Lesson 3 — Activity 4: Organizational Systems and Decision Making


Warm Up


To function successfully, all groups of people must have some system of organization. Indigenous peoples had effective systems for organizing and governing themselves and for making decisions.

In this activity, you will learn about the systems they had in place to organize and govern themselves and make decisions.


First Nations organized

The basic unit of each Indigenous tribe was the family. Everyone in the group had a role to play and a task to do. Indigenous families lived in groups called bands. The headman of each family became a part of the group that made decisions for their band.

These bands belonged to a larger group or nation that shared the same language, leaders, legends (stories), and traditions. When any group came together to make decisions, anyone who had something to say would be heard. Then everyone in that group would reach an agreement together. The process of making a decision with which everyone in the group agrees is called consensus.

Study the image below to understand better how this form of organization worked.

Indigenous organization
Addapted from the KAE Studio - learnalberta.ca


Bands also needed a system so that decisions could be made for the group. The group leader, or chief, would be picked by the band based on his skills as a warrior, hunter, and advisor. Decisions were made through consensus, but decisions were based on strong leadership and living in balance with the environment.
The chief was respected by band members and would represent his people in meetings with other bands.