American Indians have been identified in a number of ways.  While "tribe" has been the most historically common label applied by "outsiders," there are other forms of communal organization used by American Indians.   Educators of native students should be aware of these forms of communal organization.

Overview:  American Indian groups can be divided in a number of ways. Historically, the most common division applied was the tribe. A tribe was an indigenous group that shared a common language, common beliefs, and who saw themselves as sharing a common heritage.  In their own language, they oftern named themselves "the people." Today, many tribes call themselves nations because they fit the basic definition of a nation.  The term "First Nations" is used commonly to refer to the various indigenous groups living in Canada, and some tribal governments in the United States, e.g, the Navajos, have voted to refer to themselves as nations.

Most American Indian tribes or nations have internal subdivisions.  One of the most common is the clan, which consists of members who are related to each other theoretically or actually.  Most tribes are matriarchal, where a child is "born into" one's mother's clan.  However, the Omaha, Mesquakie, Fox, Ojibwa, Yumans, and Pimans are patriarchal, tracing their clan ancestry through their fathers.  Typically, one cannot marry a person of the same clan, and sometimes, one cannot marry a person of either parent's clan.  In some tribes, clans own property, perform ceremonies, and control political offices.  Some tribes have only a few clans, while others may have fifty or more.  Members of the same clan are expected to show hospitality to fellow clan members.  Tribes that farmed were more likely to have clans than tribes that depended on hunting and gathering.

Sometimes, tribes were also divided into bands and other smaller groups that tended to live and travel together.  The term "tribe" often has connotations of being a primitive grouping, but just as indigenous languages can be very sophisticated and complex, so can the social systems of tribes.  Some tribes can be very similar to other tribes, speaking dialects of the same language and practicing similar customs.  However, they can also be very different from each other with their languages as different as Chinese is from English, and their customs as different as well.

The smallest American Indian groupings are extended families.  Many modern American families are "nuclear families" consisting of a mother and/or father and their children, with other relatives such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, or cousins sometimes living hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away and having little contact with each other.  In contrast, many American Indian families are "extended families," where grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins often live nearby and are in constant contact with each other.  All members of the extended family may help with child rearing.  In some tribes, uncles have an important role in disciplining their nieces and nephews.  In some tribes, an aunt is addressed with the same term of "mother" as a child's biological mother.  Educators working with extended families need to know that grandparents, uncles, and aunts may play an important role in their students' lives.