A tribal council is the governing body for certain Native American tribes within the United States.
Many sovereign American Indian nations in the United States organize their governments through elected tribal councils.
In these systems, a Tribal Council or an equivalent body functions as a legislative branch, while an elected or appointed Chairman, Chairwoman, or Chairperson serves in an executive role comparable to that of the President at the federal level.
[8] Beginning in the 1970s and 1980s, as Native American self-determination gained momentum, many tribes amended or drafted new constitutions and reformed their tribal council structures.
[8] The two largest tribes in the United States have elected tribal councils as their legislative branches of multicameral governments.