The Word Carrier of Santee Normal Training School (Santee, Nebraska), 1921-01 - 1921-02

              the Word carrier
OF
Santee Normal Training school,
VOLUME   L
HELPING- THE  RIGHT, EXPOSING THE WRONG
NUMBER- 1
SANTEF, NEBRASKA.
JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 1921
FIFTY CENTS PEE, YEAR
Our  Platform
For Indians we want American Education ! We want
American Homes! We want American Rights! The result of which is American Citizenship ! And the Gospel
is the   Power  of  God   for their  Salvation!
Our New Secretary
We are glad to welcome our new.secretary,
the Reverend Fred L. Hrownlee, into the service of the American Missionary Association.
His broad training in educational and pastoral work as well as his intimate association
with that stalwart Congregational champion
of liberty and justice, Dr. Dan F. Bradley,
are a fine preparation for his new activities.
We wish him all the success in the world, and
sincerely hope that a new era may dawn for
Indian Missions, an era of statesmanlike, sympathetic leadership which may bring real progress to every phase of our work.-
An Indian Who is State Secretary
"The Oklahoma Y. M. C. A. News" is the
name of a neat, four-page, monthly sheet recently gotten out by the State Association.   In
Death of Eli Abraham
Mr. Eli Abraham was born somewhere in
Minnesota and at the time of the Indian outbreak in 1862 he was about fifteen years old.
He was with the Indians who were in prison
for about a year. He was with those Indians
who were transferred to Crow Creek on the
Missouri in 1863 and was one of those who
learned to read in 1864. In 1866 he became
Rev. J. P. Williamson's helper and native
teacher.
When Rev. A, L. Riggs started the Santee
school in 1870 Mr. Abraham became his helper and continued to be native teacher at Santee
Normal Training School for many years. He
taught a great many Dakota Indian boys and
girls to read the Dakota Bible, the story of
the Bible irr Dakota, and Pilgrim's Progress
in Dakota. He helped to translate a great deal
for the Indian paper, the Iapi Oaye, and did
much translation for the Dakota booklets that
were published by the Santee Press, the Life
of Christ, and the Life of Paul in Dakota.
Mr. Abraham was naturally a teacher, and he
was also a good preacher, and easy writer.
He was wise in the Indian councils and much
looked up to. Altogether Mr. Abraham was
a great force in the change from savagery to
Christian civilization that came to his people
during his life time.
But Mr. Abraham suffered for many years
frorn,rheumatism and finally gave up his
work at the school and lived on his farm with
his sou a few miles south of Santee. There
he died Dec. 17, 1920. The funeral was at the
Santee Normal School chapel and tho it was a
stormy day there was a large attendance of
people to do him honor.
Dakota Association
At the Dakota Association meeting, in June
on tin White River, the Congregational Indian churches voted to carry on their part of
the Interchurch World Movement by raising
$15,000 in five years,—$3,000 a year. There
are about 1,000 members of these Indian Congregational Churches, which means that every
member must give $3.00 a year. There are
many members that will not manage to give
that much. Therefore many members will
have to give more. Each church will have to
multiply its membership by three and thus
determine its apportionment for each year.
At the fall meeting of the Dakota Association, in connection with the Mission meeting
on the Standing Rock Reservation, the Association voted to give the $15,000 that is to be
raised as above stated, that the $15,000 shall
be used as follows: 10 per cent to the American Board of foreign missions, 10 per cent to
the American Missionary Association, 20 per
cent to the Dakota Native Missionary Society,
60 per cent to Santee Normal Training School
Endowment.
an article, "Ready for a Forward Move" by C. j
C. Roberts, State Chairman, the following will i
be of interest to Bulletin readers:
"Oklahoma is to be congrdtulated upon having the only State Secretary giving his full
time to Indian work in the country. S. R.
Walkingstick, Jr., son of S. R. Walkingstick,
the first f ullblood Indian attorney in America
to practice law in the Unitpd States courts,
is serving in this capacity.
"Walkingstick, Jr., was born in Tahlequah,
Cherokee Nation, Indian Territory. He was
educated in the Cherokee public school; entered Bacone College iu 1910, graduating in 1914.
