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Wisdom of the people: Potential and pitfalls in efforts by the
Comanches to recreate traditional ways of building consensus
Potential and Pitfalls in Efforts by the Comanches to Recreate Traditional
Ways of Building Consensus
Like many tribes, the Comanche community in Oklahoma has struggled
for many years with infighting and lack of adequate participation by
tribe members in the governance process. As a way to help create a
more positive climate and restore a greater sense of harmony in the
tribe, the Comanches implemented a participatory strategic planning
process aimed at restoring more traditional ways of building
consensus on important issues. This process, first introduced in
February 1990, was used extensively during a two-year period that
began in February 1992.1 During this time relations among tribe
members gradually improved, with individuals becoming more involved
in tribal affairs and more community projects getting off the ground.
However, when a new tribal chair was elected and the participatory
consensus-building process was no longer used, infighting returned to
the tribe, perhaps more vehemently than before. Overall, the
Comanches' experience suggests that the reestablishment of culturally
appropriate means of involving tribe members in the affairs of the
tribe can help overcome divisiveness in Indian nations. It also
demonstrates that new institutions, however compatible with community
values, must be sufficiently nurtured for a considerable period if
they are to become an established part of community life.
Typical of many tribes in the United States, the Comanches felt
themselves divided and often paralyzed in deciding major issues,
partly because of the clash in values between their traditional
culture and the premises of their contemporary government processes
(which are based for the most part upon modern European-American
understandings). In order to overcome the problems caused by that
cultural dissonance, the Comanche community, with the assistance of
Americans for Indian Opportunity (AIO) and Oklahomans for Indian
Opportunity (OIO), decided to utilize a collaborative process for
tribal decision making they called TIMS, or Tribal Issues Management
System.2 In several cases where it has been used, TIMS, by providing
a method of broadly inclusive decision making, has made contributions
toward overcoming gridlock in tribal decision making.3 If implemented
with appropriate support and sustained over an appropriate period of
time, it offers a promising model to other tribes.
The Comanche are one of four Indian nations in Oklahoma with whom
the TIMS process was initially applied, and they have gone further
with it than any of the others.4 So far as we know, no other Indian
nation has developed a similar process, although many tribes have
been discussing how to incorporate traditional values and ways in
their decision making. For example, in early 1998 the Navajo Nation
acted to decentralize many aspects of government to its 11o local
chapters, even as it was working to improve the quality of many
chapter meetings by finding ways to incorporate relevant traditional
values in contemporary governance.5 The Southern Utes have increased
the number of their general tribal meetings to once a month and have
instituted monthly sessions for individuals who have concerns about
tribal government and services to be able to meet with the tribal
council.6 We understand that a few Indian nations have adopted the
Baha'i "consultation" method of decision making, which is essentially
a consensus decision-making process.7 In this article we will examine
the TIMS process in greater detail, describing its application by the
Comanches, and provide an evaluation of its potential for application
in other tribal situations, as well as the pitfalls that can occur if
the process is not properly nurtured.
TRADITIONAL VS. CONTEMPORARY TRIBAL GOVERNANCE
Traditionally, tribal and band societies in North America
functioned by using inclusive ways of building community consensus
that balanced individual and community needs and concerns.8 Although
each of the tribes had its own particular culture and way of
governing, in most tribes and bands (so far as is now known) seldom
were decisions made without involving those who were concerned with
the issue or affected by the decision. Usually issues were discussed
until consensus was achieved.9 Leaders functioned primarily as
facilitators, consensus builders, and announcers of decisions.10 In
general they had little or no decision-making power of their own,
though they did exert some influence. Leaders were chosen on the
basis of their high moral character and ability to represent the
people and lead for the long-term interests of the community as a
whole.11 These communities maintained a sense of unity by promoting
cooperation, honoring diversity, and fostering mutual respect.12
Today, many tribal and band societies in the United States suffer
from considerable factionalism and disharmony. Among the several
factors that contribute to today's disharmony is that the form of
government adopted by, and in many cases imposed on, a great many
Indian nations by the U.S. government is not compatible with their
traditional cultures.13 Traditionally, direct participation in
deciding about community affairs was a major source of each person's
identity as a community member. The current practice of holding
elections that create "winners" and "losers," and the election of
councils that make decisions rather than announce decisions made by
the people as a whole, are frequently divisive. Election losers often
feel that they have been rejected by the community, that their honor
has been impugned. People who are not included in the making of a
decision, even if they are invited to a meeting to state their
opinions to the decision makers, tend to feel left out. Indeed, today
many people are in fact left out, since their interests are not
effectively represented. It is important to note that the exclusion
of people from the governmental process is a result of the nature of
the system itself and, in general, not because particular leaders
happen to be in power.
The development of current forms of tribal government has taken
place in many stages over a considerable period of time.14 More than
half of the federally recognized tribes have governments that were
organized under the guidelines of the Indian Reorganization Act of
1934, the Oklahoma Indian Welfare Act of 1936, or the Alaska
Reorganization Act of 1936. Some tribes, such as the Crows and the
Yakimas, have organized themselves through their own tribal
agreements. Most tribes have an elected governing council of some
kind (using a variety of names) that often combines legislative with
executive (and sometimes judicial) authority. A few nations,
including the Onondagas, some Pueblo groups, many smaller bands in
California, and most Native communities in Alaska, continue to use
more traditional forms of tribal governance.
