The Word Carrier (Santee, Nebraska), 1887-11

              THE WORD CARRIER.
NEW SERIES,   VOL. IV.   NO.   XI.
Helping the Right, Exposing the Wrong.
PUBLISHED  FOR   THE  DAKOTA   MISSION.
Santee Agency, Nebraska.
NOVEMBER, 1887.
Fifty Cents a Year.
Our Platform.
For Indians we avant American
Education! We want American
Homes ! We want American Rights !
The result of which is American
Citizenship.
f^ ftfat^i Catnrto*
IS  PUBLISHED  FOE
THE DAKOTA MISSION,
in the interest ot schools and missions among
the Indians, with special reference
to the work of the
Santee Normal Training School
A. I_. RIGGS,
kditor a-nd publisher
Santee Agency, Neb,
Tekms—One copy $    .50
Five copies      2.00
Ten copies      3.00
ciation offers to do this Avork, but
asks the Indians to pay the bill.
Any lawyer, or law firm in the
country, Avill do the same work on the
same terms. If the association is so
zealous to protect the Indians, it
ought to be enterprising enough to
raise funds for the ends they have in
vieAv.
Their Avholesale denunciation of
the Indian right's association and
"Severalty" bill is untimely. All
who are Avorking for the progress of
Indian civilization know the disadvantage and disturbance which is
caused by the tribes drifting about,
abandoning a village for a mere whim.
Industry cannot be taught them unless they have a permanent home.
The N. I. D. A. is slow in appreciating the adA'antage of this bill.
paratory to urging upon congress
legislation to legalize robbery and
jeopardize Indian interest in general.
—Indian Journal.
Commissioner Atkins says the Utes
are not nearly so dangerous to the
peace of Colorado as their Avhite
neighbors.—Indian Journal
[Entered at the Santee Agency Postoffice
as second class matter.]
"NOR AVILL DAILY RELIGIOUS SERVICES (in Dakota) re alloaved" is
the latest authoriative interpretation
of the government vernacular orders,
given by U. S. Indian Inspector Bannister in closing orir mission schools
on the Cheyenne river Oct 26, 1887.
The climax of absurdity and intolerance in the government crusade
against the Indian vernacular now
seems to be reached. Last summer
we were notified of the government
orders and our missionaries replied
that in regard to our mission day
schools Ave could not comply, and informed the government through its
agents that these schools would open
as usual in the fall, teaching in both
English and Dakota and holding religious services in the nath'e language. Noav in this year of our Lord
1887 the U. S. Indian inspector, the
officer of highest authority in the Indian country, personally directs Rev.
Thomas L. Biggs, missionary in
charge on that field, to close the mission day schools on the Cheyenne
rh'er, Avith the further injunction that
even if no school is kept, daily religious services Avill not be allowed !
The Avickedness of this order is
more clearly seen when we bear in
mind that one of these schools is
taught by a full blood Indian Avho is
supported by an Indian missionary
society. That is, Christian Indians
cannot send one of their OAvn number
to gather daily a circle of hearers out
of a heathen camp and read to them
the Bible in their own language,
which has brought the light of light
to them nor lead them in prayer to
the Father of All.
Does the government at Washington still live ?
The Indian department at least
does not move. The request to build
the hospital and residence for Bev.
G. W. Beed at Fort Yates, has not
been heard from for several  months.
No answer has been made as to the
significance of the anti-vernacular
order, in case of mission schools and
the Santee school in particular. A
request for some interpretation of
this order was made August 17.
Cut out these editorials and stick
them on your desk, and at each reported Indian "out break" apply them
to the case and see how near they fit.
At Pierre D. T. they are Avaiting
for the "Great Sioux Beservation"
to be opened, then "the toAvn Avill
have a boom again." Brown's Valley, Minn., is waiting for the Sisseton reservation to be "throAvn open
to settlement."
But a man who waits for a fortune
to come to him by "will, sometimes
finds the will to be made in favor of
some one else. And Uncle Sam may
not make his will so as to boom these
places so much as they hope or Avish.
absurd crusade. The Indian bureau
is not the administration. Yet it
seems likely that a good many democratic organs will have committed
themselves before they know what
they are talking about. That in fact
is just the difficulty at the Indian
office.
We are no partisan. We are as
Avilling that democrats should civilize
the Indians as that republicans
should do it. But the democrats
must do it and not pretend Avithout
accomplishing. And if the party
alloAvs itself to champion the crude
ideas of the commissioner of Indian
affairs it will be so much the Avorse
for the party.
Like most of the religious papers,
we have had our columns filled Avith
controversy, and not missionary
neAVS. But while they are worrying
about a doctrine they fear will cut
the top root of missions, Ave are anxious in regard to an order which
we know, if carried out, Avill sever
the jugular vein of our work among
the Dakotas. Here are two cases for
"The Morning Star," Avhich is on the
other side of the vernacular question.
