Southeast Matriarchies

"The great Native American civilizations of the Southeast of the present-day United States—importantly including the Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw, Muscogee, and Seminole—were matriarchal societies. In them, women, as equals of the men, had power and influence. All of this changed with the coming of the Europeans, who assumed that Native people lived as Europeans did, in patriarchal systems, in which elite men defined the ‘appropriate way’ for women to behave. They failed to understand the equality of the sexes in Native American so- cieties, where women enjoyed high economic, social, and political status."

Muscogee

Since at least the 6th century CE, the Muscogee people and their ancestors have made decisions through consensus-based councils. That century saw the appearance of circular "council houses" able to fit hundreds of people. The council structure "provides a formalized space for decisions of community councils, regional councils, clan mothers, beloved men and women, and other community members drawn from a diverse set of autonomous institutions." Decisions were guided by the "laws of nature". A council executive known as a Mekko with no authority outside of the council, was chosen "on the basis of personal qualities, competency, and potential to effectively take on the responsibilities of the role." Although there were village councils, multi-village local councils, and regional councils, there was no hierarchy of "higher" councils over "lower" ones.