Wyandot Government: A Short Study of Tribal Society | Page 2

a person must have been born in the family so that
his kinship is recognized, or he must be adopted into a family and
become a son, brother, or some definite relative; and this artificial
relationship gives him the same standing as actual relationship in the
family, in the gens, in the phratry, and in the tribe.
Thus a tribe is a body of kindred.
Of the four groups thus described, the gens, the phratry, and the tribe
constitute the series of organic units; the family, or household as here
described, is not a unit of the gens or phratry, as two gentes are
represented in each--the father must belong to one gens, and the mother
and, her children to another.

_GOVERNMENT._
Society is maintained by the establishment of government, for rights
must be recognized and duties performed.
In this tribe there is found a complete differentiation of the military
from the civil government.
_CIVIL GOVERNMENT._
The civil government inheres in a system of councils and chiefs.
In each gens there is a council, composed of four women, called
_Y[u.]-waí-yu-wá-na_. These four women councillors select a chief of
the gens from its male members--that is, from their brothers and sons.
This gentile chief is the head of the gentile council.
The coucil of the tribe is composed of the aggregated gentile councils.
The tribal council, therefore, is composed one-fifth of men and
four-fifths of women.
The sachem of the tribe, or tribal chief, is chosen by the chiefs of the
gentes.
There is sometimes a grand council of the gens, composed of the
councillors of the gens proper and all the heads of households and
leading men--brothers and sons.
There is also sometimes a grand council of the tribe, composed of the
council of the tribe proper and the heads of households of the tribe, and
all the leading men of the tribe.
These grand councils are convened for special purposes.
_METHODS OF CHOOSING AND INSTALLING COUNCILLORS
AND CHIEFS._
The four women councillors of the gens are chosen by the heads of
households, themselves being women. There is no formal election, but

frequent discussion is had over the matter from time to time, in which a
sentiment grows up within the gens and throughout the tribe that, in the
event of the death of any councillor, a certain person will take her
place.
In this manner there is usually one, two, or more potential councillors
in each gens who are expected to attend all the meetings of the council,
though they take no part in the deliberations and have no vote.
When a woman is installed as councillor a feast is prepared by the gens
to which she belongs, and to this feast all the members of the tribe are
invited. The woman is painted and dressed in her best attire and the
sachem of the tribe places upon her head the gentile chaplet of feathers,
and announces in a formal manner to the assembled guests that the
woman has been chosen a councillor. The ceremony is followed by
feasting and dancing, often continued late into the night.
The gentile chief is chosen by the council women after consultation
with the other women and men of the gens. Often the gentile chief is a
potential chief through a period of probation. During this time he
attends the meetings of the council, but takes no part in the
deliberations, and has no vote.
At his installation, the council women invest him with an elaborately
ornamented tunic, place upon his head a chaplet of feathers, and paint
the gentile totem on his face. The sachem of the tribe then announces to
the people that the man has been made chief of the gens, and admitted
to the council. This is also followed by a festival.
The sachem of the tribe is selected by the men belonging to the council
of the tribe. Formerly the sachemship inhered in the Bear gens, but at
present he is chosen from the Deer gens, from the fact, as the Wyandots
say, that death has carried away all the wise men of the Bear gens.
The chief of the Wolf gens is the herald and the sheriff of the tribe. He
superintends the erection of the council-house and has the care of it. He
calls the council together in a formal manner when directed by the
sachem. He announces to the tribe all the decisions of the council, and

executes the directions of the council and of the sachem.
Gentile councils are held frequently from day to day and from week to
week, and are called by the chief whenever deemed necessary. When
matters before the council are considered of great importance, a grand
council of the gens may be called.
The tribal council is held regularly on the night