The Word Carrier of Santee Normal Training School (Santee, Nebraska), 1903-09 - 1903-10

              The Word Carrier
op Santee Normal Training School.
vontrMB  XXXII.
HELPING   THE   RIGHT,   EXPOSING   THE   WRONG.
NUMBER  5.
SANTEE, NEBRASKA.
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1903.
FIFTY CENTS PER YEAR.
Our  Platform.
por Indians we want American Education!
Ife icant American Homes! We want American Rights! Tlie results of which is American Citizenship! And the gospel is the power
of God for their Salvation!
After Ten Years.
It was a great pleasure to Miss Hurlburt and
myself to make the journey to Ft. Berthold
and Elbowoods to attend Mission Council.
Going from Oahe involved rides on freight and
accommodation trains, about a 150 mile ride by
wagon, besides the rides on regular passenger
- id sleeping cars; the most of this was a novel
experience to Miss Hurlburt," our tenderfoot
i is ter," as some one called her.
I could note progress among the people at
'■]■.-rthold in many ways. When I was there
t n years ago, Mrs. Hall wondered what could
ilone for the development of the women
i-.'-..-nig the lines of prayer-meeting and mission-
; .- society work. During this visit the Ree
Women's Missionary Society invited aU the
v dug white women to attend their meeting.
We drove to the house of Mrs. Many Bears
r '.>ut two miles from the Mission. We found
tl -id the Indian women had been there for some
time so as to finish their sewing before we ar-
i .-ed. The house was in nice order, the waUs
r 1 ceiling covered with white cotton cloth; the
' :1s gay with patch-work quilts. The first half -
] ur was spent in informal conversation and in
] .Icing at pictures of Oahe and some bead-
>, ork made by Oahe pupils. There was one wo-
i-i.mwho spoke Dakota,—a Dakota woman from
i Sanding Rock who had married a Ree,—who
i led as interpreter. Each one of the visitors
invited to address the meeting. Those who
( aid, spoke in Dakota, which was interpreted
i ivo Ree j the others spoke in English, which
1 :s interpreted into Dakota and then into Ree.
• -;en some of the Ree women spoke in their own
J ■ iguage, this was interpreted into Dakota and
t -ii into English! a round-a-bout way of con-
i acting a meeting! Ree and Dakota hymns were
i iTspersed and prayers in Dakota and Eng-
h'-h closed the meeting.
The visitors spoke of their own lines of
k; the natives told of how they had
1 come interested in the Christian life and
work. The most of them said they had never
a away to school,and could not read, but that
they listen to the Word of God, and remember
Mid try to live as it teaches. After the devotion-
Pi part of the meeting, we were invited to the
kitchen, a large room with dirt floor, but
very neat, where we were served to supper,
nice light bread, rice, doughnuts, canned pine
apple and coffee. Altogether it was a very enjoyable afternoon, and made us thankful for
t. hat Godhasaccomplishedamongthese women.
The welcome to Mi-. HaH's home at Elbowoods, was most cordial. It seemed good to
see Mrs. HaU and Miss llsley again. A reception the afternoon of the day of our arrival
made us acquainted with the Agency people
and some of the Indians. Former Santee pupils could hardly see enough of Dr. Riggs and
Professor Riggs and Miss Voorhees !
It was a pleasure to note the cordial relations
between the Government employees and the
missionaries, and much was done by the former for our entertainment and comfort during
our stay at Elbowoods.
The Sessions of the Council were interesting and the topics well discussed: the most of
them were left with the question mark -still
after them! not even the combined wisdom of
the council could settle such weighty questions!
The Sunday Services were very interesting.
Iu the morning, service was in the chapel: the
talks were interpreted from English or Dakota
uito both Ree and Gros Ventre; the interper-
ters sitting at opposite ends of the chapel, and
taking up.the theme in turn: it was almost
like an antiphonal service! The Communion
Service was impressive and there seemed to be
a large number of communicants. The hymns
were in Gros Ventre and Ree, and an anthem
in English was finely rendered—the organ
music was  also  excellent.
English Services were held at the Government School Assembly Hall in the afternoon, and some of us had the privilege of
holding service for the younger pupils of
the school at the same time. In the evening another service in the native tongue
was held in the Chapel, and a very helpful
English Service was held at Assembly Hall.
The day after the Council closed Mi-. Cross,Miss
Hurlburt and I drove with an Indian-seventy
miles to the railroad station at Minot, on the
Great Northern R. R. It was a memorable
ride! The first half day we rode without
seeing a habitation or a living creature.
There were no cross-roads, only the one well-
marked road on which we traveled. Climbing
the Missouri Coteau we were charmed by the
sight of beautiful little lakes, some of them
well wooded,which reminded us of the Coteau
in Eastern Dakota near Sisseton. The country
was covered with beautiful grass but there were
no cattle to graze on it! In the afternoon as
we neared Minot, we saw more signs of civilization and settlement.
