The Complexity of Groups
2 people = 1 relation
3 people = 3 relations
4 people = 6 relations
5 people = 10 relations
12 people = 66 relations
35 people = 600 relations
50 people = 1225 relations

Bands, Tribes, Chiefdoms, and States
Uncentralized to Centralized
Influence and Power


The Cheyenne
--the Cheyenne were agriculturalists around the Great Lakes, but they were forced out of that territory by neighboring tribes with guns
--they became hunter-gatherers, especially of buffalo, in the Midwest
--Between the 1700s and the late 1800s, their political organization could be mapped out like this:



The Warrior Societies were generally made up of young men who fought wars. The Council of 44 was a group of 44 mostly elder men who were considered Peace Chiefs and also arbitrated internal affairs and conflicts. When the council of 44 met, the most important 5 chiefs sat in the following way, each of them representing different elements of the world [Sweet Medicine Chief in the "Center of the Universe"; Health to the NW, Knowledge to the NE, Power to the SW, Life to the SE] Their leadership was sacred, and as leaders they were elevated beyond selfish concerns. When one chief's wife was stolen from him, he simply stated very calmly, "A dog has pissed on my tipi," showing that such things could not be of concern to him because his first and most sacred priority was to the tribe as a whole. In this way, such leaders become self-less, acting for others and not for themselves. As white settlers moved into the region the resources of the Cheyenne became more scarce. Eventually war broke out. A number of treaties were signed, but few lasted before violence once again broke out. Hundreds of Cheyenne were killed without much of a fight while they were living near a government fort under the illusion that they would be safe there. This was called the Sand Creek Massacre of 1864. In 1876 the Cheyenne defeated Custer and his troops at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. Within a year they were all captured and sent to live on reservations. Eventually they came to live on 2 reservations, one in Oklahoma and the other in Montana. The State takes over, the warrior societies are banned, and the Council of 44 becomes merely symbolic.

See this article for details Wesch discussed about the changes that have happened.

Video "Cheyenne Warriors" shows life on the Northern Cheyenne reservation today.

Today the Cheyenne have a political organization which they describe on Norther Cheyenne the netas:

The Northern Cheyenne Tribe was organized in 1936 and operates under a constitution consistent with the Indian Reorganization Act and approved by the Tribal membership. Today the Tribe is a Federally-chartered organization with both governmental and corporate responsibilities. The governing body is a Tribal Council headed by a President, who is elected at large to serve a term of 4 years. The tribal council consist of members elected from each of the five districts. The Vice President and a Sergeant-at-Arms are elected by the tribal council from within its number and a Secretary and Treasurer are appointed outside its number. The Secretary and Treasurer have no vote. The tribal council consists of members elected from the Ashland, Birney, Busby, Muddy, and Lame Deer districts in the proportion of one member for each 200 population and an additional member for each major fraction thereof. The current governing body has 19 members.


Barrel model of the USA

Individualism and self expression
-
DEMOCRACY
Social Mobility
Nuclear Family
Love Marriage
-
Market Economy
Industrialism

Democracy

Democracy fits with American culture - particularly our values and ideals of individualism and self-expression.
But after reviewing the culture of the Nekalimin, we face the difficult question: "Could Democracy work there?"



Traditionally, Nekalimin Political Organization had these features:
* Great Man / Big Man Leadership. No "power." Just influence.
* Seek agreement and consensus.
* Individual opinions are not valued.

The State Comes to the Nekalimin:
1963 - First Contact with Australian Colonizers
1975 - National Independence for Papua New Guinea
1977 - First Elections
2002 - First Official Government Officer (native to area)

Nekalimin/PNG Election Process:
--"Pasim Tok" - "Fasten Talk" (Come to a consensus)
--Vote by tribe/relationship - Not on the issues
--2,875 candidates for 89 seats in 2002
--Tribal Fighting/Election Mayhem

This emphasis on consensus rather than individual opinion is prevalent throughout Papua New Guinea.

There is much at stake in elections, and this leads to tribal fighting & general election mayhem. In 2002, a person could get elected with little more than 2,000 votes and then tends to direct all state funds to those 2,000 people at the expense of the other thousands of people who receive nothing or very little. In short, democracy did not work very well there.

What about other aspects of the state government?

What about law?
Traditionally, social control was maintained through witchcraft beliefs. A local officer along with hundreds of others decided to get rid of witchcraft in the community. This brought two very different systems of social control into conflict.



The law transformed witchcraft from a problem between two people in a relationship into a crime against the state, punishable by law. Ultimately people rose up against the law and re-instituted.

Village Courts Act 1988, Section 41, Subsection P

Media and politics:
--traditional media is failing; the web platform is growing at a rapid rate
--juxtaposition of the Lincoln Douglas debates with modern TV debates
--modern technology began to change the discourse of the nation
--Postman's Amusing Ourselves to Death
--the idea of concision becomes ever more pronounced -- if you can't say something in 30-45 seconds, you might as well not say it
--sites like YouTube are a new kind of coverage; everyone with a camera can have their say
--America has become a "soundbite culture"
--Obama's subversion of this in one of his campaign speeches on race regarding the Jeremiah Wright controversy
--the online culture is also very playful and creative
--Rickroll remix of Obama -- BarackRoll
--FlashMobs
--In Belarus, any public gathering is illegal -- so FlashMobs there are viewed not as playful, but as subversive and dangerous to the government
--Kenny Glenn -- posted anonymously to YouTube torturing his cat -- was tracked down and revealed by hacker vigilantes, all his personal information published and publicized on the web -- within 48 hours, he was arrested
--in many ways, this is mob rule
--Do Tank
--a redesign of how we govern ourselves
--some of these ideas are being picked up by President Obama and the new administration

TV Politics in the USA

The Mass Media & Politics: An Analysis of Influence
http://www.progressiveliving.org/mass_media_and_politics.htm