The Word Carrier of Santee Normal Training School (Santee, Nebraska), 1906-09 - 1906-10

              The Word Carrier
op SANTEE NORMAL TRAINING SCHOOL.
VOLUME XXXV.
HELPING THE RIGHT, EXPOSING THE WRONG.
NUMBER 5.
SANTEE, NEBRASKA.
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1906
THIRTY CENTS PER YEAR.
Our   Platform.
For Indians we want American Education! We
want American Homes I We want American Rights!
The result of which is American Citizenship! And
the Gospel is the power of God for their Salvation!
The Camp.
The annual missionary conference of the Congregational and Presbyterian Indian churches
was held from September 5 to 10 at Yankton
Agency.
The site of tbe camp was on a broad plateau
two miles back of the Agency. The steep hills
on the other side of the Missouri rising one behind another, the rolling prairie and low hills
to the east, north and west, presented a picturesque setting for the camp. The location could
not have been more perfect. Being on the high
land it was free from mosquitoes, which advantage compensated for the distance of the camp
from the Missouri river, from which all the water had to be brought.
The Indian tepees formed a great circle a mile
in diameter. Near the center was the large convention tent for the meetings. The Y. M. C A.
tent was to the west of this, serving as an extension for the large tent as well as for a meeting place of the Christian Association sessions.
The line of tents near by were those of the missionaries, and the Congregational Tabernacle
tent was erected in front of these for special
meetings of the Congregationalists.
The camp circle was so arranged that the
tents were grouped by tribes, these Indians
having come from Sisseton, Pine Ridge, Rosebud, Flandreau, Santee, Cheyenne River and
Standing Rock, many having travelled days and
weeks over the hills and prairies to attend this
religious conference.
At night the camp circle was peculiarly attractive as the lights from the fires shone out from
each tent.
Every day at sunrise and at twilight the men
and women of each tribe gathered for prayer.
As we saw these groups gather and the hymns
of worship could be heard from first one circle
and then another, our hearts were filled with
joy at the realization that so great a number of
these Dakota people were seeking daily help
from their Father in Heaven.
4 Membership of The Conference.
Three hundred and fifty names are on the
voting list of the Conference. This includes
tbe pastors, officers, and delegates of the native
chinches, and the principal officers and delegates of the Auxilliary societies—Women's missionary societies, Y. M. C. A., and Endeavor
societies. Also the native missionaries and
their wives, and the Congregational and Presbyterian white missionaries. Meeting near by
Yankton Agency we had the company and efficient assistance of Dr. J. P. Williamson and
his family. Rev. D. E. Evans, Miss Cunningham, Miss Vernard and Mr. J. G. Innes represented Good Will mission and school. Rev. A.
F. Johnson and his wife and son were there
from Pine Ridge. While, on the Congregational side of the house, Thomas L. Riggs, Mrs.
Louisa Riggs and their son Lawrence represented Oahe. Mr. Robert Hall, who had been cultivating the Rosebud field for the summer,
stood for both Rosebud and Fort Berthold;
while Santee sent as its representatives A. L.
Riggs, Frederick B. Riggs, Charles R. Lawson,
Edith Leonard, E. Jean Kennedy, Mrs. Kate
M. Wilson, Olive W. Riggs, Christine Martens.
Rev. J. F. Cross was remembered in his distant work at Wales, Alaska, Mr. and Mrs. Burgess at Crow Agency, Montana, Mr. and Mrs.
Hall at Fort Berthold, N. D. Mr. and Mrs.
?■ W. Reed and Miss Mary 0. Collins of Stand-
mg Rock Agency; while special svmpathy went
°nt to Rev. E. J. Lindsey of Poplar, Montana,
who was watching the passing heavenward of
his beloved wife, the niece of Rev. J. P. Williamson. The telegram announcing her death
came just at the close of our meeting.
These opportunities for missionary fellowship are very precious and stimulating to all
who can attend. We missed more of our missionary colleagues at this meeting than is usual. But those who were there" enioved the
occasion to the full.
Santee Association.
The United Associations of Former Students
I of Santee met in connection with the Mission
i Conference at Yankton Agency, September  6.
j Rev. John Eastman was chosen temporarv chair-
j man in the absence of the president.    The offi-
i cers chosen for the coming year are: President.
i Mrs. Jennie Aungie of Greenwood, S. D.; Sec-
| retary,  Rev. Louis De Coteau, Wilmot, S. D.;
Treasurer, Mrs. Eunice Baskin, Santee,  Neb.
