The Government has sought to aid the Indian in his transition to the new culture by giving him a part in the realm of political relations. All the reservations have native police, employed by the Government; and Standing Rock has two Indian police judges, who hear all cases and pass sentence on all minor Indian violations of law. At Turtle Mountain there are no Government restrictions in the use of land and stock, and the tribe has complete charge of property. All the Indian groups except that at Fort Totten have tribal councils, which, while their legal powers are not great, have considerable weight in an advisory capacity. The acceptance by the tribes of the white man's fundamental educational principle of daily formal schooling has had a large part in their assimilation. Mission schools established by the various churches frequently brought the first formal education to the Indians, and most of the groups are still served by such schools. Small and large Government schools have been provided to give the Indian child the same educational opportunity as that afforded the white. Fort Totten and Turtle Mountain both have consolidated Indian schools, and a boarding school offering high school work is maintained at Wahpeton. In spite of their work in these schools and the fact that they are fast becoming fluent speakers of English, in most instances the Indians are retaining their native tongues. An exception to this is at Turtle Mountain, where due to intermarriage of French and Indian the Algonquian mother tongue of the Chippewa is dying out. While doubtless many ancient habits and customs are retained, such as those pertaining to marriage, formal tribal ceremonies do not appear to be conducted to any great extent at the present time. Marriage assumes the Christian form, and the Christian religion has been generally adopted, with the Catholic, Episcopalian, and Congregational faiths most commonly represented. The ancient tribal religions still exert a powerful influence, however--a fact especially evident at such times as the performance of the annual Arikara ceremonies on the Fort Berthold Reservation and the yearly sun dance of the Chippewa at Turtle Mountain. The large sun dance held at Little Eagle in South Dakota in 1936 by the Sioux of the Standing Rock Agency was the first conducted by that tribe in more than 50 years. The Indians often participate in the social dances, such as the Omaha grass dance, the rabbit dance, and the hoop dance; and dancing in native costume can be seen occasionally, particularly during Fourth of July celebrations and at the annual fairs. The latter are held on most of the reservations some time in September and October. Music for the strictly Indian dancing consists of singing accompanied by drums--the small Indian hand drums or tom-toms, and the white man's big bass drum. Formerly a large drum of Indian manufacture was used; and rattles, string bells, and flutelike whistles are still made.