who settled on private farms according to the conditions of the Homestead Act of 1862. The homesteaders were called Prärieleut, while the ones who settled on the three communal colonies developed into three branches: Schmiedeleut, Dariusleut and Lehrerleut; in the 1990s the Schmiedeleut split into two subgroups. During the 20th century three groups joined the Hutterites, two of them only temporarily: The Owa Hutterite Colony, a Japanese Hutterite community founded in 1972, does not consist of Hutterites of European descent, but ethnic Japanese who have adopted the same way of life and are recognized as an official Dariusleut colony. The inhabitants of this colony speak neither English nor German. In similar fashion, a "neo-Hutterite" group, called the , was founded in Germany in 1920 by Eberhard Arnold. Arnold forged links with the North American Hutterites in the 1930s, continuing until 1990 when the Bruderhof were excommunicated because of a number of religious and social differences. They are now an international group with communities in several countries including England and are theologically quite similar to Hutterites, while being more open to outsiders. The Community Farm of the Brethren, also called Juliusleut, is a Christian community with communal living at Bright, Ontario, created under the leadership of Julius Kubassek (1893–1961). It was in fellowship with the Hutterites from its beginnings, in 1939, until 1950. Starting in 1999, three Hutterite colonies separated from their original "Leut" affiliation and became independent. For these three colonies spiritual renewal became a major concern. One of them, Elmendorf, branched out two times, so that there are now five colonies of that kind, which co-operate closely, thus forming a new affiliation of Hutterite Christian Communities. Fort Pitt Farms Christian Community is a Christian Community of Hutterite Dariusleut origin and with many Hutterite traditions but fully autonomous since 1999, when it was excommunicated from the Hutterite Church, whereupon about one-third of the people of the colony decided to stay with the Dariusleut Hutterites. Elmendorf Christian Community, founded in 1998, is a Christian community of Hutterite tradition, but is much more open to outsiders, so-called seekers, than other Hutterite communities. Population and distribution In 1995, the total North American Hutterite population was about 30,000. Approximately 75% of all Hutterites reside in Canada, with the remaining 25% in the United States. Canada In 1995 there were a total of 285 Hutterite colonies in Canada (138 in Alberta, 93 colonies in Manitoba