Mankiller is actually a good thing

Wilma Mankiller gave an excellent talk at Sonoma State University in February of 2008 on the current state of tribal governments in the United States. The talk begins with a summary of the types of tribal governments that have existed and do exist. She notes that a few governments are currently similar to their historical forms, while others have modernized considerably. One thing that many people may not understand is that tribal governments are not any less sophisticated than the US federal government. Mankiller points out that the Haudenosaunee nation was a powerful imperial force before European settlers arrived, and that modern-day tribal governments often have complex treaty agreements with the US.

Mankiller takes on the sometimes popular notion that native women held roles similar to European housewives. Contrary to that idea, native women were and are in fact powerful politicians and many native governments were run by women at the highest levels. But women were not the center of society; instead Mankiller tells us that interdependence is one of the core values of tribal societies. Even natives who have taken on jobs in the financial services sector maintain ties to their homeland and their people, because that is the basis of their culture. This hints at just how devastating it was when the US government separated tribes through relocation; they were tearing apart communities and attacking their cultural core.

We also see that many tribal governments are actually well-positioned to survive into the future. Business ventures like casinos are providing funds to take on large projects, such as a tribe taking on the provision of its own social services. The communities remain strong, and the cultures thrive. I personally think modern technology can help a lot here; the Internet has created a global community, which allows native cultures to remain connected across distances and also to disseminate information about themselves to the rest of the world. This basically guarantees they will not be forgotten. Though tribal peoples have been through a lot, it looks like they will continue to be strong for the forseeable future, just as they have been in the past.