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Kabila

How do tribes govern themselves?

Tribes govern themselves in many ways. Common forms are a council of elders that decides by discussion, a chief who leads with the council's support, assemblies of all adults, and clan or lineage heads. Many tribes today also have written constitutions, elected councils, courts and police, alongside older customs.

In many small societies, authority rests with the group, not a single ruler. Elders or family heads meet, talk a matter through and aim for agreement that everyone can accept. Leaders persuade more than they command, and a decision may take days of discussion.

Other societies have chiefs. Some chiefs inherit the role within a leading family, some are chosen for their ability, and some are elected. In the Haudenosaunee Confederacy of North America, clan mothers select the chiefs and can remove them if they fail in their duties.

Rules come from customary law: the community's accepted ways of handling marriage, land, inheritance and wrongdoing. Disputes are often settled by making amends and restoring relationships instead of punishment. The aim is that both sides can go on living side by side.

Modern tribal governments blend old and new. The Navajo Nation has an elected president, a council and its own courts. In India, the Sixth Schedule creates elected autonomous district councils, and in Fifth Schedule areas the gram sabha, the village assembly, holds powers over local resources.

Words used here

Council of eldersChiefElderCustomary lawConfederacyGram sabhaSixth ScheduleSovereignty

Sources

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