The problem of the inappropriateness of the more widely used
current general form of governance has taken on greater significance
since the 1960s. Prior to that time tribes and tribal governments had
little autonomy, and much of the function of the elected council
members was to act as brokers for the tribe and its members in
dealing with federal officials first and with state and local
officials second. The Civil Rights movement and the War on Poverty
both led to an increase in the authority of tribal governments to
make significant decisions in the affairs of Indian nations; this
authority generally continues to expand.15
THE COMANCHES' EXPERIENCE TO 1990
The Comanches' experience with tribal government is unique yet
representative of the general pattern described above. The Comanche
people call themselves Nununuh, meaning "The People."16 It is
believed that the Comanches lived in the mountains in small,
autonomous family bands prior to the coming of the horse, which made
life on the Plains quite feasible.17 The Comanches became extremely
skilled horse people, adept at buffalo hunting and masterful as
warriors. At first alone, and then supported by their Kiowa allies,
they became "Lords of the South Plains" living in bands across what
is now Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.18
Social life involved a balance between strong autonomy for the
individual and participation in the cooperative life of the people.19
In terms of social organization, the Comanches were organized into a
number of bands each having from fifty to fifteen hundred people
(with mid-nineteenth century total populations estimated as twenty to
thirty thousand).20 Each band made important civil decisions by
consensus at council meetings of the men (though women occasionally
attended meetings and spoke on rare occasions).21 Elder men,
respected for their wisdom in community affairs, generosity,
kindness, and (to a lesser degree) courage and physical fitness, had
considerable influence. The most highly regarded among them would be
considered their leaders, one of whom would become the band leader,
or in EuropeanAmerican terminology, the "Peace Chief" of the band. No
formal process existed for choosing the band leader; he became so by
consensus over time and would cease to be the band leader if he lo\st
the respect of the community. On matters of importance he had no
authority to decide anything, but could influence decision making and
mediate (but not arbitrate) disputes. His main job was to facilitate
for the community in finding and maintaining consensus and harmony.
On minor daily matters he could make decisions, but anyone who did
not like a decision ignored it, and if enough people did so he would
no longer be a leader. Military leaders, who were separate from and
subordinate to civil leaders, did have considerable dictatorial power
when leading a war party. But they could only become and remain war
leaders as long as men would join, and remain with, their parties.
This limited authority of leaders, combined with a strong belief
in and practice of individual autonomy, did not lead to serious
disruption in Comanche affairs. For practical purposes the people
needed each other, and the culture emphasized collaboration based
upon mutual respect. Public opinion and consensus were major forces
in a society with a strong emphasis upon honor. To a high degree the
Comanches valued themselves by the extent to which they could
contribute to the well-being of the community and be recognized for
doing so. Active participation in the community, rather than simply
one's birth, defined one as a Comanche. Even today, being "a real
Comanche" is an active relational concern, and not just a biological
matter, as is the case generally among American Indians.22
The encroachment of whites onto the Plains effectively ended
traditional Plains life for the Comanches by 1875, when the Comanches
were confined with their Kiowa and Apache allies to a reservation of
close to 3 million acres in southwest Oklahoma.23 The reservation was
disbanded in 19o when each Comanche was given 16o acres.24 Although
Comanche life and culture has undergone considerable change since
1875, the relational sense of "being Comanche" and a strong
cooperative sense of community have persisted along with other
elements of the traditional culture.25
Comanche governance has also continued in a way that is particular
to the tribe, yet consistent with the general pattern of tribal
governance in the United States. Following the placement of the
Kiowas, the Comanches, and the Apaches on a single reservation, the
three tribes combined efforts to lobby for economic and other
interests through the Kiowa-Comanche-Apache (KCA) Business Committee,
until the Comanches withdrew in 1966 to form their own Comanche
Nation.
The Comanche Nation was formally established under its current
constitution in 1969 to provide a way for the Comanches to manage
their own funds and programs, allowing them to participate more
actively in the politics of Indian affairs and in the Anglo
economy.26 At that time the Comanches largely adopted the previous
BIA-style KCA Constitution to their own situation.27 To be a member
of the Comanche Tribe (as of 1991) a person had to be a direct
descendant of a Comanche who received an original allotment of
reservation land and had to possess 25% Comanche blood. The Comanche
population of 8,690 (as of 1991), with a majority of them under the
age of forty, is divided geographically.28 Approximately 4,500
Comanches live in Southwest Oklahoma, primarily in four communities:
Lawton, Apache, Cache, and Walters. There also are sizable
concentrations of Comanches living in Texas and California.29
The governing body of the Comanches is the tribal council, which
consists of all tribe members eighteen years of age or older. In 1991
there were approximately 6,1oo eligible voters.30 The tribal council
elects seven members at large to staggered terms on the Comanche
Business Committee. These include a chairman, vice chairman, and
secretary-treasurer, who also serve as officers of the tribal
council. Terms are for three years, and an individual may serve only
two consecutive terms. The members of the business committee can be
removed by vote of any officially called Comanche meeting (such as a
general council meeting) at which 250 or more tribal members are
present; the business committee must receive approval of such a
meeting to make a long-term commitment of tribal resources.31
The business committee's primary role is to regulate some
important aspects of Anglo-Comanche economic relations. It does not
play a major part in directly regulating Comanche-to-Comanche
relations.32 The committee is a combination executive and legislative
body that oversees a staff, headed by an appointed tribal
administrator who manages the daily operation of tribal programs. The
Comanche Nation operates a number of social service programs and
shares ownership of two businesses with the Kiowas and the Apaches.
The committee's main problem in carrying out economic projects,
aside from difficulty in arranging adequate financing, has been
resistance to forming and maintaining enough consensus to support
long-term development.33 This is partly because of continuing
difficulties many Comanches have in acquiring sufficient resources
for everyday life, but it is also because of the inappropriateness of
the BIA form of government for Comanche culture and society. The
primary problem seems to lie in the elected nature of the council.
