When our founding fathers met to determine the type of government that the new nation would have, they examined the governments of Europe, but those governments were not models of democracy. To find inspiration closer to home, and to find models of governments that involved independent states and a central government, they had to look no further than The Iroquis Confederacy. Yes, the US form of government was modeled after the Native Americans. While viewed as inferior, the Iroquois Confederacy provided models for the separation of powers, and what issues should be handled locally, and which should be handled by the central government.
It is worth noting that this was not included in any of the social studies or history classes I attended in all of my years of education. I can't help but wonder what it would have done for Native American students' sense of pride, identity, etc, to know that their ancestors, or someone like them had such an influence on the Constitution. I also have to wonder how non-Native children might have been affected had this piece of history been included with other stories of the establishment of the nation. These are some of the reasons that having an inclusing curriculum and a complete history are so important.
To learn more about the similarities and differences between the Iroquois Confederacy and the US Constitution, view this article on the History Channel website.
https://www.history.com/news/iroquois-confederacy-influence-us-constitution