In High School, I learned that the Haudenosaunee/Iroquois Confederacy in New York had a constitution and system of representative democracy predating European colonization. I recently found out that further west there were other multi-ethnic political alliances and confederacies. For example, most of the Lake Michigan area looks like it was controlled by the Anishinaabe Council of Three Fires. What do we know about the organization of these groups? Did members hold votes? Did membership provide nations with advantages beyond protection from shared enemies?
Also, as far as I can tell the Great Sioux Nation and Council of Three Fires still exist as organizations in one form or another. I don't mean to imply they're gone, but I would guess that their function has changed over the past 300 years.
Thanks!
https://milkeninstitute.org/reports/best-performing-cities-2021
"The Milken Institute’s Best-Performing Cities index tracks the economic performance of approximately 400 US metropolitan statistical areas (MSA). It uses an outcomes-based set of metrics—including job creation, wage gains, and high-tech GDP growth—to evaluate the performance of these cities relative to one another.
Cities drive economic growth nationwide. They are the primary locations where businesses create new jobs and workers earn higher wages, keeping the United States competitive in the global economy. However, metro areas are also incredibly diverse. Each has unique characteristics generated through a combination of investment and policy choices that influence the community’s economic outcomes."
