ABSTRACT
Technically, propaganda is any widespread promotion of particular ideas; but the common connotation is that advocacy of ideas carried to an extreme can become unethical and lead to distortions in the promotion of special views and images. Propaganda typically uses stereotyping for political or commercial ends. One result is that even honest, ethical, and reasoned political advocacy can become tainted and discredited by association with the propaganda of fanatic proponents of any cause. The rhetoric of Indian support groups and of allied Indian leaders involve concerted efforts to present acceptable special interest group images. Canada's policies for the management of Indian communities were based mainly on stereotyped thinking about small band type organizations, the most frequent form of native social organization in this nation. The acculturation of Canada's native peoples has been a selective process, as is also true in the United States.
