Final answer:
Native Americans influenced the construction of American democratic institutions through their practices of self-governance, although this contribution is often underacknowledged.
Step-by-step explanation:
True, Native Americans had their ideas influence the construction of our democratic institutions. The principles of self-government that are foundational to democratic institutions in the United States have, in part, been shaped by the governance practices of Native American tribal democracies. These democracies contributed to the diversity of ideas that the framers of the Constitution and early American policymakers were exposed to. While European Enlightenment thinkers like those during the Protestant Reformation, and the ideas spread by Gutenberg's Printing Press, greatly impacted the formation of American democracy, the indigenous peoples of North America also played a role through their practices of self-governance and communal decision-making.
However, it is important to note that this influence has often been underacknowledged in historical narratives. Moreover, the expansion westward and the doctrine of Manifest Destiny implied that Americans were spreading democratic institutions, but this often occurred at the expense of the autonomy and cultures of Native American tribes.