1. Jas. Brown is a Santee. He is
supported by the nath'e missionary
society. He cannot speak English.
He teaches an out station school, and
has religious sendee on Sunday. The
school is five miles from a government school so that every scholar
kept aAvay from this school is deprived of an opportunity to learn. By
what right can the Indian department
keep him from teaching his oavii language to his own people, at their expense?
2. There is a school Avay out on
the White river. The building Avas
erected by some ladies of Park street
church, Boston. The Bible is taught
there in Dakota; other instruction is
given in Dakota. The agent at Bose-
bud does not know of this school.
But as soon as he hears that a man
is teaching tAventy-five children to
loA'e God and their neighbor he is
compelled to close it at once.
It Avas a mean and contemptible
argument against the use of the vernacular in schools to say that it was
advocated by some one having a Dakota Bible and reader for sale. Is Mr.
Edison's opinion of no Aveight in
electrical questions because he has
invented and manufactures electrical
lamps? Is any scientific thinker who
puts his discoveries into practical
forms discredited thereby? But in
this case, the argument has no foundation, for none of those advocating
the use of the vernacular have any
money interest in it. It betrays a
mean and sordid mind, in AvhoeA'er
originated this charge, a mind incapable of rising higher in any moral
question than the money to be made
out of it.
"Indian vernacular language systems," is a phrase invented by the
Morning Star. It won't need to copyright it. Philologists will not care
to appropriate the aAvkAvard and
meaningless conglomerate.
It has been almost impossible guLr~
iet-thej "English orders" of the Indian bureau printed exactly as Avrit-
ten. It being a dialect not knoAvn in
our best printing offices. A professor iu Yale University suggests that
it would be Avell to have a teacher of
English appointed for the instruction
of the Indian bureau.
The National Indian Defense Association expresses its firm conviction
that if a tribe Avhose laws were about
to be allotted under the provisions of
the neAv law, were to protest against
it, and  the  case  is  taken  before  a
In about three months congress
Avill be in session; and now for the
Iudians "the melancholy days are
come, the saddest of the year"—the
days Avhen the irrespressible border
settler thirsting for lands included in
some Indian reservation betakes him
We find this bit of wonderful logic
in The Morning Star.
"It has taken three hundred years
to concoct four (at the outside) very
lame vernacular Indian language systems of education for that number of
tribes out of our seventy Indian
tribes. This is at the rate of one ver-
nacular system in every seventy-five-
years. Admitting these systems perfect and necessary for the Indians'
salvation, it will take four thousand
nine hundred and fifty years to reach
the other sixty-six tribes."
After the same pattern Ave might
say it has taken six thousand years
to "concoct" the editor of The Morning Stai: And on the supposition
that his peculiar ideas are necessary
to the salvation of the Indian race,
and that he is able to "save" tAvo
hundred a year for fifty years, and
that others like him will be "concoct
ed" at the same rate, it will take one
hundred and fifty thousand years to
get around once among the two hundred and fifty thousands Indians.
Great are logic and arithmetic!
court for judicial decision, the tribe j self to the task of creating an Indian
would be sustained and the laAv be- scare, in order to manufacture pub-
come a dead letter.    Then this  asso- lie animus against the Indians,   pre-
It would be a sad mistake for
democratic neAvspapers to make this
Indian vernacular question a party
issue. There is no reason Avhy they
should feel compelled to sustain the
commissioner of Indian affairs in his
MORE CORRESPONDENCE.
I
Oahe, Oct. 3,1887.
Dr. C. E. McChesney, U. S.   Indian Agent,
Cheyenne River Agency.
Dear Sir:—It has been my custom
from year to year to have my mission
day schools open Avith the month of
October.
I have waited this year hoping to
hear of the modification or Avithdraw-
al of department order of July 16th,
prohibiting all use of the vernacular.
This order relieving our mission
schools has not been made. I shall
therefore have some of my schools
open next week. In these vernacular has ahvays been used. I shall be
glad to have you inspect one or two
of these schools on their opening, and
determine Avhether or not they are to
be allowed to continue.
Would it be convenient for you  to
accompany me to the Cheyenne river
for this purpose the 13th or  14th  of
October, (Thursday or Friday?)
I await your reply.
Very respectfully
T. L. Biggs, Missionary.
ii
U.S. Indian Service,
Ohhyenne Ria'er Agency.
Oct. 6, 1887.
Bev. T. L. Biggs.
Sir:—Your letter of the third at
hand, contents noted. You are aware
that I have no discretion about the
teaching in the vernacular in the
schools under your care.
It Avill be impossible for me to visit
your schools for two or three weeks
at best.
I cannot in no case determine
Avhether they continue or not, except
they are taught exclusively in English.
The instructions I have are imperative.    I shall not disregard them.   It
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