The Word Carrier of Santee Normal Training School (Santee, Nebraska), 1930-10 - 1930-11

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The Word Carrie
OF
SANTEE NORMAL TRAINING SCHOOL.
VOLUME   LIX
HELPING- THE   RIGHT. EXPOSING THE "WRONG
NUMBER 6
SANTEE, NEBRASKA.
October-November, 1930
fifty cents per year
THE INDIAN IN
NEBRASKA CAPITOL
That the new Nebraska State Capitol
building at Lincoln is dedicated to the Nebraska Indians is quite evident in the beautiful decorations and paintings to be found everywhere in that great building. The woodwork
and panels of every room carries some remembrance to the Nebraska Indians.
The doors of the Senate chambers are the
most beautiful pieces of hand carved woodwork in the world. They are carved from
pure mahogany, the weight of the two doors
is fourteen hundred pounds. On one door is
an Indian chief standing in the attitude of worship, with his face to the full sun, and his feet
on the back of the otter, which is believed
by the Indians to represent the spirit of
life. On the other door is the Indian woman
carrying on her back a papoose, and standing
on the back of a turtle, believed by the Indians
to have been the spirit of agriculture. Other
decorations on the door are the sun, the thunder bird, Indian arrows and quivers and Indian crops. Beauty is added to the door b.y
being in the natural brilliant colors suggested by the American Indians. The door is so
heavy that it is swung on roller bearings instead of hinges. As one goes inside the Senate
Chambers more beautiful paintings are seen.
These are: on the north—Equestrian buffalo
hunt with symbols, signal-makers (fire-pot),
and water (beaver and clucks^ On the West---
Indian women hoeing corn with symbols, Papoose and Earth (turtle and owl). On the
South—Indian war party with symbols of
scout (bow and quiver), and air (eagle and
wolf). On the East—Smoking the peace pipe
with symbols Drummer and Fire (bear and
redheaded woodpecker). Oue can hardly
realize what an important part these pictures
play in depicting the early history of Nebraska. Too, these pictures are to be gazed on
daily by the great law making body of Nebraska—Nebraska's most prominent men.
More must be. said of the thunder bird
which plays such an important part in the new
capitol. It is a large bird, believed by the
Indians to have actually existed. When this
bird blinked its eyes it. would cause lightning,
when it would flap its wings it would cause
thunder, and on its back it carried a huge
lake of water which it occassionally spilled to
cause rain. The thunder bird appears in two
important places on the state capitol. Once
in the main loby of the great building' in brilliant, red and blue, and the other time on the
outside of the dome in red and blue. Tlie red
on the outside of the dome is quite brilliant
and the thunder bird is not noticed on a clear
day, but when the rain commences the blue.
which is made from the finest of* Italian marble, turns to a brilliant blue and then the
thunder bird is the most conspicuous of all
outside decorations. This is a combination
fete of art and science, and the Nebraska capitol is particularly proud of this one great
accomplishment.
Another interesting item is the window's
of the Foyer. Instead of being made from
glass they are made from pieces of white
onyx, about one-half inch thick. Light shines
beautifully thru the onyx, and gives the
Foyer a decidedly rich appearance. The
banisters of the corridor are also made from
great slabs of pure onyx. When one considers the character of onyx and the value of
this stone, only then can one conceive the value of the windows and banisters of the capitol building- It was especially necessary to
take special care in carving and setting up
these pieces of onyx, because this is a stone
which chips and breaks so easily. Each
(Continued on the Last Page)
Bible for Indians
The first translation of the Bible into the
language of North American Indians that is
still being used by a large number of people
is the translation into the Dakota or Sioux
language by Dr. Thomas S. Williamson and
Dr. Stephen R. Riggs, missionaries of the
American Board, and published by the American Bible Society in 1879, and still being
published. The Dakota Indians were indeed
most fortunate and greatly blessed by having
the complete Bible thus early.
Now at last the American Bible Society is
publishing parts of the Bible for other American Indians. The Hopi Indians who live
near the Grand Canyon have the four Gospels. Last year' the New Testament was
completed in the Cakchiquel language, a population of 200,000, in Guatemala. Among
new translations in process are the languages
of three tribes in Central America with a
population of 460,000. The four Gospels
have lately been translated into the Aymara
language which is spoken by 500,000 Indians
in Bolivia. Protestant missionaries published the Bible and nearly all the other literature that the Indians of North America have
had. In South America Catholic missionaries had it all their own way for 400 years
and no literature was produced.