This difficulty is compounded by having all the council members
elected at large, so there is no direct representation of the
geographically dispersed communities. Foster reports "there is
considerable alienation among Comanches with respect to taking an
active part in tribal government [as opposed to talking about tribal
politics]. Rumors of scandal and wrongdoing by tribal officials are
common. In a recent election for tribal chairman, less than one forth
of the eligible Comanche voters cast ballots."34 Moreover, because
the use of elections with winners and losers runs counter to
traditional Comanche culture, "there is a tendency for tribal leaders
voted out of office to spend the rest of their lives being
obstructive to leaders in power, no matter who the current leaders
are. ... These dynamics are not unique to Comanches, but are present
in every tribal community attempting to make these imposed
institutional structures work for them."35
THE TRIBAL ISSUES MANAGEMENT SYSTEM PROCESS
TIMS was developed over two years during the course of meetings
involving Native Americans from a number of tribes. TIMS is based on
a group design process aimed at identifying and resolving complex
issues through consensus, originally developed through the efforts of
John Warfield and his colleagues at George Mason University.36
Following the initial development of TIMS, the Comanche Business
Committee invited Alo and oio to assist the tribe in setting up a
TIMS process as a complement to its normal governance procedures. The
invitation from the business committee and the active support of the
tribal chairman were extremely important for legitimizing the
process. The institution of a design process of this kind is likely
to be seen as a threat to the status quo and opposed by the tribal
leadership unless the leadership understands the advantages of
introducing the process and is actively involved with it as it is
carried out. If the process develops successfully with the support of
the council, it can strengthen the position of the members. As
harmony and consensus are created in the tribe, and tribal members no
longer are or feel left out of the political process, complaints
about tribal government and officials can be reduced even as they
gain positive support. Moreover, as tribal members become empowered
by participation to take charge of creating their own future and to
focus less on receiving services, they tend to expand tribal
resources. Infighting on the part of tribal members tends to give way
to a return to focusing upon how each person can contribute to their
community and make the nation strong again.37 Evidence supporting the
above analysis is given by the Comanche experience with TIMS and is
well supported by extensive research in workplace participation.38
There are, of course, risks as well as opportunities for business
committee or tribal council members in deciding to initiate a process
like TIMS, just as there are with the making of any political
decision. If the process works badly its supporters may be blamed. If
it works well, it might give rise to new leaders who challenge and
even replace members of the committee or council, even if sitting
members support the new process. This can happen, although usually
supporting a politically successful program enhances one's position.
In the Comanches' case, three members of the business committee who
were not involved in the TIMS process were replaced in later
elections by tribal members who were involved in and had become
active advocates for it, particularly at the local level where they
built strong bases of support as representatives of their local
communities. In addition, the more harmonious atmosphere created by
the TIMS process was a major factor that allowed the tribal chair
elected after the initiation of TIMS to be the first in a decade to
be reelected for a second term.
A related point is that both the principle of inclusion upon which
TIMS is based, and the necessity for developing broad support for it
throughout the tribe, makes it essential that all identifiable groups
within the tribe be represented in the process from the beginning.
Failure to be inclusive destroys the integrity of the process, and
will usually undermine its legitimacy and lead to its demise (as can
be seen in numerous workplace cases where improperly executed
employee participation programs have been short-lived). Inclusiveness
in the Comanches' case was guaranteed by inviting to the first
session representatives from the four traditional rural Comanche
communities (Lawton, Apache, Cache and Walters), the newer urban
Comanche communities, members of each living generation, tribal staff
and emp\loyees, former council members, members of old political
divisions, among others.
In general terms, the TIMS process begins with a problem
definition phase that enables the tribe to develop a deeper
understanding of its current situation. It then moves on to a second
design phase that leads to a clearer vision of the tribe's direction
for the future. In a third phase the participants proceed to define
activities to bridge the gap between current reality and the desired
future. This is followed by the assignment of roles and
responsibilities for carrying out those activities. These steps help
the tribe create a vision of its own future and then empower itself
to become that vision. The process is an ongoing one, moving back and
forth between general meetings (usually involving members of the
tribal council, or business committee in the Comanches' case, and
selected community representatives), and local meetings in each
participating community, so that the results of all the forums are
aggregated into a common vision statement and program. Once the first
round of planning is completed, the tribe begins a new cycle to
update its vision and program, or to extend planning to new areas of
concern.
TIMS is based on facilitated group interaction, is guided by
trained group facilitators, and is supported by computer assistance.
The process is designed to aid group participants with diverse
viewpoints to get below the surface of discussion to explore the
deeper logic of issues. Throughout the process, the group sits in a
circle, and each person in turn has the opportunity to respond, or to
pass, until everyone feels that they have contributed all that they
wish at this stage.39 With this process each person becomes the
center of the circle in turn, so that all have an equal chance to
participate without having to fight to be heard, and all statements
are valued as a contribution to the overall discussion.
Before this kind of consensus decision-making process can be
undertaken successfully with any group, sufficient team building
needs to take place to help participants feel adequately connected to
the group and its purpose, so that they will trust each other and the
process enough to participate openly and freely.40 Thus, the opening
part of a TIMS session among tribal people calls for a locally
appropriate ceremony to be carried out. This is the first of several
mechanisms that recognize the critical role that tribal identity and
tribal values can play in discovering new ways out of complex and
deeply rooted problems. Gift giving and public recognition of service
in the interest of the tribe are appropriate additions that add to
strengthening tribal identity. Blessings, Pipe Ceremonies, and
prayers go much deeper than the typical greeting or statement of
welcome. For tribal participants, their attention is drawn to their
common bond and all that it means. If outsiders are involved, the
ceremony tends to elevate the status of tribal identity and values
and places participants in a mode of mutual respect for one another.
The bonding necessary for a successful process can also be
enhanced by calling on each participant to track his or her kinship
ties to the rest of the group. Cross-links between individuals and
their inherent relational obligations immediately begin drawing the
group together and help make tribal values and tribal identity become
the focus of the group's attention. Often the strongest component of
the tribal vision statement developed by the process is the
continuation of "the people." Group identity is synonymous with being
tribal, and where group identity is strong, the preservation of the
group and its value system become all important. The reiteration of
kinship terms calls forth those values and practices that set the
group apart and helps bond the group around a common cause.