It was at Bacone wheie young Walkinerstick
made his decision for the Christian life. In
1914 he entered Dartmouth College; was active in athletics ; gave the college a new yell;
was a leader in the Christian Association work
from the start; went on many gospel team
trips; supplied pulpits of the village churches
and conducted Sunday Schools during the
whole three-yjar period at Dartmouth. In
his Junior year he was elected President of
the Christian Association and automatically
became one of the eleven members of the student governing body. When .the Student Department of the International Committee of the
Y. M. C. A. chose a Gospel Team Deputation
from the United States colleges, Dartmouth received the honor, and as president of the Y.
M. C. A., Walkingstick was the leader of the
team which visited the principal academies
and some of the colleges of the East.
"In 1916 he served on the Mexican border
with the troops. In 1916 he served with the
Army Y. M. C. A. in this country at three
different points, and later went overseas, spend-
ding five months in Calcutta, India, on the
staff of the Indian National Council of the
Y. M. C. A. In July, 1918, he was sent to
Mesopotamia with the British Army as Senior
and Business Secretary for the Base Army,
with nominal rank of captain in the Mesopotamia Expeditionary Forces of the King. His
territory covered nearly all of the old Biblical
Garden of Eden site, Babylon and Ur of the
Chaldees. He returned to America in July of
the same year. Under his leadership a constructive work for the Indians is already in
progress."—Y. M. C. A. Bulletin.
Mrs. Helen Auntie Williams
The real test of our Christianity comes always with death. The human tendency is to
lose ourselves in grief and to sorrow over our
irreparable loss. But Christ taught us that
death is but the door to a richer fuller life in
the house which He has prepared for us, and
Christian faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. If
then we have any faith in Christ we must believe that death in Christ is a reward, not a
punishment.
And yet, how hard it is to be reconciled in
the death of such a one as Mrs. Helen Williams? Full of plans to help our people, she
suddenly passed away. This very winter she
intended to go up to Standing Rock to visit
the Women's Societies, and to cover the entire Cheyenne River field right afterwards.
Through this kind of work she had won hundreds of friends, whom she had helped in need,
comforted in sorrow, for whom she had prayed at all times. To me personally she was a
constant adviser who directed me by pointing
out mistakes and suggesting helpful new plans
and ideas.
Our only consolation is that she has died in
peace aud is now with her Father whom she
served so faithfully. May God inspire others
to follow in her steps. Rudolf Hertz.
Miss Alice Robertson, Indian Missionary and
Congress Woman
Miss Alice Robertson was elected Congress-
woman from Oklahoma.    Not only was she
a  friend  of   Roosevelt's   and   former postmistress of Muskogee, but she is the daughter
I and granddaughter of missionaries to the In-
| dians.   Her grandfather was Samuel A. Wor-
i cester, who went to Georgia from New Eng-
; land.    He was sentenced to four years in the
! penitentiary for "educating the Indian," but
I the Supreme Court reversed the decision and
! he was allowed  to  continue  his  missionary
work.   Miss Robertson's father continued the
missionary work,   coming to Oklahoma with
his Indians and bringing "Alice" along.    Indians will have a sincerely interested friend
in Congress.    We wish her every success.—
Y. M. C. A. Bulletin.
The river is so open this winter thus far that
it is barely crossable on foot, and that very frequently only at changing places. It begins
to look as tho the Springfield people would not
get any ice. On our Santee side a place has
been found where thin ice may be cut and we
have our supply in.
Indian Health
Certain facts published in the Report of the
Board of Indian Commissioners for 1920 serve
to strengthen one's conviction of the necessity of immediate action in the matter of the
health of Indians. Health conditions among
the five Civilized Tribes are spoken of as deplorable. "Tuberculosis and trachoma, because unchecked, continue to spread through
the Indian communities in eastern Oklahoma."
Among the Winnebagoes and Omahas in Nebraska, trachoma is very prevalent and both
tribes are reported as "fearfully ravaged by
venereal diseases." The report on the New
York Indians states that "many of the Indiana
live in utter disregard of sanitary laws. Tuberculosis and venereal diseases are very prevalent. "These are but random instances, but conditions are unquestionably the same in many,
many other places. The white population must
necessarily suffer in consequence, so that, for
selfish reasons if for no other, steps should be
taken to introduce the best methods of sanitation and care.
The most practical solution of this problem
is to make the Indian Medical Service a branch
of the United States Public Health Service.
' 'It is not a question of economy, it is a matter of life and death. What is required is
easily a four-fold expenditure."
We hear a great deal of disease and suffer-
' ing iu Europe. Is it not time to end some of the
1 suffering and disease still unchecked among
our own population?—Southern Workman.