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Judge, Leader, and Missionary
To be born in the old Indian life, not to
speak the English language, and yet to be a
leader in agriculture, a trusted tribal judge,
and a Congregational missionary, this is the
remarkable record of John T. Crow, of Parmelee, S. D., missionary on western Rosebud
Indian reservation. You would enjoy visiting
at his home, a four-room frame house spotlessly kept by Mrs. Crow.
Their home is right on their farm land,
over a hundred acres of which are under cultivation. Mr. Crow has cattle and good horses
and leads the entire Rosebud tribe as .farmer
and stockman. As tribal judge his influence
is for all that is upright and moral, and as
missionary to scattered Congregational families on.the western part of Rosebud, he represents by character and works all that we
consider exemplary.—The Congregationalist.
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An Attempt to Scare the Indians
Major Stephen H. Long made a trip
from Pittsburg to the Rocky Mountians and
return in the years 1819 arid 1820. His expedition moved for some distance up the Missouri River by means of a little steamboat
called the western Engineer, which was built
for the purpose at Pittsburg, and was the
first steam craft west of the Mississippi.
The boat was seventy-five feet long, thirteen
feet wide, and drew nineteen inches of water.
For the purpose of mystifying and impressing the native peoples among whom it might
pass, the bow of Long's steamboat was fashioned in imitation of the neck and head of a |
serpent from whose open mouth issued clouds
of smoke- The propelling machinery was thus
purposely hid from sight by a superstructure,
as was the paddle-wheels at the stern, which
violently agitated the water like the tail of
some strange aquatic monster. The speed of
the boat was about three miles an hour. If
is needless to say that the effect produced
among the Indians by the apparition was
extreme.
A Week with the Indians
Miss Hansen, the community worker on
Fort Berthold reservation in North Dakota,
writes of a recent experience—a week's stay
at one of our Christian Indian communities
on the other side of the Missouri River from
Elbowoods:
For the sake of being near the government
clay school, many of the Indians have moved
in from the ranches and during the school
year live in small log cabins heavily plastered with mud, considered warmer than the
frame houses. There is a settlement here of
twelve or more homes. On the first day, in
company with one of the Indian girls, I made
the rounds of the village getting acquainted
with the women among whom I was to spend
the next few days. Thursday was the regular weekly all-day sewing meeting, held in
a home some distance from the village. We
were taken to the meeting in a big wagon,
and after awkwardly climbing up over the
big wheel and getting comfortably seated on
the high seat it was with no little thrill that
we rattled oyer the rough prairie roads in
the midst of a lively snowstorm. Piecing
quilts is the main work of the society and accordingly the president, Mrs. Goodbird, came
with her suitcase full of pretty blue and white
blocks to be put together. At noon we were
invited by the hostess to come out to dinner
served in the kitchen, and we took our places
around a neatly set table and enjoyed a good
meal of hash, bread and butter, apple pie, jam
and tea. Part of the afternoon was taken up
with Bible study from the Gospel of John,
and all the women present expressed a desire
to take a course in Luke given by the Correspondence Bible School in Santee, Neb.
The regular midweek prayer meeting was
very well attended, as also the Sunday morning services. Besides the religious services
there was the social held Friday night in the
schoolroom. About forty attended, old and
young. The many relay races and games were
heartily enjoyed, and the Indians were loath
to stop even at a late hour. Singing of hymns
followed by light refreshments of coffee and
sandwiches concluded the evening's program.
On account of bad road conditions this
winter we have been unable to use the car
to any distant place and our traveling has
been confined to the team and a unique sleigh
devised from the body of an olcl car discarded in the distant past. Though many trips
are made in far-below-zero weather, one is
able to brave the cold by necessary precautions and with the additional protection of
footwarmers, fur rugs and blankets. — The
Congregationalist.
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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 !
Lo, the Poor Indian in Canada—Isn't
"Lo, the poor Indian" can no longer be
designated b.v this phrase as during the past
year the lied Men living on the reserves in
Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta marketed cattle to the value of $250,000 in addition to the live stock they raised for their
own consumption.
The Department of Indian Affairs has announced that the Indian ranchers and farmers on the prairies will this year seed over
100,000 acres of grain crops and in addition
they own some 25,000 head of cattle which
range over the Indian reserves.
Speaks all Indian Languages
Mr. W. M. Graham, Indian Commissioner,
who is in charge of the Indian work in the
prairie provinces, speaks the language of all
the tribes under his jurisdiction, the Sauteaux,
Cree, Dakota, Assiniboin, and Blackfoot. He
never uses an interpreter in any of his dealings with the Indians.