The Word Carrier of Santee Normal Training School (Santee, Nebraska), 1927-11 - 1927-12

              the Word Carrier
of Santee Normal Training school.
VOLUME   LVI
HELPING THE   RIGHT, EXPOSING THE WRONG
NUMBER  5
SANTEE, NEBRASKA.
Sept.-Oct., 1927
FIFTY CENTS PER 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!
Shall We Continue to Destroy the Indian
It is evident from our history of Missions
and economic relations to the Indian that he
has been considered as being worth preserving for our civilization. There is no question
in the. mind of well-informed people that we
were actuated by the desire to do them justice; but at some period in our total contact
as a race with the Indian, our treatment has degenerated from well-wishing to exploitation.
In comparing the net progress of the Negro
race from slavery to its present position,
with the Indian race, one cannot help observing the very much greater progress of the
former. It is well that we frankly face the
fact. We cannot primarily attribute this to
personal   reasons.
We should give serious consideration to the
reasons for these situations. What immediate
changes are needed to rectify them? In the
ease of the Negro our policies are constructive ;
but in the case of the American Indian a destructive process is in the ascendency. There
must be very serious recognition of the fact
that our relation to the American Indian must
be quickly readjusted or else we shall be parties to the crime. What will conserve the best:
or are we indifferent to the Indian's future?
First, our policy in the past has been to
assist the Negro iu self-development, unaided
by gratuities; but with the Indian this same
motive has been destroyed not only by excessive gratuities, but exploitation. As long as
it seemed wise to involve ourselves in political relationships that were termed treaties, it
is only just that the provisions of these "treaties" should very speedily be settled, and that
the large administrative force that has grown
up arouud these relationships should be disbanded as rapidly as possible.
It is alarmingly apparent that, the ludian
has not been prepared to meet the individual
responsibility of our democra-y; but at the
present time is the pawn of a system that is
rapidly destroying all his personality. Far
be it from me to impute dishonesty and maladministration to any one connected with so-
called Indian work; but the fact still remains
that we are not producing the results iutended.
It would be absolute folly for anyone who
knows of the many excellent things accomplished by many fine personalities that have
done their utmost to procure beneficial results,
to condem all the system.
Nevertheless, if we are to be just to the
American Indian and conserve the results of
past years for their benefit, it will be necessary at the earliest date possible to remove
the" blighting hand of paternalistic government no matter what may be voiced by a
minority.
Second,The good intentions of the thousands
who have given their lives to propagate the
teachings of Christ among the American Indians must be differentiated from those who
have sought to superimpose a religious organization of Indian membership. There is no finer page written in American history than that
of the early missionaries to the Indian; but it
wasnotverylongbeforethelndianscalledcom-
petetive denominations, "short coats," "gray
coats," "wliicu coats," and "black coats".
Missionaries of all sects were known as "Big
white Medicine Men. Christianity had degenerated to the nomenclature of the Indian's
primitive religiou. Competition was substituted foi the cardinal teaching of Christian
love. Bosses are as prevalent in the church
as in the state. Administration from the
white race must be reduced to a minimum,
coast what it mav, until the Indian is allowed
to practice his Christianity from the results
of his own convictions. Not until then can we
expect that the growth of Christianity among
the Indians will be blessed.
The Indian must find Christ himself and
practice his personal conviction instead of
superimposed dogmatisms from those extraneous to the race. When denominational authority ceases, a new day will dawn for the
Indian race. It may come very slowly, but
a real Christianity will arise.
Thirdly, everyone who knows of our educational program among the American Indians
realizes that it is not producing the type of
American citizenship for which the policy was
instituted. This probably is the result of several causes. First the government school with
their gratuitous education is seeking to maintain "boarding schools" where Indian child-
! ren are surrounded by an eutirely artificial
atmospherd that makes it impossible for them
to adjust themselves to the practical situation
they meet at their homes. In the second place
these large government schools have now become institutions that are not for the benefit of
Indian children primarily, but existing, per
se, supported by the influence of local politicians and utilizing the aid of large field
forces to secure attendance.
While few openly oppose the public school
system, it is difficult for the Indian to feel
that it is not an offense to the "government"
to send their children to the public or any other schools.    The sooner that "Day schools,"
nearer the Indians! homjas^ean b^ submituted
until such times when public schools can be
| established, the sooner will the Indian youth
I appreciate    their educational   opportunities.
j They now feel they are conferring a favor by
i attending   the   "government   schools"   and
boosting the "per capita  appropriation from
the government to the school.
