The Word Carrier (Santee, Nebraska), 1887-06

              THE WORD CARRIER.
NEW   SERIES,   VOL. IV.   NO.   VI.
Helping the Right, Exposing the Wrong.
PUBLISHED  FOR   THE DAKOTA   MISSION
Santee Agency, Nebraska.
JUNE, 1887.
Fifty Cents a Year.
Our Platform.
For Indians we avant American
Education! We want American
Homes ! We want A mekican Rights !
The result of which is American
Citizenship.
®f|fc Ulcnr^ Cawter
IS PUBLISHED FOB
THE! DAKOTA MISSION,
in the interest of schools and missions among
the Indians, with special reference
to the Avork of the
Santee Normal Training School
A. l_. RIGGS,
EDITOR A.NTD  PUBLISHER
Santee Agency, Neb,
■».».»
Tebms—One copy $    .50
Five copies     2.00
Ten copies     3.00
For one thing,  Mr.  Harrison fails i
to get at the root of the matter in fail-1
ing to realize the moral problem involved in the Indian's regeneration.
Ha is not by any means obliAious to |
it.    But he  does  not grasp it.    Aud
so, while  he  pays  a most generous
tribute to the Apostolic earnestness j
and Avarm hearted endeavors of Christian missionaries in the field, yet he
does  not really  see  Avhat  they are
there for.    It may be  true of some ]
that their object is  merely to "cou- '■
vert" the natiA-es, using  that term in j
its narrowest meaning.     But to oth- j
ers  there  is  a   higher  meaning in
Christ's gospel; and their work is for
the birth of  manhood in the Indian,;
though the indwelling of the Christ
of God.    And this, as   we look at it,
is the only true foundation for civili
zation.
incidental and not principal. True
missionary work strikes at the heart
of things and re-oranizes life from
within outward. When it neglects
this central work for the externals, it
has departed from the idea Avhich is
the justification for its existence.
And the work of civilization has lost
its A'italizing soul.
[Entered at the Santee Agency Postoffice
as second class matter.]
The French have practically broken up American missions on the Gaboon in Africa, by forbidding the use
of any language but the French in
the mission schools. And according
to the present tendency of affairs in
the United States it will not be long
before real missions among the Indians Avill be broken up by our government insisting on the sole use of English. The first step is that no school
that has any government aid shall
use anything but English. The next
step is that no Indian child shall go
to any school Avhere the Indian language is used. This movement has
now reached the second step. Although it has not yet been promulgated from Washington, Ave have it laid
down as the laAv, by a government
teacher at White River, Lower Brule
Agency, 1). T., that all Indian pupils
of school age belong to the English
Government school and cannot be allowed to attend the missionary school
near by, Avhere Dakota is taught.
The logical result of this priciple is
the breaking up of all Protestant missions in the Dakota field.
J. B. Harrison's "Latest Studies on
Indian Reservations," published by
the Indian Bights Association, is well
Avorth reading. Indeed it requires
more than a mere reading. For the
book is as its title claims, a collection
of studies. Mr. Harrison is a laborious investigator, and a keen observer.
We are glad to learn that the appreciation of it has been so great that the
first edition of 2,500 copies is entirely
exhausted, but that a new edition will
be out immediately. We say to all
interested in Indians, send twenty-
five cents to No. 1316 Filbert Street,
Philadelphia, and get it.
Mr. Harrison tries to give fully and
fairly the missionary theory, but it
does not carry Aveight with him, or he
would not come to the conclusion he
does about the exclusion of the Dakota language from Dakota schools. We
expect Government officials, who
skim the surface of things, to take
this position, until some one can enlighten them, but Ave have a light to
expect something more from one Avho
really "studies" the problem, and Avho
approaches the question Avith the candor and care of a philosopher. For
the object is not merely to Americanize the Indian. It is something larger and deeper than that. It is to j
humanize him, to deArelope manhood \
with high aims and noble hopes. It
may be enough for France to French-!
ify its subjects as it is doing on the
Gaboon. And so it is consistent
when it emphasises the French language and excludes all others. But to j
make Americans Ave must first make
men, and the language that Avill furnish the readiest means to that result
is the legitimate means to be employed, Avhether it be Dakota or English.
Now Ave say, Avithout fear of contradiction, that no general moral reformation of the Dakota Indian tribes is
possible, in our time, through the
English language. This is the justification of the use of Dakota with
English in our schools.
Enoch Mahpiyahdinape returned
this last winter to Sissiton Agency
from the British Possessions, where
he has been with the fugitives from
the Sioux War of 1862, ever since
that time. An old man, he has come
back to his near relatiA'es to spend his
last days. We have just received a
letter from him telling of the kindness of the people in the tAvo Indian
churches of Long HoIIoav and Buffalo Lakes; ninety-nine persons haviug
giA'en gifts of food and clothing as
they were able. The handwriting of
this letter is beautiful, and the language is equally so. Enoch "Cloud
Appearing" is one avIio uses the classic Dakota. Thirty-four years ago
he gaA'e A_aluable help by his criticisms, when the first Dakota Dictionary Avas preparing.
We were pleased to receive a visit
a feAv days ago from BeA'. Moses N.