In addition, asking participants to express what being a member of
the tribe means brings forth a deep affirmation of cultural values,
often expressed subliminally. These values, if captured and
clarified, become a useful reference point during all the subsequent
steps of the process. In many TIMS sessions as much as one-third of
the time spent together has been devoted to these preliminary
activities, whose chief function is to bind the participants together
into a single collaborative group. It tends to create a spirit of
optimism about the potential for overcoming the immediate set of
problems, given all that the participants and the tribe have overcome
in the past. It is important to implement these bonding activities at
the beginning of the process, but it is especially important to do so
before generating options for dealing with problems that the group
has identified.
In many tribes much of the discussion that takes place during the
early stages of public meetings involves a strategy by various
participants to position themselves and establish a role in the
group. This is partly a reflection of the importance of honor and of
the relational sense of identity of traditional tribal cultures. It
is also a reflection of the importance of feelings in Native American
cultures, and the fact that many people feel strongly about the
issues under consideration (or background issues related to the
discussion). Until they have the opportunity to vent their feelings,
many participants will not be able to engage in open discussion and
consensus building. Since TIMS forums separate the identification of
issues from the generation of new options for dealing with those
issues, and since each participant is awarded an opportunity to
address the group in turn, posturing and venting become integrated
and become acceptable parts of the process without interfering with
the more creative process of identifying alternatives which takes
place later on in the forum.
Two supporting roles are extremely important in TIMS forums.
First, a tribal elder or visionary leader will from time to time
interject statements, such as a historical overview, to keep the
sights of the group high as the participants deal with a myriad of
complex local problems that are very present in their everyday lives.
These statements provide periodic reminders of the achievements and
perseverance of the tribe and the meaning of tribal membership and
tradition, and they work to maintain the momentum of the session.
Second, the facilitators play a key role in empowering the
participants to take ownership of the process, for the success Of
TIMS in developing consensus and harmony rests on the ability of the
participants to fully and actively come together as one, with full
respect for the diversity of views and experiences of each member of
the group. This is a delicate task, and facilitators need to be
active enough to make sure the participants are clear about how the
process works and provide adequate guidance to keep the process
proper and in balanced motion without ever being perceived as
controlling it or deferential to any person, position, or outcome.
This means especially that outside facilitators, who serve initially
as consultants to commence the process, truly act as empowerers and
at the appropriate time let go of the process, training local people
to replace them so that the process fully belongs to the nation.41
Similarly, the outside facilitators, while requiring the invitation
of the tribal council or its equivalent, need to be clear that they
are acting as consultants to the tribe as a whole (and the
participants as a group) and not to the members of the council as
individuals.
The underlying point is that the process must be established and
operated in a way that gives ownership to the participants. There are
numerous cases of supposedly participatory processes that have failed
to meet their potential because inappropriate processes or personnel
were used, or because appropriate participatory attitudes and skills
were not developed. Even worse are instances where pseudo-
participatory processes have been applied in deliberate attempts to
manipulate people.42 However, appropriate care in establishing and
maintaining the process can lead to very positive results in
empowering the group and the larger community to meet issues in ways
that are extremely representative of all who are involved. Because
the process is based upon mutual respect, with each participant being
given a chance to be truly heard and have his or her concerns
included in the deliberations in very supportive ways, the tendency
of the process is to promote increasing levels of discussion and the
generation of a greater number of views in a civil discourse that
tends to reduce antagonism and infighting. Moreover, since the focus
of the dialogue is upon mutual problem solving, rather than on
fighting for position, the process tends to be more creative as it
encourages participants to react positively to, and build upon, each
other's ideas (that is, to produce synergy). Such a process helps
build community harmony, not in the sense of limiting the range of
expression or of channeling discourse along narrow lines, but to the
contrary, in producing a polyphony of diverse voices by working
positively and creatively with conflict to harmonize the interests of
each, so far as is possible, for the well-being of all.43
THE COMANCHE EXPERIENCE WITH TRIBAL ISSUES MANAGEMENT
The first Comanche TIMS session was held at Lawton, Oklahoma, in
February 1990.44 A broadly representative group of fifteen active
participants supported by fourteen observers and nine staff members
took part in the two-anda-half-day meeting. Initially, participants
were engaged in identifying the major issues faced by the tribe and
exploring the relationship among these issues. This process resulted
in a "structural map" or "problematique" that graphically portrayed
the participants' views of how these issues related to one another.
The group's relational structure portrayed many of the points
ofconflict in the community as significantly influenced by the
tribe's structures and government forms. As noted earlier, many of
these structures were imposed upon the tribe by the U.S. government
beginning prior to the termination of the reservation and extending
into the 1960s. After completing the problem analysis, the
participants worked together to propose thirty-nine options and
initiatives for dealing with the issues in the problematique. They
also identified key organizations and individuals who could be given
responsibility for carrying out the initiatives.
This initial TIMS session revealed an underlying circle of
concern, composed of three main areas intimately related to all the
important issues in Comanche communities. First is the question of
identity. Who are we and what will it mean to be a Comanche by the
twenty-first century? How does the blood quantum requirement for
tribal membership relate to who we are? Second is the issue of
government and constitution. How do we institutionally structure
ourselves so that our institutions make sense in Comanche terms?
Third is the problem of communication-participation- contribution.
How can we enable every person in our community to make a positive
contribution to the life of the tribe by being both responsive and
responsible? Not being able to do so "makes tribal people crazy" and
circles back around to negatively affect their self-esteem and
identity. In addition to identifying these important concerns, TIMS
gave the Comanches a way to address these issues both in terms of
process and concrete initiatives that extended from the first through
the entire unfolding of TIMS meetings that have taken place to date.
