The Word Carrier of Santee Normal Training School (Santee, Nebraska), 1924-11 - 1924-12

              of Santee Normal Training School.
VOLUME  Mil
HELPING THE  BIGHT, EXPOSING THE WRONG
NUMBER.  6
SANTEE, NEBRASKA.
Our   Platform
Kor Indians we want American Education.' VV'e
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!
A Letter to the Sioux from the Blackfoot Indians
Browning, Mont.   Dec. 3, 1924.
The Blackfoot Indians have four reserva-
tions, one in the United States and three in
Canada.
Before the dry year.s. wc have: lots horses
and cattle and we live well   and prices were
Nov.-Dec, 1924
FIFTY CFNTS PER YFAR
Mi;. Sit.it E'ars.
good. In 1918 only ten full bloods has cattle,
in 1919 and 1920. have eight months winter,
no hay. The range is till barren, Our horses
and ail those had cattle all died, starved to
death. No money, no credit, we began to call
for help, supplies shipped in from all parts
of the country. Every body drawing rations,
full blood Indians, mixed blood Indians and
white men married Indians. Discouraged,
lost our pride. The present superintendent
came and he called a meeting. Most, of them
were full bloods. In his talks, told us to
farm. There arc a few of us started to farm,
plant gardens, our crops look so good, others
came in. We have lots of troubles. The
troubles as follows:
Kickers or agitators: Gophers.
So other meetings held in different districts, talked about how to handle gophers,
potato bugs and kickers. Finally We divide
these districts in Chapters, these, chapters
consist of fifteen or twenty families. We
elect our own officers.
Also organized a five year program to
work out. The program is ours to carry on
the chapter work. The Agency , provided
five threshing machines, binders, mowers,
rakes., drills, fanning mills, harness plows,
and discs. Each chapter president gives it out
to the Indians of his chapter, as they require.
We have two flour mills. Our Supt. Campbell got appropriation from Congress for
$15,000,00 to buy livestock, so this money
was spent for dairy heifers, pigs, sheep and
chickens. Now my people has all the eggs
and young chickens to eat and turkeys too.
I eat my own bacon and ham, milk and butter.
Tbe Supt. Campbell is hard worker, he
never stays in his office, is always visiting
pur homes. The Program means good hea 1th,
happy improved homes The leader of the
agitators he has no eon structive plan to re
place thisprogrann .Our.preacher and priest
are interested in this program. . Father
j Thomas Grant is President, of the Mission
Chapter, For a while Rev. Henry C, Meck-
1 lenbiirg was secretary of Upper Creek Chap-
i ter. The kickers wants to, be fed all the time,
j refused to buy heifers, sheep, pigs and qhick-
! ens, and refuse to work.   ,.
. Please get your Indians to follow this Pro-
1 gram, because I know it is good for us In-
1 dians.        I am your friend, his
Split X Ears;,
mark
Visits His Birthplace
A very interesting party took place this
summer when Dr. Thomas L. Riggs celebrated his 77th birthday at the place where
the old Lac-qui-parle mission stood and where
lie/was born on June 3, 1847. The only
living survivors of that mission station are
Dr. Riggs tind the Rev. Elias Gilbert, an
aged Indian pastor* who joiner] Dr. Riggs
on this trip. The other members of the little party were Mrs. Thomas Riggs,. Dr. and
Mrs. Theodore Riggs, Mrs. Elias Gilbert, and
Dr. Doane Robinson, state historian of South
Dakota. The elder Dr. Riggs identified the
various sites. The trees planted by his
father are great tall ones now; they ought to
le marked.     ,   ■  ■ .   -
Origin of Council Fire and Peace Pipe
Many years passed before Wob-ne-na, white
man came. O-jib-weh, Ot-tawah, and the Potawatomi were in war. The three were deadly foes. One night the three warrior chiefs
went out into the forest for a night's rest.
The three came to an oak tree. O-jib-weh
on the west, Ottawah to the south of the
oak tree and the Potawatomi on the east, not
knowing that either was there. This oak had
four large roots, one root going west, one
south, east and north.
At dawn an angel messenger appeared and
wakened them from their slumbers. He commanded them to rise and sit on the ground to
the east of the tree. The Potawatomi was ordered to build a fire, whence the council fire.
The Potawatomi was ordered to fill his pipe
with his koendengen, Kil-ik-ki-nip, light it,
and pass it to his brother. Each took his
turn to light his pipe and smoke, hence the
pipe of peace. They were told of their white
brother far beyond the ocean, who would
come in the latter days. Some clay the white
brother would fill the gap on the north side
of the oak. The oak is the national tree of
the three tribes, and bears witness to the first
treaty of peace and good will toward men.—
Lone Chief in Holton Signal.
The First Indian Judge
The voters of Pipestone county Minnesota
at the last election made Mr. James Irving-
judge of the probate court. Mr. Irving is a
Sioux Indian and it has been claimed that he
is the first Indian to become a judge. His
education began in the St. Paul's Indian Mission School on the Yankton Indian Reservation. From there he went to Haskell Institute, the Federal training school for the In:
dians at Lawrence, Kansas. He studied law
in the University of Oregon and in the Illinois
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College of Law in Chicago, and he was admitted to the Minnesota bar in 1922. Previous to the present appointment lie was judge
of the juvenile court in Pipestone county.
Judge Irving's wife is a Sioux Indian and
they have two beautiful little daughters.
The judge and his family are active members
of the Episcopal church and the daughters
attend the Pipestone public schools.
An Indian Takes the County Corn Prize
For the third year now Mr. Joseph Payer,
a Winnebago Indian, who lives south of
Emerson, Nebraska, has been noted for raising the best corn in Thurston county. His
field of 80 acres produced 40 bushels to the
acre of this highest test corn.
~   Another Claimant for the Same Honor
j Another Sioux Indian, Mr. James Ryan,
! was admitted to the South Dakota bar in 1914
j and served as prosecuting attorney for Bennett county two years. In July 1918 Mr.
Ryan was appointed county judge and served
on the bench till January, 1920. He was candidate for the South Dakota legislature in
Mellette and Bennett counties at the last
election. Mr. Ryan was educated at Valparaiso University and graduated from the Kent
College of Law in Chicago in 1914. His
friends claim that he is the first North
American Indian to occupy the office of judge
and the only Sioux Indian practicing law.
An Article in the Youths' Companion
By a Former Santee Student
Dr. Charles A. Eastman has an article in
the last Youths' Companion on "Indian Signals in Camp and Field"; the blanket signal,
smoke signal, messages in stones, etc.
Santee Building Almost Sold
The old Santee Agency buildings were recently all numbered in big black letters so
that they might be put up for auction, A determined protest of the Indians and white set..-
tiers to Washington was successful, however,
and the sale has been postponed indefinitely.
Baby Clinic For and By Indians
Perhaps for the first time in medical history, a baby clinic for and by Indians was
held. Dr. George J. Frazier, full blood Indian and government physician at Santee,
assisted by Mrs. Addie Boucher, full blood
Winnebago registered nurse, examined about
fifty Indian babies on the Winnebago and
Omaha reservation last summer. They have
made careful records in each case, and, wher©
symptoms of disease were found, the baby was
turned over to the regular government physician for treatment.