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This page is about Native American tribes, for details about Tribal Council on CBS's Survivor, please see Tribal Council (Survivor)

A Tribal Council is an association of Native American bands in the United States or First Nations in Canada. They are generally formed along ethnic or linguistic lines.

Modern Tribal Council

Several Sovereign American Indian Nations are organized as Tribal Councils. The Navajo Nation, or Dineh, were formally governed by the Navajo Tribal Council, known today as the Navajo Nation Council. The Crow Nation in Montana was once organized as the Crow Tribal Council. Currently, the Crow Nation, after a change in constitution whose legality is disputed, is organized as a three branch government with a ceremonial Crow Tribal General Council.

Tribal councils in the United States and Canada have a somewhat different status. In the United States, the term usually describes the governing body of a tribe, where the tribe is the basic unit of government. In Canada, the Indian band, usually consisting of one main community, is the fundamental unit of government. Bands may unite to form a tribal council, but they need not do so. Bands that do not belong to a tribal council are said to be independent. Bands may and do withdraw from tribal councils. Furthermore, the authority that bands delegate to their tribal council varies, with some tribal councils serving as a strong, central organization while others are granted limited power by their members.

Tribal Councils in Canada

First Nations | Native American

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "Tribal Council".

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