Because whites only poorly understood that decentralized arrangement, they eventually forced the notion of a single tribal chief upon the Indians. Prior to Euro-American intrusion, the Nez Perces had a permanent governing council, a political organization that could speak for all of them, but they had no head chief empowered to sign away their lands in treaties.
The misunderstanding of Indigenous governance by European Americans led to significant changes in how tribes were organized. The whites struggled to grasp the decentralized nature of Native American political structures, which resulted in the imposition of a singular tribal chief concept on tribes like the Nez Perces. This alteration did not reflect the actual political organization that existed prior to European contact.
Before Euro-American influences, the Nez Perces operated under a permanent governing council that represented the tribe collectively, without a single leader authorized to make agreements or treaties on behalf of the entire community. This lack of a centralized authority meant that decisions regarding land and sovereignty were shared rather than dictated by one individual.