The day school is the best substitute we have
in place of the public school at the present
time; but it must give way as rapidly as pos
sibe to the public school. After an Indian
pupil has finished the district school work,
he should have to face the same future as any
white child, and pursue his education by parental assistance, or his own effort. High
School "gratuitous" education is destroying
all pesonal initiative and is incapacitating
American Indian youth to adapt itself to the
modern life they are facing.
Missiou schoois if maintained by funds collected from that particular denomination for
the propagation of their sectarian teaching
incidentally with Christianity, are of value
in establishing character; but these have largely been undermined by the economic conditions of the last few years. Indian parents
will naturally conserve their resources and not
pay for the education of their children so long
as they can be educated at the expense of the
government.
These facts have been reviewed for the sake
Of bringing to the light a process which is rapidly destroying the race. Small groups of
Indians that are now in a death-grip with the
forces that are destroying their people, may
find some encouragement in their struggle to
lift themselves out of this situation.
It is not with the desire to pass any criticism upon the many who in past years have
rendered wonderful service to the race, that
these statements are made.
It is sincerely hoped that the seriousness
of the situation may be faced, and the American Indian race brot into a vital and constructive relationship to our American people
as a whole.
We hope the day is not far distant that we
shall think of the Indian as being a part of
us, aud not as existing by our consent.
R. D. Hall, Pastor at Large.
The Congregatioanlist  Kindly  Mention! Santee
The Congregationalist of June 23 printed
an interesting picture of our Santee Indian
mission school chorus that sang at the National Council in Omaha. Now in the Congregationalist for June 30 is the following
notice which all the good friends of Santee
will greatly appreciate.
NOT THAT   KIND OF   INDIANS BUT REAL ONES,
JUST THE SAME
Although the editor spent his earliest
years among the Cherokee Indians of what
was then Indian Territory, his children have
seen only the Hopi Indians dancing at the
Grand Canyon. Consequently, when they
wrote letters to him in Omaha, the most
prominent question was about them: "Have
you seen any Indians in the West?" And
the answer was "Yes!" But the ones he saw
were not the wild and woolly kind that the
children still imagine as peopling the plains.
They were the representatives of Santee Normal Training School who came not to whoop
at, but to sing at the Council. They were
fine young people, with attractive personalities and winning ways. Splendidly they illustrated the value of the educational training they are getting at Santee, which, according to the bulletin printed on the Training School Press and circulated among the
delegates, "not a local school, but attracts its
pupils from all the Indians of Nebraska,
South Dakota, North Dakota, and Montana—
from twelve Indian reservations, eight tribes,
speaking live languages; has one hundred
boarding pupils, thirty-two clay pupils, two
hundred and fourteen correspondence school
students; a total enrollment this year of three
hundred and thirty-two."
Mission Meeting
Our annual conference of the delegate representatives of our Congregational and Presbyterian Indian Churches met at the Crow
Hill Presbyterian Church, just south of Devils
Lake, North Dakota, Aug. 31 thru September
4. Because the meeting place was so distant
there wasn't as large a gathering as sometimes,
but nevertheless it was a very good meeting,
about 800 Indians present. The topics that
were discussed concerned the Indian, work,
their home life, and civilization in,.general.
Besides all the Missionaries who represented
the Presbyterian and Congregational wort
there were present: Rev. Thomas Moffett, D.
D., Superintendent of the Indian Mission
work, and representing the Board of National
Missions of the Presbyterian Church, aud Rev.
G. E. E. Linquist was present representing the
ancient, and honorable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in North America. This
is an organization that was endowed in Eug-
land many years ago, and sent out the noted
John Eliot and many others, as missionaries to
the Indians in the earliest times.
Dakota Association Meeting
In connection with the Mission Meetin.g,each
: fall the representatives of our Congregational
Indian Churches hold a session of. their Da-
I kota Association which   corresponds   to   the
1 Local Association in the Coagregatjpnal order.
The Presbyterian Churches represented in this
gathering have their meeting of the   Dakota
! Presbytery on this occasion.    In the Dakota
Association Meeting the following named Indian men were licensed to   preach:   Garfield
i Driver, Lot   Frazier, Leo    Kutepi,   Benedict
Blaokhoop,    Oscar  Goodboy,  on   the   Stand
ing Rock Reservation; Ben Brave, Sr., Guy
Buffalo, Charles Foolbear, Thomas Blueeyes,
Cheyenne River  ReSvervation;   James   Herman, John T. Crow, Dennis Gilbert on the
Rosebud Reservation.