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Show 99 the Tarahumaras, etc. There are various attitudes expressed in reaction to this situation. First, that of Indianism, with anthropological criteria and method, which seeks the integral development of the native communities. As an example, the work of the National Indian Institute in Mexico is mentioned. Another attitude is that described as derived from criteria prevalent among certain experts in the economic sciences. The central idea of this way of thinking is that the Indian groups will be assimilated by the majority cultures as a consequence of the application of national development plans. Finally, in the last few years a group of anthropologists has defended the idea that what really matters is to strengthen those communities, encouraging their development but favoring the preservation of their ethnic and cultural identity in order to arrive at the formation of autonomous nationalities like those existing in the Soviet Union. The author of this article notes, for his part, that before any action can be taken, consideration must be given to the historical processes that have affected the Indian populations in different countries. In the case of Mexico, for example, there has been and is an intensive process of cultural and ethnic fusion with assimilation of values, principally Indian and Hispanic. Irreversibly the nation has been transforming itself into a mestizo nation. What is truly important is to achieve the participation of the Indian groups in the integral reality of the life of their countries. More than speaking of incorporating or integrating the Indians, the norm must be to seek their participation in the national economy, in the social and political organization. There will be groups that, once they have the means to participate, will slowly assimilate the culture of the rest of the mestizo population. Others, however, will be able to achieve their participation, preserving in different degrees their cultural identity. Penaherrera de Costales, Piedad y Alfredo Costales Samaniego, "Resultados del Primer Censo Indigena de la Provincia del Pichinicha," America Ind igena, XXX, No. 4 (October, 1970), pp. 1039-1096. Article written in Spanish. Vazquez, Emilio, "El Mestizaje Sudamericano," Anuario Indigenista, XXX (December, 1970), pp. 169-182. Article written in Spanish. A history of the Spanish comming to South America and mixing with the Indians. 1971 Butterworth, Douglas, "Migracion Rural-Urbana en America Latina: el Estado de Nuestro Conocimiento," America Indigena, XXXI, No. 1 (January, 1971), pp. 85-105. English summary: One of the conclusions of the World Population Conference sponsored by the United Nations in 1967 was that research workers should pay immediate attention to factors affecting rural-urban migration in Latin America. As the bibliography to this article testifies, social scientists have by no means been lax in their duties in this respect, |