When not on the buffalo hunt or in winter camp these smaller groups of families, led by one or two of the minor leaders, functioned autonomously.
"Shoshone-Bannock Subsistence and Society"
Robert F. Murphy Yolanda Murphy
A part of the affairs that had so long been conducted autonomously by the tribes was declared collective business and transferred to a general council in Athens.
"The Origin of the Family Private Property and the State"
Frederick Engels