Research Reports
Reflections on Traditional American Indian Ways, 1998
Threats to Tribal Sovereignty, 1998
Traditional American Indian Leadership: A Comparison with U.S. Governance, 1997
The Formation of Contemporary American Indian Tribal Governments
The Indian Reorganization Act (IRA), passed by the U.S. government in 1934, provided for the establishment of tribal governments. The IRA pressed for tribes to adopt standard constitutions based on the European-American conception of government. Symptomatic of the European- American view that American Indians were an inferior people, the U.S. Congress wrote and passed the IRA without involvement from tribal leadership.
Under the IRA, tribes were required to vote via referendum on the adoption of tribal constitutions and the establishment of tribal government. The ratification process was structured so that a minority of Indians could pass the referendum. O'Brien (1989) explains:
Although the IRA seemed to provide for tribal ratification of its terms, it did so in a way that effectively negated tribal wishes. Tribal members could vote either to accept or reject the IRA, but all abstentions (that is, the "votes" of anyone who did not vote) were counted as votes in favor of the IRA [italics added] (p. 82).In accordance with the American Indian tradition of non-interference, or unwillingness to argue, American Indians who did not support the IRA showed their disagreement by not voting in the election. Elections were alien to the American Indian way and traditional tribal members simply chose not to be involved in them.
As a consequence of this ratification process, many tribes adopted governments that tribal people, especially the elders and other traditional American Indians, did not support. Other tribes adopted governments because they were promised by supporters of the legislation that passage would help to end the massive hunger, poverty and loss of land on American Indian reservations. According to Getches, Wilkinson, and Williams, Jr. (1993), "within 12 years, 161 tribal constitutions and 131 Indian corporate charters had been adopted by tribes pursuant to the IRA" (p. 221).
The adoption of IRA governments may have been one of the biggest changes American Indian tribes faced this century. IRA tribal constitutions and bylaws were patterned after a European-American version of governance, and their structures were foreign to traditional American Indian ways. Standard IRA tribal constitutions and charters instituted a governing board, usually called the tribal council, and provided for election by majority vote. A place for elders, spiritual leaders and other traditional American Indian leadership was not configured into standard tribal government structures.
IRA governments were intended to establish the exercise of power over tribal members and become the authoritative body responsible for decisions for American Indian tribes. American Indian people did not recognize this authority, however, and tribal governments remained relatively powerless in the early decades of their existence. Essentially, it was not until the 1960s that tribal governments began to exert greater influence over tribal matters and establish control over social programs.
In spite of the IRA, traditional American Indian leadership survives in two ways. First, traditional leadership continues to live in the minds and hearts of American Indian people, and when allowed, manifests itself in their families and community. It can be seen, for example, in the humble work of American Indians working as teachers and service providers to the community. Second, traditional American Indian leadership subtly reveals itself in today's tribal government leadership. It is often reflected in tribal government leaders who were taught the traditions and culture. American Indian values, culture and traditions are not formally stated as rules concerning governance, but they influence leaders working in IRA governmental systems.
Traditional American Indian Leadership: A Comparison with U.S. Governance Contents
The
Well-Being of American Indian Children in Minnesota: Economic Conditions,
1994
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