The Word Carrier (Santee, Nebraska), 1887-10

              THE WORD CARRIER.
NEW SERIES,   VOL. IV.   NO.  X.
Helping the Right, Exposing the Wrong.
PUBLISHED  FOR   THE DAKOTA   MISSION.
Santee Agency, Nebraska.
OCTOBER, 1887.
Fifty Cents a Year.
Our Platform.
For Indians ave avant American
Education! We want American
Homes ! AVe want American Rights !
The result of avhich is American
Citizenship.-
guage, that there is no education Avith-1
out   the   development   of character.
Judged by this standard true educators are conspicuously lacking among
the "poAvers that be" in Washington.
Wki
IS   I'l HUSHED  FOB
THE DAKOTA MISSION,
■in the interest of schools and mis-ions among
the Indians, with speiial reference
to the work of the
Santee Normal Training School
A. L_, RIGGS,
KDITOKAND   PI/ HI .Iw HE R
Santee Agency, Net),
■»■»■»
Teems—One copy •$    ,5U
Five copies      2.00
Ten copies     3.00
Hebert Spencer has Avell said that
as language is only a vehicle for con-
j veying idea, it is far more important
P   Wt-M-WttitV\to   §'et ideas  than   vehicles.     It is
' better for a farmer to have a thousand bushels of corn to carry to market in one lumber wagon than six
vehicles and no corn. AVe quote from
the Philadelphia Times: "But the
Indian department is determined that
the Indians shall have an English
vehicle whether this English coach
can carry any ideas for him or not.
|Entered at the Santee Agency Posloffice
as second class matter.]
Breeches and English.-Time A\'as
Avhen it was considered the Avhole of
•civilization to get an Indian to Avear
breeches. By large gifts the GoA'ern-
inent civilized hundreds into
breeches. Government couldn't Avait
for the sIoav change of character and'^g patent,
the growth of ideas. It bagged its
game in breeches and gloAved Avith
satisfaction until the next morning's
sun showed those civilized-by-
breeches-Indians on the Avar path
•dressed in their ancestral breech
•clouts.
The march of ideas and the patient
work of a quarter of a century have
brought the Indians largely to adopt
the white man's costume, but Avas not
.accomplished through the GoA'ern-
ment method.
Noav there is a neAv patent method
in vogue in AVashington. It is the
"all English" method, don't you
know.
It is just   like   the   old   "breeches
method," adopting an incidental  re-1
suit, valuable though it be, in place of j
.a long continued AA'ork of spiritual re-1
generation   and  character building.
English will come,   but not  in this:
Avay.    And what is worth more than i
English will not come at all.    In   a
number of places those who administer Government  Indian  schools are j
astonished at the utter lack of moral
•character their pupils develope. This
patent civilization don't chilize. Government   breeches and  Govenrinent
English   can't   upply  the   need   of
righteousness, and the Gospel.
Education in English is the Avar
cry of the Indian Bureau. But Avhat
is meant by it is far from clear. If
it means that .one of the great aims
of Indian education should be to
make the pupils in due time acquainted with the English tongue, at home
in its thought an I adept in its utterance, then all will agree, and will Avork
together to secure this result. But
if it means that the pupil is to be confined to an unknown medium for getting all his knoAvledge; if the Avay
he gets it is of more importance than
Avhat or how much he gets; if this
is what Education, in English means
then no sane educator will have anything to   do  Avith it.    Its   absurdity
But it looks very much as if the
Indian office has failed to make this
very simple distinction. And they
will find that they have been fighting
to destroy the substance in order to
preserve the mere shadoAv.
Educators seek for results.
.are  after  things  not names.
knoAV that no one sterotyped  Avay  is i
the best in all circumstances.    They
.accept the limitations of the occasion
and adapt their method accordingly.
They never forget that the man is
worth more than the   method,   that
ithought   is   Avorth   more   than Ian-
More Orders  Prohibiting the Indian Language.
United States Indian Seba-ioe,
KosEBtn) Agency I)ak.
September 14, 1887.
Alfred L   Riggs, Bun ell Station.
Sib : Under date of July 16,1887, I
received a letter from the Hon. Commissioner of Indian affairs of Avhich
the folloAving is a copy:
Please acknoAvledge receipt of same
and advise this office at your earlist
convenience regarding a  compliance
thereAvith. Very Respectfully,
S. Foster Spencer,
U. S Indian Agent.
Per W. H. Robenqd, Clerk.
Washington. D. C, July 16. 1887.
S.   Foster Spencer,   U.   S.    Indian   Agent,
Rosebud Agency, Dak.
Sir: Your attention is called to
the regulation of this office Avhich
forbids instruction in sjchool in any
Indian language. This rule ariplies
to all schools on an Indian reservation, whether Government or Mission
schools. The education of Indians
in the vernacular is not only no use
to them, but is detrimental to their
education and civilization.
You are instructed to see that this
' I rule is rigidly enforced in all schools
upon the reservation under your
charge. No Mission school will be
allowed upon the reservation Avhich
does not comply with this regulation.
ATery Piespectfully,
A. B.   Ui'SHAAY,
Acting Commissioner.
