Watchlist: ‘Native American Governments’

By Kamiah Koch

Social media/digital journalist

Ballots for the Grand Ronde Tribal Council election have been mailed out and the election results will be announced Saturday, Sept. 7.

Three seats on the nine-person council are up for grabs and Tribal members will vote from a list of seven candidates, plus vote on three advisory questions. (If you are still unsure on who to vote for, listen to the Smoke Signals podcast interviews with the candidates).

Grand Ronde has operated with a council even before the Tribe created a Tribal Constitution after its restoration in 1983. The council functions as primary governing and legislative body of the Tribe.

A short video by PBS discusses the various types of Tribal governments seen across the United States from pre-European contact to today.

“Entire nations of Native Americans, millions of people, have been governing themselves long before any European stepped foot on American soil,” political science professor Dr. Terri Jett said in the video. “And you may be surprised by the ways their societies mirror our current system of government.”

The video first focuses on what is considered one of the most well-known documents from Native history, which comes from the Iroquois Tribes in what is now upstate New York.

“The Great Law of Peace formally brought [all six Tribes] together and has been described as the longest lasting treaty in North America,” Jett said.

Their society was matriarchal, meaning clans were led by women. They also valued debate when forming laws. Jett points out that some believe the U.S. Congress custom of allowing speakers to finish without interruption was modeled off how the Iroquois conducted business.

The Muscogee Nation is another Tribe the video features due to its well-developed judicial system where crime was punished depending on the character of the defendant and circumstances of the crime.

“The Muscogee prioritized the needs of the community over the needs of the individual,” Jett said. “This stands in stark contrast with modern American society.”

These various Tribes were just a few of the thousands in America before European contact.

“Some believe that founding fathers used their knowledge of Native government when helping to write the Constitution of the new nation known as the United States of America,” Jett said.

You can watch the entire video yourself now at https://www.pbs.org/video/native-american-governments-tj1tfi/.

Click microphone to listen to the Smoke Signals podcast with the 2024 Tribal Council candidates: