Table 1 Deliberative democracy according to Dahl and Gastil’s criteria in Iroquois, Yup’ik, Santa Clara Pueblo (pre and post-IRA constitution), and Ojibwa governance.
Case | Dahl | Gastil | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Inclusion | Participation opportunities | Enlightened understanding | Social components of deliberation | Analytic components of deliberation | |
Iroquois - Great Law of Peace | Partial: - Status matters (Hoyaneh powerful voice) - Men at formal deliberation space | Partial: - Only Hoyaneh indirectly with input of women (influence of Clan Mothers over Hoyaneh) | Yes: - Exceeds notions of deliberation by considering those outside room and not in existence (7th Generation) | Yes: - High emphasis on respect and social position and responsibilities of speakers | Unclear: - Some components of this are described such as 7th Generation. - A broad mindedness is expected of Hoyaneh |
Yup’ik | Partial: - Primarily male elders, but included women and young people occasionally | Yes: - Major plans for village discussed in detail with key village members | Yes: - Discussion included moral code, traditional narratives, personal experience | Yes: - Respectful discussion within the qasgi that included consideration of many views | Yes: - Options weighed before settling on plans - Discussion grounded in morals, personal experience, traditional narratives & worldview |
Santa Clara Pueblo (Pre-IRA) | No: - Community not expected to participate | No: - Community not expected to participate | Yes: - Decisions in tune with culture and values, rather than individual self-interest | Not found in sources | Unclear: - Not deliberative, but emphasis is placed on underlying community values |
Santa Clara Pueblo (Post-IRA) | Partial: - Voting for adult members | Partial: - Open discussion of politics, citizen influence on agenda | Unclear: - No requirement in the IRA Constitution to do so | Unclear: - No requirement in the IRA Constitution to do so | Unclear: - No requirement in the IRA Constitution to do so |
Ojibwa | Partial: - Exclusion around age (young people) | Yes: - Village-level included in important decisions | Yes: - Leaders were expected to display enlightened understanding | Yes: - Expectations of respect at inter-tribal level, but not at tribal level | Partial: - Leaders expected to do this, but not necessarily individuals |