They
Santee Agency, Neb., Sept. 27, '87.
S.   Foster   Spencer,    U.  S.   Indian
Agent, Rosebud Agency, Dak.
Dear Sir:—I have the honor to
acknoAvledge the receipt of your letter of September 14th, giving me
notice of the order of the Indian office forbidding the use of the Indian
A'ernacular in mission schools, and
asking me to report to you regarding
our compliance Avith the order at our
school at Burrell Station, Rosebud
Agency.
1 reply: 1st -The one great aim
of our missionary Avork is the sah'a-
tion of this Indian people through
the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Meanwhile Ave believe that godliness
is profitable unto all things and has
promise of the life that now is as
Avell as of that Avhich is to come.
And Ave kiunv that all our AA'ork has
contributed to the advance of this
people in civilization and education.
Christian missions are the right arm
of the government in its efforts for
civilization. Indeed, no true civilization is possible Avithout Christian
missions. But our work is all based
upon the Dakota Bible and is inseparable from it.
2d—AVe use education as a means
to a greater end. We desire to
quicken the intellect, to enlighten
and train the conscience, in order to
make better men and Christians.
This will also make them better citizens. Hence all our work is adapted to its effect upon character. All
things are brought into connection
with moral truth, and training is
considered of higher value than mere
instruction. For this purpose it is
absurd to talk about educating solely
through the medium of the English
lauguage. It caunot be done. And
it is not done. The vernacular must
be used.
3d—AVe are not unmindful of the
ultimate value and use of the English language to this people; and Ave
are not one whit behind any in the
thoroughness of our teaching of English. But we distinguish betAveen
gaining a knoAvledge of English and
getting all knoAvledge through English. And Ave do not dare to confine
this people to the knowledge, even
of our constitution and laws, Avhich
they can get through the medium of
the English lauguage. To confine
them to the English language is a
detriment to their education and civilization.
Therefore to comply Avith this order for which we do not know that
there is any authority in law, and
which is contradictory to the fundamental principles of education, to the
teachings of experience and to the
whole aim of our missionary work, is
impossible. And I have the honor
to inform you that the teacher of
Burrell Station school, Mr. Francis
Frazier, will be at his post this Aveek,
and his school Avill be taught as heretofore in both English and Dakota.
I am yours respectfully,
Alfred L. Riggs,
Supt. Burrell Station.
The action of the Spanish authorities in the island of Ponape, in interfering Avith the work of our missionaries there and in the arrest of mis
sionary Doane, Avas evidently a part
of a policy inspired by Romanism.
In this, as in other respects, it was
extremely like the recent action of
our own goA'ernmeut, in its arbitrary
and outlandish interference Avith the
work of our oavu missionaries among
our American Indians. Only the
latter is the more wanton, arbitrary
and atrocious, breaking up a score of
our Protestant mission schools among
the Dakota Indians. It is said, on
good authority, that several of the
officials in the department of Indian
affairs, avIio have had most to do in
these outrages upon the rights and
privileges of Americans ou our own
soil, are Roman Catholics Avho do not
consider the Bible, in any language,
a good book for common people. The
A dra nee.
Those Dak-ta Text-Books.
Chicago, Oct. 3. To the Editor.
Immediately after the appearance in
the Inter Ocean of the memorial of
the south Dakota association to President Cleveland, asking for a modification of the order of Commissioner Atkins, forbidding all use of the
vernacular in mission schools among
the Indians, there came to the same
paper from Washington, as "special" an eA'idently semi-officiai defense
of the usurping decree, with the accusation that the action in Dakota
was inspired by a man in it avIio Avas
interested in the sale of a couple of
Indian school books. The truth is
that neither of the Riggs brothers
nor Mr. AVilliamson, the only men
who could have had any interest in
the books Avere present, nor Avas their
influence exerted there. Moreover,
I haA'e a line from the Roa\ A. L.
Riggs, principal of the Santee school,
where the books haA'e been used, who
says, "I have not had a cent's interest
in the books named. 'The Dakota
Intermediate reader' Avas prepared at
the request of the government, and
they took the Avhole of the first edition. AVe have since had to have two
other editions to meet the demand."
He also says, "the same is true of the
other missionaries in regard to those
two books. The books on hand,
what there are, Avere paid for
out of missionary funds, or funds
from previous book sales, and no one
is 'interested' to push them, in the
sense that is meant. Mr. Williamson
printed an English Dakota dictionary on his own responsiblity and expense, but I understand he has been
made sure on it by sales, and that is
all he asked. Our Dakota Bibles are
publised by the Bible society, and
Ave simply act as their agents in distributing or selling them."
Wc also learn from the book "Mary
and I; Forty years Among the Sioux,"
by the father, the Rev. S. R. Riggs,
D. D., that his original Dakota Dictionary, the Avork of many years, Avas
publi -bed by the Smithsonian Institute and so by governmental patronage. The Indian department ought
to be in belter business than impugning, even indirectly, the motives of
these two generations of self-denying
missionaries, in order to justify its
own Democratic imperialism.
AVe also learn from this book, "Ma-
t-
i-
y
,d
a
is
id
to
It
id
a
in
he
ae
iid
he
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he
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ter