The Nacirema
Appearance: Monkey-like creatures that come in a variety of colors. Some have tails, but most do not. Their hair tends to be a symbol of what their age is or what their profession is; for example, Nacirema leaders tend to have a particular style of hair we would find weird on Earth, and the more prominent this style is, the higher their status tends to be. A symbol of a young Nacirema tends to be short hair with strange patterns cut into it, the meaning usually only significant to a close few.
Attitude: the Nacirema are incredibly destructive, even to their own kind. Young Nacirema all grow up together, but once they receive their profession, every group that is not your own is open to verbal or physical attack.
Nacirema also believe they were born sick and evil. The traditions they employ in an effort to someday be 'good' are numerous; medicine men, magic water, 'potions', swirling hair around in their mouths, ect.
Technology: the Nacirema are in the beginnings of their space age, having send up extensive webs of technology to orbit their planet. However, there is no further progress to go interstellar; a Nacirema tribe, the Steivos, attempted to develop technology to do so, but frequent warring and destruction on the planet all but killed that group off.
Backstory: The Nacirema know little of their evolutionary origins and most don't care to know; the best they've got is that they descended from dogs.
Present: Today,the Nacirema are as destructive as ever. However, an air of change permeates the planet; some leaders have abandoned the traditional hairstyle in an effort to identify themselves with the masses, while scientists have taken up their own style; this signifies a massive change of values from tradition to science. Many Nacirema are optimistic that this change will end all destruction on the planet, although the race is so unpredictable and violent that that prediction will probably never come to pass.