Adams, late Chaplain U. S. Army,
and formerly Indian Agent at Sissiton
Agency, and before that missionary
to the Dakotas. Now he has come
back again to the work of his youth
and hails from Sissiton Agency.
At the same time Bev. C. G. Sterling, the new Presbyterian missiona-
1 ry at Pine Bidge Agency, was Avith
us, and a number of the native pastors
from Sissiton Agency, Revs. Charles
Crawford,   David   Greycloud, Louis
; Mazawakinyanna, and John B. Renville, and Rev. John Eastman of Flandreau. They spent two days in looking into the school in all its departments, and then went on to attend the
the meeting of Dakota Presbytery, of
which they are  members at Yankton
1 Agency, D. T.
Mr. Sterling brought us five prom-
: ising pupils from Pine Ridge Agency.
meetings for several days, March 7-
13, having this as the great burden of
their prayers.
Our New Exchanges.
The Straight University Olio, New
Orleans, La., Rev. R. C. Hitchcock,
publisher, has now visited us for several months, bringing back pleasant
memories of the feAv days AAre spent at
the University last spring. We trust
the Olio Avill bear the interests of
Straight University home to its patrons so forcibly that they Avill see to
it that their University lacks nothing
that is needed for fulfilling its destiny in that magnificent field.
Head aud Hand comes from Le-
Moyne Normal Institute, Memphis,
Tenn., Prof. A. J. Steele, Principal.
With the entrance upon the neAv industrial courses at Le Moyne, this
name, Head and Hand, is a most happy thought. It seems a calamity that
the neAv shops should be burned just
as the classes were getting Avell to
work in them. But this mav prove a
blessing in the chance now given for
more perfect adjustments of plan and
machinery to their special work. In
such a work no one can copy; they
must create.
"Our Work" tells of Talladega College, Alabama, H. S. DeForest, President.    A good work Avell told about.
The Nebraska Evangelist is a welcome neighbor that comes from Ne-
ligh, Neb. It has a wide field and
enters upon its work Avith earnestness.
It is devoted to all branches of Christian Avork.
Our Forrest Children hails from
the Dominion of Canada. It is edited and published by Bev. E. F. Wilson, the originator and efficient president of the Sault St. Mary Indian
school. Most of their pupils are of
Chippewa stock though a f eAv are Dakotas.
We say this even though we can
point out what to our mind are very
serious defects in Mr. Harrison's book.
But there is so much that is thoroughly true and reliable in it, that we Avish
people to get that even at the risk of
an unfortunate prejudice against
principles we deem fundamental
There is great confusion in peoples'
minds about what is properly missionary work. Anything that seems
to any one to be specially good and
useful is to him the one thing that all
missionaries ought to be doing, Avhether ministering to the sick, alleviating
the condition of the poor, educating
the young, teaching farming or the
trades or domestic work, or preaching civil rights and political economy.
And because these and other things
are one and all necessary in civilized
society, they cast a slur on preaching
the gospel and teaching the "creed"
as something unpractical and untimely Avhen so much practical work lies
undone.
Now these things are all at times
legitimate lines of missionary Avork.
And that is Avhen they are needed for
advancing the main idea, Avhich is the
regeneration of spiritual life through
the power of Christ.     But they are
Robert American Horse, a student
at Carlisle, sends  an  account in Dakota to the Iapi Oaye of his visit to
Buffalo  Bill's  Wild West  sIioav  at
Philadelphia.     Many  of the  Sioux
members  of   the  Wild  West  shoAv
troupe are old acquaintances of his,
and he speaks  with  sadness of their
moral   deterioration.      Before   they
went into it they had been taught by
the missionaries to honor the. Sabbath.    Quite a number Avere baptized
communicants in a Christian church,
\ but since  going into  this  business
\ they drink, gamble and Adsit houses
j of ill fame.    Altogether the sIioav is a
nest of moral  abominations.    And it
| now goes to Europe to show our broth-
I ers on the other side how we Chris-
i tianize the natives.
During the illness of ReA-. John P.
Williamson he has been the subject
of many petitions at the Throne of
Grace by the Dakota Christian Indians. And the church at Buffalo
Lakes, Sissiton Agency held special
The Pipe of Peace comes to us Avith
a Latin motto from "The Genoa Indian School," Genoa, Neb. The visit
of Supt. Chase to this Agency and to
our school a feAv weeks ago, has given
us a lively interest in The Pipe of
Peace. But, Friend Chase, Avhat Avill
they say to the Latin motto at Washington? "Only English" is the war
cry iioav.
Departed,
Out from among us have two of our
pupils gone, to another land than this.
The first one to go was little Annie
Taylor, a sufferer for many a long and
weary day. It was on a January day
that Ave laid her little body aAvay—
thankful that her freed spirit was confined to earth no longer.
Early in April Lucy Faribault Avent
after only a brief sickness, although
she had not been very strong during
the winter. She Avas a pleasant child,
and Avas universally beloved and regretted. At the same time that her
mortal remains Avere laid away, the
body of a former pupil, Sophia Fre-
mie, was also committed to the dust.
So one by one they go over to the majority.
Sissiton Agency, D. T. May 3, '87.
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