In order to appreciate tribal ways of viewing the world, the following is a look at Hopi perspectives provided by Fred Eggan in his classic work Social Organization of the Western Pueblos. This section, taken directly from Eggan's book provides a perspective on how the Hopi organize politically.
POLITICAL ORGANIZATION
Hopi political organization is difficult to characterize, be cause authority is phrased in ritual rather than in secular terms and is not concentrated in any single position. There is no central authority for the Hopi as a whole, nor is there any secular government annually elected such as the Spaniards instituted else-where among the Pueblos. Within each major village there is a hereditary group of priests or chiefs, but the order of this "hierarchy" varies from village to village, and they have a minimum of secular authority.
In most of the Hopi villages the village chieftainship is associated with the Bear clan, and the chiefs are installed by the Kwan society, the members of which cannot themselves become village chief. At Oraibi there is a further association of the village chieftainship with the Soyal ceremony, and the officers of the Soyal constitute the top religious hierarchy, a step perhaps in the direction of a central religious ruling group. At Shongopovi the village chief is likewise of the Bear clan and associated with | Soyal, but the Tribal Initiation chiefs and the Katcina chief are his major advisers; the rotation of the village chieftaincy at Mishongnovi complicates the pattern, though there is a definite feeling that the Bear clan is the proper source for the village chiefs. For Walpi we have noted the shift of the village chieftaincy from the Bear clan to the Millet clan and the subsequent association with the Blue Flute ceremony controlled by the] L clan; here the "council" was composed in Stephen's time of the Millet and Bear clan chiefs, followed by the Tribal Initiation chiefs, the Soyal, Powamu, Antelope, and Snake chiefs, and ending up with the Crier and War Chiefs. The particular order at each village is sanctioned by the mythology in terms of the order of ''arrival" of the clans controlling such chieftaincies or in terms of transfers of function.The mythological sanction for the position of the Bear clan at Oraibi is found in the origin legend for that village. Matcito, a Bear clansman, quarreled with his brother, the chief of Shongopovi, and moved to Third Mesa, where he laid claim to the land. Other "clan groups" came and offered their ceremonies for rain or agreed to protect the chief in exchange for land and a position in the village. In Oraibi theory the village chief "owns" the land, and the crops and the people are considered to be his "children" and call him "father." If people withdraw from the village and fail to perform their ceremonies or other duties, they are supposed to give up their clan lands. This relation between ceremonies and land is of vital importance in understanding the events of recent years. There is considerable evidence that the difficulties at Old Oraibi were related in large measure to problems concerned with land.
In all villages the kikmongwi, or village chief, is supposed to watch over his people and protect them - this involves keeping a "good heart" so that the prayers for rain will be answered. In return the people are supposed to work for the village chief - and other chiefs as well - and in most villages land was set aside for the use of the chiefs of important ceremonies.While the village chief in theory controls the land and the village, he should not participate directly in disputes or quarrels, since such activities are thought to have a deleterious effect on village welfare. Problems should be settled by other chiefs or by clan heads, if possible; only as a last resort should they be taken to the village chief unless they were directly concerned with land.
The Hopi make no sharp distinction between religious and secular duties. The welfare of the Hopi people is the basic concern of the chiefs and may be obtained in various ways - mostly religious. The nearest thing to a "council" was the chiefs' assembly which was held in connection with the Soyal ceremony. But this meeting had no legislative significance and was more concerned with the ceremonial cycle of the coming year and how to maintain the Hopi way of life. The strongest deterrent force in the village is perhaps fear of the Kwan society. This group which is particularly associated with the dead, was in former times the chief protection of the village. The Kwan chief instals the village chief, and the latter may be deposed by the Kwan society for good cause...
The only chief with "police" functions was the War Chief but he does not have the same authority that his counterparts at Zuni and other Pueblos possess. At Oraibi in recent times the War Chief was the Soyal officer, but in earlier days he was head of the War society and a member of the Coyote-Masau's-Kokop clan group. He had the duty of maintaining order and discipline, but he had no punitive powers other than those connected with his war leadership....Within the clan normally the oldest male member takes charge of the ritual duties of the clan, and the oldest female member (of the main lineage) is in charge of the clan household...