaders wear them in council meetings. However, I believe the two ideas should not have been mixed. Why not? Welllllllllll, there's this trope called the "Noble Savage" and yeah it's prettttyyyyyy racist.......yeah so I can see why the comics didn't go over well.

Reason #2: The Deer will become Sentient
There is the remote possibility deer will become sentient sometime in the future. After all, we recently saw reindeer be sentient, why not their non-arctic cousins? I imagine if deer do become sentient, it'd be a special episode, maybe even a two-parter? I'm just speculating at this point, but I imagine "Fluttershy Leans In" just made deer non-sentient due to the comics' panning. It's really the only explanation that makes sense to me.

Any thoughts? I'd love to hear them! :D