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Show 74 There is also the fact that, as things stand today the Indian agrarian community or the institution of tribal lands are a powerful means of legal protection of the Indian masses against loss of their lands. For these reasons we are fundamentally interested in the upkeep of these ancestral agrarian communities as legal institutions though technically they may need considerable improvements. There is a last point but seemingly a very important one, though hitherto not yet discussed among Indianists: Out of economical and cultural progress among monolingual or bilingual Indian masses may arise in the future the problem of a new administrative organization in Latin America republics. "Autonomous Territories" or Autonomous Republics" of the Maya in Yucatan and Guatemala, of the Quechua in Peru, and of Aymara in Bolivia, may become practical aims. Such an idea may seem trivial when remembering the catastrophical failure of Indian "reservations." On the other hand, the idea may seem fantastic in the face of the seemingly so complex apparatus of a "republic." So far only historical analogies can be adduced in favour of our concept: the great number of new national groups which after the First World War began claiming for independence, autonomy or simply for existence. New national entities originated also in great number in what was formerly the Russian Empire (now USSR): many of these national groups are like islets surrounded by their mother republic on which they depend administratively to a variable degree. Autonomous Indian Republics have their historical antecedent also in the various Cantons of Switzerland which includes various French and German Autonomous Republics and an Italian Autonomous Republic (the Tessin), under the Swiss Federal Government. 1954 Editorial, "El Ascenso Integral de la Poblacion Aborigen," America Indigena, XIV, No. 1 (January, 1954), pp. 3-6. English summary: The editor explains that since it is impossible to consider the Indian population in an integral way in all its aspects, it is best to investigate representative groups. He describes what should be done, and illustrates that the United States has done some excellent work in this field. Beteta B., Augusto (Peru), "Algo Mas Sobre Indigenismo," America Indigena, XIV, No. 2 (April, 1954), pp. 163-172. English summary: First the author makes some general comments on the Indian problem in America, and affirms that although much has been written on the subject, comparatively little has been done about it. He then goes on to deal with the problem from the economic point of view, noting that the Indian although a fine manual worker is a negative factor in all countries. The author discusses the economic and socio-political aspects of the problem. With respect to the former, he mentions the great contribution of the Indian to the mining industry in the Andean altiplano, above 3,000 meters as well as to |