As the closing comments of the participants make dear, the first
Comanche experience with the TIMS process was successful in building
a spirit of collaboration based upon mutual respect. One tribal elder
said, "we managed to disagree without being disagreeable," and it was
generally appreciated that the disagreements, the differences in
perspective, contributed significantly to the generation of better
ideas. Overall the session created a sense of vision among the
participants for the future of the tribe and produced a set of
concrete plans to begin to realize that vision.
The Comanches built upon the success of the February 199o planning
session with a series of tribal TIMS meetings that were soon
coordinated with local meetings in each of the four communities. The
local meetings operated on the TIMS principles of consensus but did
not necessarily follow the format of the more formal TIMS sessions.
Thus tribal level issues were discussed back and forth between the
local and tribal meetings until a broad consensus could be built,
while local meetings undertook their own community planning and
issues resolution. The tribal level meetings sought ways for the
Comanche Nation to overcome the barriers to effective governance that
were raised in the opening meeting, and developed a general plan for
moving successfully into the future. In a number of cases the tribal-
level meeting invited community meetings to take on tribal functions.
The most important of these was the Lawton community launching a
tribal-wide consultation process of reviewing and developing
revisions of the Comanche constitution. They also set up three tribal
displays in libraries. The Cache community undertook the restoration
of their cultural center, generating support from four agencies in
the process. In addition they organized an evening of Comanche hymn-
singing.45 The Walters community developed collaboration among the
city, the county, and the tribe in planning an innovative community
center for the area. They also organized several community dinners.
The Apache community, after demonstrating grassroots support through
a petition drive, succeeded in obtaining Comanche business council
approval for requesting an extension of the tribe's JTPA program into
southern Caddo County (rather than relying upon the program from the
Kiowa Nation), and it appeared that this would meet federal approval.
At the tribal level, four meetings were held from 26 March to 28
September 1991.46 As with the first tribal TIMS meeting, the
participants were very enthused about the process. Two of the closing
comments from the second meeting are indicative of participants'
feelings about the process.47
"I'd like to say that I'm really impressed. I really feel honored
to be here because these are the concerns that I've had for a long
time and they're not even voiced by most of us because you're not
always able to say something for fear of stepping on someone's toe or
saying something that's not reflecting something that you really
feel, and someone misinterprets what you say a lot of times. And I
just really appreciate being able to deal with these things. I just
feel the oneness that I've always wanted to feel about my culture.
Taking our skills and applying them back to the Tribe and all
these things are real good in that to me it's like some of the
traditions that our Tribe held like the Seven Arrows and the Four
Directions. In the last few days we heard views with a lot of
directions.... Sometimes like Roland, you know, he sees some things
so big and can't do anything but with all of us working together
coming from different directions like that, we all begin to see
things from this point of view, things from that point of view...
This kind of helps us experience those kind of other things, like we
might not of been able to see things in that kind of way. When I
expressed myself, he was able to see it from a different point of
view and accept it and see it in a different light. And with this,
we're able to bring that back to our culture and we're not stuck in
society's frame in going about things. We're getting back to the way
our forefathers did things, processed out ideas and things. And I'm
real glad to be able to be a part of this and I think we can conduct
these meeting like Ben can and I think we can really do a great
success with this program, with this process, out there in the
communities and corporate it in our governments and it can really
help our communities and our tribal members."
As the tribal level meetings unfolded, the individual communities
continued their own deliberations. Meanwhile, the Comanche Tribe
obtained funding from the Administration of Native Americans to train
a Comanche facilitation team to insure that the process could
continue to go forward properly without the need of outside
assistance.
The increased community participation brought about by the
institutionalization of TIMS led to the participation of over three
hundred tribal members at the next general council meeting, the
largest turnout seen for a considerable time. Meanwhile, three of the
community participants in the tribal-level TIMS sessions were elected
to the business committee, strengthening the newly initiated process
of liaison between the business committee and the communities, and
among the communities. At the same time, the TIMS process was
expanded to include Comanches living in Norman and Oklahoma City, and
began to include Comanches living in concentrated numbers in other
urban locations around the United States. In June of 1992 the four
communities formalized the two-level TIMS process in "Comanche
Community Participation Units Articles of Voluntary Association,"
which was officially made part of the tribal governance process in a
resolution of the Comanche Business Committee of 11 July 1992. A
direct product of the ongoing process was the development of an
internal list of tribal and community resources and a national
external list of resources that can be drawn upon by the tribe.
In general, issues that were taken through the TIMS process with
broadly supported action plans developed for their resolution easily
gained approval of the tribal council. In contrast, issues that have
not been considered in broad community discussions (but which have
been by the TIMS process) continue to be difficult to build a
consensus around, making it hard for the business committee to take
any action on them. This is illustrated by the business committee's
rejection of four successive proposals from the tribal council on
economic development which appeared to be substantively strong, but
for which there had not been broad participation in their
development.48 This experience of the business committee, along with
the calmer political climate resulting from the initiation of
inclusive community dialogue contributing significantly to the next
tribal chair being the first to be re-elected to a second term in at
least a decade, indicates the potential of the process to provide a
means for ending deadlock in tribal decision making and to begin to
lower the level of acrimony within the community, particularly
relating to its political affairs.
EVALUATION OF THE COMANCHES' EXPERIENCE WITH TIMS
Rebuilding a sense of community and promoting active participation
in tribal governance is not a task that can be accomplished
overnight. Experience with participatory measures in other settings
suggests that the full establishment of a process like TIMS requires
considerable time. The building of trust in the community necessary
to transform long-existing bitterness and infighting into generally
harmonious relations can only take place when there has been a
consistent period of good experiences in dealing with community
issues. In the case of the Comanches and their experiences in working
with TIMS, the reactions of participants, the spread of support for
working with the process, and the unfolding of events indicate that
movement toward such a change in feelings and ways of relating was
beginning to occur among the Comanches by the end of 1992, about
three years after it was first introduced in the tribe.
