BULL. 30] 



SOCIAL ORGANIZATION 



611 



Navaho were divided into numerous 

 clans, with female descent and prohibi- 

 tion of marriage within the mother's and 

 the father's clans. In addition there 

 were several sets of clans which could 

 not intermarry and thus constituted 

 phratries analogous to those of Eastern 

 tribes. Matthews considers it probable 

 that the Navaho clans had a local rather 

 than a totemic origin, and this may be 

 true of most of the Pueblo clans. 



Among the Plains Indians the Omaha 

 had a highly organized social system. 

 The tribe was divided into 10 gentes 

 called "villages," with descent through 

 the father, each of which had one head 

 chief. Seven of these chiefs constituted 

 a sort of oligarchy, and two of them, rep- 

 resenting the greatest amount of wealth, 

 exercised superior authority. The func- 

 tions of these chiefs were entirely civil; 

 they never headed war parties. Below 

 them were two orders of warriors, from 

 the higher of which men were selected to 

 act as policemen during the buffalo hunt. 

 Under all were those who had not yet 

 attained to eminence. During the buffalo 

 hunts and great ceremonials the tribe 

 encamped in a regular circle with one 

 opening, like most other Plains tribes. 

 In it each gens and even each family had 

 its definite position. The two halves of 

 this circle, composed of five clans each, 

 had different names, but they do not 

 appear to have corresijonded to the phra- 

 tries of more eastern Indians. A man 

 was not permitted to marry into the 

 gens of his father, and marriage into that 

 of his mother was rare and strongly dis- 

 approved. Other Plains tribes of the 

 Siouan family probably were organized 

 in much the same manner and reckoned 

 descent similarly. The Dakota are tra- 

 ditionally reputed to have been divided 

 at one time into seven council fires, each 

 of which was divided into two or three 

 major and a multitude of minor bands. 

 Whatever their original condition may 

 have been, their organization is now 

 much looser than that of the Omaha. 



Most of the southern Caddoan tribes 

 reckoned descent through the mother. 

 The Caddo proper, who came from a tim- 

 ber country, had 10 clans with maternal 

 descent. 



The social organization of the western 

 an d northern Algonquian tribes is not wel 1 

 known. The Siksika have numerous sub- 

 divisions which have been called gentes; 

 they are characterized by descent through 

 the father, but would appear to be more 

 truly local groups. Each had originally its 

 own chief, and the council composed of 

 these chiefs selected the chief of the tribe, 

 their choice being governed rather by the 

 character of the person than by his de- 

 scent. The head chief's authority was 



made effective largely through the volun- 

 tary cooperation of several societies. The 

 Chippewa, Potawatomi, Menominee, Mi- 

 ami, Shawnee, and Abnaki in historic 

 times have had gentes, with paternal de- 

 scent, which Morgan believed had devel- 

 oped from a maternal stage owing to white 

 influence; but this theory must be viewed 

 with caution, inasmuch as there never has 

 been a question as to the form of descent 

 among the Delawares, who were subjected 

 to white influences at an earlier date than 

 most of those sujiposed to have changed. 



The Delawares consisted of three sub- 

 tribes, called by geographic names from 

 the regions occupied by them, each char- 

 acterized by a special totem. Over each 

 presided a head chief, said to have been 

 elected by the heads of the other divisions; 

 but more probably they merely inducted 

 him into office. The chief of the Unami 

 is said to have been ordinarily first in 

 dignity. These chiefs were assisted by 

 councils, composed of heads of wealthy 

 families and prominent warriors; but 

 their authority was almost entirely con- 

 fined to civil matters. "War was de- 

 clared by the people at the instigation of 

 the ' war captains,' valorous braves of any 

 birth or family who had distinguished 

 themselves by personal prowess, and 

 especially by good success in forays 

 against the enemy" (Brinton, The 

 Lenape, 1885). According to Morgan, 

 each of the three tribes was subdivided 

 into twelve groups, probably consanguin- 

 eous, though it is uncertain whether they 

 were geographic or totemic. 



The towns constituting the Creek con- 

 federacy were composed of members of 

 various clans, and each was ruled by a civil 

 chief, or miko, assisted by two councils. 

 The chief was elected for life from a par- 

 ticular clan, and appointed the head war 

 chief of the town. The town council ad- 

 vised the miko on questions of intertribal 

 policy as well as the appointment of minor 

 officers, while the council of old men con- 

 cerned itself with internal questions, such 

 as those connected with the raising of 

 corn. Below these ranked the " beloved 

 men," and then the common people. 

 Subordinate to the " great warrior " were 

 two grades of war leaders. Members of 

 the same clan are said to have occupied 

 houses adjoining one another, and in the 

 larger towns all these surrounded a cen- 

 tral square, in which were the houses of 

 the chiefs, the council houses, and the 

 plavground. It is known that some 

 clans could not intermarry, and thus con- 

 stituted phratries. The jiart which clans 

 and phratries played in the composition 

 of the councils, the appointment of offi- 

 cers, and the order of business has not 

 been determined. The confederacy was 

 so loosely constituted that decisions for 



