tasked with the work to support the goal some Area Teaching Committees already existed and were in a degree of organization with their own newsletters and conferences by September, 1953. These institutions had existed at least as far back as 1949, sometimes called Regional Teaching Committees. The fact that the Area Teaching Committees were designated central to the achievement of the goal was detailed again in June, 1955. The US sent about 400 pioneers across the plan to the international goals, almost half of whom were women. This was out of a population in the United States of almost 7,000 by 1956 and by 1963 the membership exceeded 10,000, and were increasing by about 1,200 per year. Though there had occasionally been earlier contact with Native American populations, (see for example the story of Nipo T. Strongheart,) this kind of effort was also a point of action during the plan. As a result of international and intranational changes, eras of activity and waves of growth, the cultural norms in the Baháʼí Faith went through major transitions. The first occurred at about the turn of the 20th century when the religion became known beyond its mainly Muslim Middle-Eastern population and spread to Christian North America and Europe. The second major breakthrough started post-World War II when the religion began to spread rapidly in the villages of the Third World. A stated purpose for the coordinating committees appointed to oversee the process was to facilitate a shift in the balance of roles from North American leading guidance and Latin cooperation to Latin leading guidance and North American cooperation. The process was well underway by 1950 and was to be enforced about 1953. In Africa it was emphasized that western pioneers be self-effacing and focus their efforts not on the colonial leadership but on the native Africans - and that the pioneers must show by actions the sincerity of their sense of service to the Africans in bringing the religion and then the Africans who understand their new religion are to be given freedom to rise up and spread the religion according to their own sensibilities and the pioneers to disperse or step into the background. Similar practices were undertake by Australians arriving in Papua New Guinea. Unlike the spread of Christianity within Indian country in the United States, the Baháʼí Faith has never been associated with a fortification of colonial occupation, Euro-American