Indigenous Governance Database
terms of office
Seneca Nation: Terms of Office Excerpt
SECTION I. Our government shall have a legislative, executive, and judiciary department. The legislative power shall be vested in a Council of sixteen members, who shall be known and called the Councillors of the Seneca Nation of Indians, eight Councillors elected to the Council shall be from the …
Skokomish Indian Tribe: Terms of Office Excerpt
ARTICLE IV - TRIBAL COUNCIL Sec. 4. Terms of Office Each Tribal Council member shall be elected for a term of four (4) years. Terms of office for the seven (7) council members shall be staggered, two (2) members being elected each year for three (3) consecutive years and one (1) member being…
Donald "Del" Laverdure: Nation Rebuilding through Constitutional Reform at Crow
In this in-depth interview with NNI's Ian Record, Donald “Del” Laverdure, a citizen of the Apsáalooke Nation (Crow Tribe) and former Chief Justice of the Crow Tribe Court of Appeals, discusses his nation's monumental effort to discard a constitution and system of governance that were not working…
NNI Indigenous Leadership Fellow: Michael Kanentakeron Mitchell (Part 2)
In part two of his Indigenous Leadership Fellow interview, Grand Chief Michael Mitchell of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne touches on a wide range of nation-building topics, notably the importance of clearly defining the distinct roles and responsibilities of leaders and administrators working on…
Brian Cladoosby: What I Wish I Knew Before I Took Office
Swinomish Indian Tribal Community Chairman Brian Cladoosby provides insight into his 25-plus years of service as an elected leader of his nation, and offers up-and-coming Native leaders important bits of advice for being an effective leader.
How Does Tribal Leadership Compare to Parliamentary Leadership?
Many traditional American Indian governments have significant organizational similarities with contemporary parliamentary governments around the world. A key similarity is that leadership serves only as long as there is supporting political consensus or confidence that the leader or leadership…