Examining the period during which TIMS was actively employed as a
vehicle for comm\unity involvement in tribal governance processes, it
is dear that the process served as an important means for promoting
the re-establishment of Comanche values in several ways. First, it
helped re-introduce consensus decision making, reviving traditional
values about discourse and governance. "We rediscovered the joy of
working together and valuing everyone's contribution. ... We
discovered the Comanche version of demosophia, or collective wisdom,
the wisdom of kinsmen, which for us has always been the locus of true
leadership, as expressed in persons who manifest that wisdom in their
words and behavior."49 Second, the enthusiasm for the renewal of
traditional ways experienced in TIMS generated proposals to
incorporate the process more widely in the discussion of community
affairs and to revise the Comanche constitution to more accurately
reflect traditional values. Third, it became clear that the
preserving of traditional culture, including the Comanche language,
was a function of tribal governance. A number of projects were
initiated to work towards that end, including the establishment of a
program for youth and elders to exchange ideas and the creation of a
Comanche Historical Society.
Based on these results it appears that consensus decision-making
processes like TIMS are well-suited for the Comanches' situation. To
the extent that the process was relied upon, it helped bring back a
sense of "Comancheness" and a restoration of a feeling of individual
dignity among the members. It fostered mutual respect and provided a
means for all members to contribute positively to the well-being of
the tribe. As a creative vehicle of empowerment, TIMS provided a way
to deal effectively with issues for the mutual advancement of the
members, the communities, and the tribe as a whole in a way that
allowed the Comanches to interact more effectively with the
contemporary world.
Although TIMS had a profound impact on the Comanche community,
bringing a return to accepted community values that have for some
time been missing in community life, the process was not established
well enough by the end of the three-year period to allow it to
continue without strong support from the tribal chair. Unfortunately,
the tribal chair elected just after the TIMS process had been
officially recognized had little appreciation of the process. Thus he
did not replace the tribal facilitators or the TIMS process liaison
when they resigned, and he made no use of the process during his
tenure as tribal chair. As his first term was relatively uneventful,
the improved climate created by the application of TIMS allowed him
to be reelected. Early in his second term, however, two important
issues arose that he believed needed prompt attention. Thus he
developed his own controversial proposals for dealing with them
without broad consultation.
In the first instance the tribal chair initiated plans for the
building of a tribal casino. In the second he attempted to create an
HMO in the face of a possible closing of the tribe's hospital. The
latter action was threatening to some of the hospital's employees who
began to complain to others that the chair was attempting to kill the
hospital; this ignited a round of gossip heavily laden with innuendo.
Objection to being left out of the process was particularly voiced by
those in the local communities who were now used to participating in
the consideration of major issues in their local meetings. Whatever
the chair's concerns may have been about the necessity for quick
action in the two cases, his initiating the projects without prior
consultation with the Comanche community though TIMS (or an
equivalent forum) created a great deal of stormy controversy and
raised considerable suspicion of the motives of those involved in
developing the proposals, as was typical of Comanche politics prior
to the launching Of TIMS. Although three of the four local
communities were continuing to use their versions of the TIMS process
for the discussion of their affairs as of early 1999, the lack of
broad community discussion at the tribal level was marked by an even
more disharmonious tribal politics with more raucous community
infighting than had existed prior to 1990. In January of 1999 an
attempt was made to improve the situation by restarting the TIMS
process at the tribal level. However, the election of a new tribal
chair shortly thereafter did not lead to a continuation of the
effort.
With no structures in place for TIMS to remain in operation after
the initial period of its application by the Comanches, many of the
positive changes brought about by the process quickly disappeared.
Infighting returned, and many tribal members discontinued their
active involvement in tribal affairs. Although specific
accomplishments from the TIMS sessions cannot be taken away,
particularly for many of the individuals whose lives were touched by
their participation in the process, the quick return to the
disharmony that had characterized the tribe's affairs raises
questions about the wisdom of investing considerable time and energy
into a process like TIMS if it is so difficult to sustain. Perhaps at
the case level the answer to this question is debatable. It can be
argued that the long-term situation of the Comanches is no better off
today than it was ten years ago before TIMS was first used in the
community. However, when evaluated from a process level, the
experience of the Comanches leads to a more optimistic assessment of
its potential.
The central element learned from the Comanches' experience with
TIMS is that such processes are congruent with the traditional core
value system of the tribe (and of most traditional American Indians),
in which there is a close identification between working for the good
of the tribe and a sense of personal worth. The initiation of TIMS
provided tribal members with a means to act consistently with those
values and to feel good about themselves, about each other, and about
the tribe. The cutting off of that vehicle for self-realization that
occurred when opportunities for participation in tribal affairs were
withdrawn created frustration and negative personal feelings, which
led to suspicion, anger, and various forms of negative behavior
including backbiting and sometimes vicious infighting. The comparison
between the behavior of tribal members and the ability of the
community to act when opportunities to participate were provided
through TIMS, versus when such opportunities were not available, is
strong evidence of the value of such processes for Native Americans
who retain their traditional values.
Based on the Comanches' experience we believe that consensus-
based problem-solving methodologies such as TIMS, if properly adapted
to each particular situation, can provide a useful vehicle for the
development of other tribes and bands, particularly those that suffer
from the imposition of Western forms of governance that are not
compatible with traditional Native American values. Several members
of other tribes have participated in or observed the TIMS process and
commented upon its broader applicability. Former Winnebago Chairman
Reuben Snake, a facilitator at the February 1990 TIMS meeting,
commented that the process is a good match for traditional problem-
solving strategies because traditional people continue to be holistic
systems thinkers favoring the inclusion of many ideas into solutions
rather than one idea overpowering another.50 Stanley Paytiamo, former
governor of Acoma Pueblo, said that the TIMS process enables a group
to accomplish in two and a half days what it takes traditional
decision makers two and a half years to accomplish.51 Overall the
record indicates that TIMS-type processes can be useful to the tribes
and tribal people in recreating a sense of unity and ability to act
in a collective manner as they move into the twenty-first Century.
