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How did Apache bands make decisions and choose leaders?

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Map showing the distribution of Indigenous peoples and their lands in the American Southwest, with labeled areas for groups such as the Navajo, Hopi, Zuni, Apache, Pima, Yuma, Mojave, and others, along with major rivers and reservation boundaries.
Indigenous peoples of the American Southwest

Apache bands functioned as autonomous social and political units, typically consisting of 20 to 30 individuals who lived and worked together. Decision-making within these groups was based on consensus.12

Leadership was not a hereditary position but rather an earned privilege. Leaders, or headmen, were chosen based on their demonstrated wisdom and previous successes. Because these groups operated on consensus, individuals maintained the freedom to leave their current group and join another if they were dissatisfied with their situation. While a band was the primary political unit, several bands could occasionally unite under the direction of a single, particularly strong leader.21