The Haida tribe never made a democracy unlike most of the natives, instead, they had a government that was run by wealth. They had social levels nobles, commoners, and slaves. The slaves were acquired through war or trade and were mainly used for farming work. In each family, the one with the most wealth and closest relation to the ancestors was named chief of their family. The rank of everyone else in the family was determined by the reaction to the chief of the family. The chiefs were responsible for distributing wealth to everyone in the tribe, the higher rank got the most money and so forth all the way down the rankings. Each chief of the village would post totem pole or crest symbols to mark their territory.
Source
The Northwest Coastal People – Family / Social Structure / Leadership, firstpeoplesofcanada.com/fp_groups/fp_nwc6.html.
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