NOTES
1. LaDonna Harris, letter of 15 July 1990, providing a report to
the participants of the February 1990 meeting, in which several
points were assigned to Americans for Indian Opportunity for
followup. This report, and other documents concerning the process,
are available from LaDonna Harris, A1Q, 681 Juniper Hill Rd.,
Bernalillo NM, 87004, phone (505) 867-0278, fax (505) 867-0441.
2. TIMS is described in detail in Benjamin J. Broome, "Collective
Design of the Future: Structural Analysis of Tribal Vision
Statements," American Indian Quarterly 19.2 (1995): 205-28.
3. For descriptions of how TimS has been used with other tribes,
see Benjamin J. Broome and Irene Cromer, "Strategic Planning for
Tribal Economic Development: A Culturally Appropriate Model for
Consensus Building," International Journal of Conflict Management2.3
(1991): 217-33; and Benjamin J. Broome and Alexander Christakis, "A
Culturally Sensitive Approach to Tribal Governance Issue Management,"
International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 12 (1988): 107-23.
4. After its initial development, the TIMS process was first used
in design sessions with the Apache, Cheyenne & Arapaho, and Pawnee
Tribes of Oklahoma, in addition to the Comanche. Results from these
sessions are reported in Broome, "Collective Design of the Future,"
205-28.
5. Action was taken through the Navajo Nation Local Governance
Act, p. 26, in "Navajo Nation Code,: revised 28 April 1998. The
Office of Navajo Government Development has been developing
alternative means for local chapters to improve the quality of their
meetings, for which coauthor Stephen Sachs has been a consultant
since 1997 and who has begun a process of sharing ideas for improving
local meetings and governance among chapters.
6. Southern Ute Drum, 4 June 1999, p. 2.
7. In a May 1996 discussion at the Baha'i office in Victoria BC,
it was reported to Stephen Sachs that several Alaskan and Canadian
west coast tribes had adopted the Baha'i method of consultation. This
is in essence a modified form of consensus decis\ion making. Though
it is undertaken with an elected council formally deciding issues by
majority vote, a strong element of the process is that the decision
makers gain a full overview of the issues from all perspectives by
listening carefully to the views of all parties. See John E. Kolstoe,
Consultation: A Universal Lamp of Guidance (Oxford: George Ronald,
1985). See particularly the dedication, chaps. 2. 3, and 5, and pp.
81- 83,153-59, 169-72, and 175-80.
8. Sharon O'Brien, American Indian Tribal Governments (Norman:
University of Oklahoma Press, 1989), chap. 2; Stephen M. Sachs, "A
Transformational Native Amer
ican Gift: Reconceptualizing the Idea of Politics for the Twenty-
first Century," Proceedings of the 1993 Annual Meeting of the
American Political Science Association (Washington Dc: American
Political Science Association, 1993).
9. Ibid.
10. Sachs, "Reconceptualizing Politics," pp. 1-3; O'Brien, Tribal
Governments, chap. 2; James R. Walker, Lakota Society, Raymond J.
DeMallie, ed. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1982), pp. 17-
18, 23-32; and ibid.
ii. Ernest Wallace and E. Adamson Hoebel, The Comanches: Lords of
the Plains (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1952), chap. 9; and
O'Brien, Tribal Governments, p. 17.
12. Sachs, "Reconceptualizing Politics," p. 1; E. Adamson Hoebel,
The Law of Primitive Man (New York: Atheneum, 1976), chaps. 5, 7; and
O'Brien, Tribal Governments, PP. 37,40.
13. LaDonna Harris, Letter of 15 July 1990, pp, 4-6 and fig. 1;
Benjamin J. Broome, "Promoting Greater Community Participation in
Comanche Tribal Governance: Planning Sessions held 26-28 March and 13-
15 May 1991" (Fairfax vA: Department of Communication, George Mason
University, June 1991), p. 11 and fig. i. For a broader discussion of
factionalism in Indian communities see, Stephen M. Sachs, LaDonna
Harris, Barbara Morris, and Deborah Hunt, "Recreating the Circle:
Overcoming Colonialism and Returning to Harmony in American Indian
Communities," Proceedings of the 1999 American Political Science
Association Meetings (Washington Dc: American Political Science
Association, 1999).
14. The history of this development is outlined in O'Brien, Tribal
Governments, parts 2 and 3.
15. Ibid., pp. 86-go; and Morris W. Foster, Being Comanche
(Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1991), p. 138.
16. Wallace and Hoebel, The Comanches, p. 4.
17. Hoebel, Law of Primitive Man, pp. 128-29.
18. Wallace and Hoebel, The Comanches, chap. 1; Hoebel, Law of
Primitive Man, p. 129; Foster, Being Comanche, pp. 38-52.
19. Hoebel, Law of Primitive Man, pp. 128 - 42; Wallace and
Hoebel, The Comanches, pp. 22-24 and chap. 9.
20. Wallace and Hoebel, The Comanches, p. 31.
21. Hoebel, Law of Primitive Man, chap. 9.
22. This theme is found in Foster's Being Comanche, chap. 6; and
Sachs's, "Reconceptualizing Politics." For Lakota examples see
William Stolzman, SJ, The Pipe and Christ (Chamberlain SD: Tipi
Press, 1991), particularly pp. 138-39; and Walker, Lakota Society,
pp. 5-6.
