Search results

The legal right of American Indian tribes to self-gov still exists in principle, but during the last 100 yrs, it has been ignored or infringed upon by regulation or local interpretation to such an extent, esp since the Civil War, that the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 which meant to restore self-gov in local affairs seemed unrealistic to many Indian tribes. Since 1950, gov interference in tribal affairs has again increased, both at the national & state levels. The participation of Indians in pol'al life is growing. Over 32,000 were in the armed services during WWII. As citizens, since 1924 they are increasingly participating in local & national elections. AAAPSS.

The legal right of American Indian tribes to self-government still exists in principle, but during the last hundred years, it has been ignored or in fringed upon by regulation or local interpretation to such an extent, especially since the Civil War, that the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 which meant to restore self-government in local affairs seemed unrealistic to many Indian tribes. Since 1950, government interference in tribal affairs has again increased, both at the national and state levels. The participation of Indians in political life is growing. Over 32,000 were in the armed services during the last World War. As citizens, since 1924 they are increasingly participating in local and national elections.—Ed.

A consideration of the ways in which pol'al participation is influenced by external soc pressures, by internal personality requirements, & by their interaction. Soc sci'ts have tended to think in terms of the soc norms that shape behavior & allow only a limited variability. Personality is treated frequently as an aspect of deviance but not of conformity. The soc deterministic theories do not make use of an explicit personality theory. They often posit psychol'al processes such as: imitation, conditioning, & self-interest as mediating between soc pressure & individual behavior; but have ignored the processes involved in selection, org, & creation of ideas & modes of participation: the role of reason & imagination. In the rationalistic self-interest theories, it is assumed that pol'al behavior is determined by a realistic appraisal of an individual's group or personal interests. These theories do not account for the behavior not in accord with or antithetical to immediate interests & the diff's within a large group in the interpretation of its proper interests. The first requirement for any socio-psychol'al theory of pol'al participation (PP) is a conception of personality within which the individual's preferred modes of participation can be seen as intrinsic, functional components: personalogical as well as sociol'al & historical. The author's preference is to start from psychoanalytic theory & to regard the general development of a general pol'al orientation & of specific pol'al preferences as an external function of the ego. The ways in which the ego carries out its internal functions influences the individuals's selection, creation, & synthesis of modes of participation. 2 postulates are required by this formulation: (1) receptivity, the individual is most receptive to those pol'al forms that have the greatest functional value in meeting the requirements of the personality as a system; & (2) immanence, many of the personality characteristics that influence the individual's PP are directly reflected within it. Pol'al choice is affected from within not by the Z personality, but primarily by the particular facets of personality that are engaged at a given period of time. The relation between internal dynamics & PP is a 2-way process. Pol'al ideas & actions play their role in individual personality as in soc structure. The gradual acceptance of a new pol'al orientation depends in part on the individual's dynamics when the change began, & it may have reequilibrating effects on the dynamics. One's pol'al preferences will be most stable & satisfying when they are congruent with both inner & external requirements. 2 conditions probably increase the importance of intra-personal determinants: (a) a wide range of available (socially provided) alternatives, & (b) a high degree of personal involvement in pol'al issues. J. D. Twi rht.

Various observers of the North American scene have called attention to the problem of mass passivity and political apathy in our culture. Myrdal has pointed out that the masses in America "are accustomed to being static and receptive. They are not daring but long for security. They do not know how to cooperate and how to pool risks and sacrifices for a common goal. They do not meet much. They do not organize. They do not speak for themselves: they are the listeners in America. They seldom elect representatives from their own midst to Congress, to state legislatures or to city councils. They rather support friendly leaders from the upper strata, particularly lawyers."Myrdal's description of American mass passivity is an accurate one for most parts of the United States and Canada. There are, however, certain areas on this continent where the political behaviour of the people contradicts the assertion that the American lower economic classes, the workers and farmers, are politically apathetic. The Wheat Belt regions of the United States and Canada have repeatedly given rise to large-scale "class-conscious" political organizations which were genuine mass movements. The Greenback, Populist, and Non-Partisan League organizations in the United States, and the Progressive party and the Cooperative Commonwealth Federation (C.C.F.) in western Canada involved large numbers of people in agrarian political action. The recent success of the C.C.F. in attaining power in the Wheat Belt province of Saskatchewan is the latest instance of a mass North American "people's party."