Tribal governments in Minnesota are called by various names such as tribal council, reservation business committee or business council. Heads of government are called Chairman, Chairperson, President or Chief Executive. Tribal councils vary in size. Each nation operated by a set of laws and codes approved by the governing body. While maintaining their own tribal governments, six of the seven Anishinabe reservations joined together under provisions of the 1934 Indian Reorganization Act to form the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe.
Tribes have the inherent right to decide who is eligible for tribal membership.
Some tribes consider anyone eligible for membership who is a descendent of a tribal member. Further, the courts have said that Congressional power in Indian affairs is limited by the United States Constitution. All governments receive their power from the people and sometimes from spiritual sources. This power may be written down in a form of a constitution or it may be handed down orally and traditionally. The mechanism for the destruction of Indian jurisdiction was laid in the United States Constitution, adopted in 1789.