Tribal Social Systems
Just as we have various forms of government in society today, the American Indians had different forms of social systems and social organization. Many of the Native Americans live in groups and shared in making decisions. There are some groups that developed complicated social systems and social organization, especially, the Aztecs in Mexico and the Incas of Peru. However, many tribes in North America did not devlop complicated systems. Listed below are the systems used by these tribes as they as generally understood by anthropologists today.
Many North American tribes were organized into a social organization that anthropologists call bands. Indian bands were formed by families. The band consisted of any number from twenty to three hundred people. The size of the geographic location determined the number of people in each band. In other words, the size was determined by the number of people that the area could support. For example, if the area was plentiful with game and land, the band would be large. If game or food was scarce, the band would be small.
Tribal organization is more complex than bands, as one might expect, tribes are larger than bands. The members of the tribe spoke the same language, held the same religious customs and beliefs, and lived in the same area. Within the tribe, there was a permanent leader called the chief. All decisions that affected the tribe were made by the tribal council. The tribal council members consisted of the elders. Some tribes had more than one chief. When there was more than one chief, each one had specific functions. One chief may rule during the times of peace. The other chief ruled during war time. In order to become chief, the man had to be a member of a certain family of clan. This stipulation was not used by all tribes.
Confederations are another system of political and social organization used by the Indians. In this system, groups of Indian tribes joined with other tribes to form larger groups. An example of this concept is the Iroquois nation which is composed of the Mohawk, Onondaga, Oneida, Seneca, and Cayuga. Other confederations include the Creek, Cherokee, and Powhatan. The confederations to be discussed in this unit are listed in the next section.
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