1.3Ways of governing

There was no single Native form of government, but many. Some peoples lived in small, mobile bands led by consensus; others built powerful confederacies. The Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy of the Northeast bound together five, later six, nations under a Great Law of Peace, coordinating war and diplomacy while preserving each nation's autonomy.

Authority often rested on persuasion, kinship, and reciprocity rather than coercion. Leaders were expected to give generously and speak well; many decisions required broad agreement. Women held significant power in matrilineal societies, controlling land and choosing or removing chiefs. These traditions of deliberation and balance later drew the admiration—and selective borrowing—of European observers.