At one of these little lakes we had our dinner.
It rained aU day, in showers, hut not being
gumbo soil the mud did not trouble us. At
noon we fixed up a shelter from the rain by
tying two corners of our tent to the wagon-
wheels, and weighting the other corners with
stones, and so protected we ate the bountiful
lunch prepared for us by Mrs. Hall. It was a
long day's ride, and we grew weary, and were
very thankful to reach Minot. We boarded the
train about eleven- o'clock that night. Dr.
Riggs and Prof; Riggs were already on the
train and had secured a sleeping berth
for us. How luxurious the car seemed!
The morning showed us the great wheat
field country: the scenery of that great north-
land, the Mouse River, coming from and going hack into the British possessions, the
fertile fields and black soil of the Red River
Valley, the beautiful groves and forests of
Minnesota will linger loug in memory. Miss
HmTburt and I left the rest of the party at Benson, Minn., where after w-aiting two hours we
took a train for Huron, arriving there we found
the west hound train delayed and so were able to
make connections for Pierre, though it lost us
our supper, and we did not reach our destination until three o'clock the next morning!
Our visit has made us realize more than
ever the difficulties of the Fort Berthold
'field; its isolation, the tediousness of the
journey thither; the obstacles to be surmounted among the people, and on the field itself ; the three languages so hard to acquire,
and with so few written helps and publications, the oppositions of various sorts to the
work. All these however have not daunted
the faithful missionaries and even now they
are seeing some of the results of their labors.
May God give them the increase, yea a hundred fold. M. L. Riggs.
Oahe, So. Dak.
From the Niobrara Pioneer:
Bishop Williams held service in the Episcopal church Sunday evening and administered
sacrament and baptism Monday morning. In
his announcements preeeeding the sermon he
said, It was sad for him to see the beautiful
• little edifice standing with its doors closed to
worship. While his remarks about the closed
doors of the church were not in the nature of a
criticism it nevertheless is too had to see the
spirit of worship lacking in the shadow of such
worship among the Indians, Santees and Poncas, on each side of us.
Education to Fit Indians.
In the educational number of the World's
Work (August) Charles H. Poe of North Carolina writes very interestingly on the subject:
"Farmer Children Need Farmer Studies."
He says: "Our educational system has been
made by city people for city people, and the
country school finds it second-hand,ill-fitting,
and unattractive."
Good for Mr. Editor Poe ! It is wonderful
what great men do discover once in a while and
announce to the world in so commanding a
way that the world listens, whereas it would
not listen to thousands of other teachers- years
before. Many of us for years have been thinking and talking these very same ideas that
Mr. Poe now proclaims as a new discovery.
But we rejoice that at last some one can advocate them so well that he will command
attention. He deserves the credit of a discoverer.
Here at Santee we have been for many years
in our feeble way advocating changes in Indian education. For years we talked and wrote
about giving the Indians work histead of rations. But nobody listened. At last the powers
that be have suddenly announced a wonderful change in Indian affairs,—that in accordance with the profound wisdom and benign
purposes of the said powers the Indian is to be
provided work instead of rations. Too late to
save him from the ruination of pauperization!
But don't mention that! Every one hows low
to the wonderful discovery of the powers, aud
what should have been done a quarter of a
century ago is the subject of great congratulation.
In sundry times and ways we at Santee have
for many years proclaimed that Indian education does not fit the Indians, that a large part
of the work in the great array of Indian schools
is wasted. But the supposed friends of the Indians have refused to listen. Editors turn down
our communications because they are unhar-
monious amid the ceaseless congratulatory
comment upon the great Indian school system.
Nevertheless from time to time some more
daring leader in the "Indian service" seizes
one of our long advocated reform ideas, and
rushing to the front proclaims it as his invention. Forthwith it is adopted with much
applause,and the supposed discoverer makes a
speech before the National Educational Association about it—greater applause ! At Santee
we have beeu for thirty years proclaiming that
Indian education should be mostly done where
the Indians are, the pupils returning frequently to their parents, and the parents
being gradually elevated with the children.
But nobody would listen to that. The loud
cry was "Take the child away!" "Away with
him to a far country, never to return! But the
children aU did return, although they had
been "educated" either to unfitness for the
return, or unfitness for anything else on
earth. Consequently several went to heaven
as soon as possible and all the rest have very
rapidly gone to the other place. That is the
summary  of  government  Indian  education!
But now and then some government man
dared to pick up our long advocated idea of
educating the community with their children.
The government day school has been a great
help in this direction. The idea grew till at
last, history again repeating itself, some that
are prominent among the powers that be have
rushed to the front proclaiming the idea as a
great discovery.    Again great applause!
StiU Indian education is a mis-fit. Government Indian schools are miUs that put the materials they work upon through many motions
without corresponding changes. Moreover
this "last motion" is accomplished with much
friction and' in the end the products are not
worth the cost and do not meet the demands
of life. Frederick B. Riggs.