The students began to loudly beat the circle drum in front of them, performing a traditional Blackfeet song. Their demonstration was part of a cultural exchange between the Native tribes and their Japanese visitors from the Kenny Endo Contemporary Ensemble.

The loya jirga is a venerable Afghan institution in which representatives of Afghan tribes are summoned, in the absence of formal government, to discuss issues of concern. Afghan rulers used them to ratify their rule whenever they seized power or expanded territory, because if there is one defining characteristic of a loya jirga, it is that it rarely says no.

When Kazakhs meet for the first time, two key questions are all it takes to figure each other out: What part of the country are they from? And what horde and tribe are they? The answers immediately establish a person's roots, history, and allegiances -- a holdover of ancient tribal divisions that remain relevant in modern-day Kazakhstan.