23. The Comanche signed a number of treaties with the United
States between 1834 and 1875. The reservation was established under
the Medicine Lodge Treaty of 1867. See The Comanche Indian Tribe
(Lawton OK: Comanche Tribal Office, 1991); Angie Debo,
A History of the Indians of the United States (Norman: University
of Oklahoma Press, 1970), chap. 12; and Wallace and Hoebel, The
Comanches, chap. 12.
24. For a discussion of the reservation and post-reservation
periods, see Wallace and Hoebel, The Comanches, chap. 12, and Foster,
Being Comanche, chaps. 3 and 4. 25. The persistence of a relational
sense of "being Comanche" and "living in a moral
community regulated by a regard for mutual esteem" (p. 167) is the
main theme of Foster's work, Being Comanche.
26. Foster, Being Comanche, pp. 137-39.
27. Ibid., p. 113; and Benjamin J. Broome, Alexander Christakis,
and Jackie Wasilewski, "Designing the Future of the Comanche Tribe,"
Report for the Comanche TIMS Process, 21 March 199o.
28. These figures are taken from BIA statistics of November 1991
as reported in Broome, "Promoting Community Participation," pp. i and
14 n.3.
29. Broome, "Promoting Community Participation," pp. 1-2.
30. Unless otherwise noted, information on tribal government is
taken from Broome, "Promoting Community Participation."
31. Foster, Being Comanche, p. 161.
32. Ibid., p. 204 n.79.
33. Ibid., p. 138.
34. Ibid., p. 60.
35.15 July 1990 letter of LaDonna Harris to participants in the
TIMS process.
36. This design process is called "interactive management" in the
published literature. For an overview of interactive management and
references to Warfield's work, see Benjamin J. Broome and David Keever,
"Next Generation Group Facilitation: Proposed Principles," Management
Communication Quarterly 3.1 (1989): 107-27.
37. The phenomenon of empowering the membership by engaging them in a
participatory process as a source for strengthening the community,
increasing the effectiveness of the leadership and the community in
reaching its goals and objectives, and increasing the support for the
leadership has been demonstrated repeatedly in private, nonprofit, and
public work organizations that build successful team processes. For a
discussion of these points see John Simmons and William Mares, Working
Together (New York: Albert Knopf, 1983); Paul Blumberg, Industrial
Democracy: The Sociology of Participation (New York: Schocken Books, 1968);
and Stephen Sachs, "Building Trust in Democratic Organizations," Psychology
31.2 (1994): 35-44. For more on strengthening the influence of managers
(leaders) through increasing participation in which managers are supportive
participants, see "Worker Participation and Influence in Industrial Plants
in Five Countries," in "Participation and Self Management" vol. 4, from
First International Sociological Conference on Participation and Self
Management, held at Dubrovnik, Croatia, 1972 and 1973.
38. Sachs, "Building Trust," and "Concerning the Interest and Goal
Structure in Par
ticipatory Work Organizations," Second International Conference on
Participation, Self-Management, and Workers' Control, Paris, 1977.
39. Sitting in a circle is a relational requirement for the
process to help enable participants to see themselves as equal
participants, and to be able to see and speak to each other easily.
The circle may often be around tables arranged in a horseshoe
configuration.
40. To operate successfully all participatory processes require
the building of trust among participants: trust in each other, in
themselves, and in the process. It is important to develop trust at
the very beginning, to launch the process on a proper footing. As it
continues, a good experience with the process itself, supported by
occasional timely intervention, tends to increase the process of
trust, or team building. In this and a number of other ways the TIMS
process is similar to most other consensus decisionmaking processes,
including workplace participation processes. A considerable body of
literature on this topic exists. See, Sachs, "Building Trust."
41. Though larger tribes will be able to have their own
facilitators, smaller tribes may find it useful to develop a common
pool of facilitators among several tribes.
42. For examples of how participatory processes, that when
appropriately and honestly applied, benefit employees while
increasing organizational effectiveness, are sometimes misused, see
Michael Parker, Inside the Circle: A Union Guide to QWL (Boston:
South End Press, 1985); and Guillermo Grenier, Inhuman Relations
(Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1988).
43. Polyphony, as used by J. S. Bach, is a harmony produced by the
interaction of equal musical themes, as opposed to the more usual
approach to harmony in Western music in which secondary themes
("harmonies") blend with a main or dominant theme. The former is a
democratic or egalitarian approach to harmony while the latter is as
an oligarchic or hierarchical approach.
44. Reported in LaDonna Harris letter of 15 July 1990.
45. The Comanches have their own Protestant churches. See Foster,
Being Comanche, pp. 120-22.
46. These meetings are reported in Broome, "Promoting Community
Participation"; Benjamin J. Broome, "Designing the Future of the
Comanche: Report of Planning and Design Sessions Held in Lawton,
Oklahoma, 11-12 July and 27-28 September 1991," Department of
Communication, George Mason University, Fairfax vA, 1991; "Comanche
Combined Structuring Forum: Lessons Learned," AIO, Washington DC,
1991; and LaDonna Harris, "Comanche Governance Community Involvement
Project: Demosophia: The Wisdom of the People, Final Evaluation,"
ATO, Washington DC, 1992. 47. Broome, "Promoting Community
Participation."
48. Harris, "Final Evaluation," p. 2.
49. Demosophia, or "wisdom of the people," was used as a term for
the TIMS process because one of the designers and facilitators of the
process, Alexander Christakis, is
Greek. This is an example of Comanche inclusiveness; LaDonna
Harris letter of 15 July 1990, pp. 9 and 11.
50. LaDonna Harris letter of 15 July 1990.
51. Ibid. Stanley Paytiamo was part of the Indian leadership group
that participated in the first interactive management session
conducted with tribal leaders, held at George Mason University in
1986. After experiencing the im process, these leaders recommended
that it be applied with Native American issues generally, and some
invited AM and George Mason representatives to hold sessions in their
tribal communities.
©Copyright 2001, University of Nebraska Press
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