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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.

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."