The officers elected were empowered to make up
the list of local vice presidents who are:
Jessie Frazier, Santee, Neb.
Victoria Simmons, Greenwood, S. D.
Samuel Allen, Flandreau, S. D.
Grace Eastman, Sisseton Agency, S. D.
Solomon F. Mienrad, Fort Totten, N. D.
Kate F. Tibbetts, Cannon Ball, N. D.
Annie Blueeyes, Leslie, S. D.
Martha Carpenter, Crow Creek, S. D.
Dinah Rencontre, Lower Brule, S. D.
Emma Whitebuffalo, Rosebud, S. D.
Samuel Rouillard, Pine Ridge. S. D.
Lizzie P. Arthur, Wolf Point, Mont.
Ernest Hopkins, Armstrong, N. D.
The report of the Treasurer, Mrs. Lucy K.
Lincoln was presented, as follows:
Received at Raven Hill meeting September, 1905 $44 33
From Greenwood Association 36 26
Santee Association  31 05
Santee Association     9 67
Arthur Tibbetts     5 00
Mrs. Helen Williams     5 00
Mrs. Lizzie P. Arthur     5 00
Mrs. Lizzie P. Arthur     2 45
George Bl-ickowl     5 00
$143 76
Contract Schools for the Indians.
For some time Hampton has been the only
"contract" Indian school. All other schools
for the education of Indian children are government schools built and directed by the Indian Office. The relation of Hampton institute
to the government, on the other hand, is that
of a private school which enters into a contract
with the Indian office for the education and maintenance of a certain number of Indian children,
the government paying for board and clothing
only.
It is interesting to note in this connction that
under the new regulations by which the schools
of Indian Territory are to be conducted this
year all the boarding schools are to be placed under the contract system. The change is made
by the Secretary of the Interior on the suggestion of J. D. Benedict, superintendent of schools
in Indian Territory. There are thirty-five
boarding schools in the five tribes, some half a
dozen of which have an attendance numbering
upward of a hundred, so that some of the eon-
tracts will be large. No one will be awarded a
contract who is not a practical school teacher
and who has not had experience in boarding
schools. It is stated that enough applications
have already been received to indicate that
there will be no lack of persons ready to take
up the contracts.
The experiment is a valuable one and perhaps
points the wav to the gradual elimination of the
owernment boarding schools,although the government still maintains the function of guardian to the Indian child—a function which must
naturally cease some day. Meantime there
are arguments both for and against the contract
system, and the progress of the pupils under
the new regime will be watched with interest.—
Southern Workman.
Rev. H. C. Thomson, who has charge of the
theological training class, in connection with
our work at Albuquerque, New Mexico, tells
this incident:
One of the Utes whose name was Buckskin Charlie had two sons. Julian came to our
school when he was a little fellow and later he
was converted and came back to me to prepare
to preach, and one day he went to the agent of
his people and told them that he had a message
for the Indians. It was so given out and the
whole tribe came out to hear what the message
was; they supposed he came to represent the
President. He said, "I have a message from
the Great Father to yon, not the great father at Washington, but the Great Father, the
Spirit that made heaven and earth. I have
a message for you, and it is this, 'He so loved
the world that He sent His only Begotten Son
that whosoever believeth on Him should not
perish." They heard, most of them, that message for the first time. A number came up
and said, "We have never heard of Christ before ; you must come to us and tell our people
about Him." Shortly after he was taken siek,
and before he died he said, "Father, lift me up,
Jesus is calling me, I must go", and his spirit
entered the world of peace.
A great work is to be done; may God touch
the hearts of all, for we have already begun to
see the fruits of our labors.—Presbyterian
Home Mission Monthly.
The Eskimos of Alaska.
The Eskimos are a people who are little known
and have been studied but little. They dwell
on the American continent from the Kuskoquim
River on Bering Sea to Labrador, never going
far into the interior or south of the region of
ice floes. Wherever they have wandered it has
not been in search of easier conditions of living.
Though the interior furnishes more game and
richer furs, and the Alaska peninsula has a
milder climate, they have kept to the barren
and ice-bound shores. Physically they are
heavy, strong of arm and back, and very light
on them feet. They are shortlegged but very
fleet-footed and great jumpers. They begin to
practice jumping as soon as they can walk
Their favorite way of jumping is to spring up
and kick with the toes of both feet and come
down again on their feet. Many of them can
iu this way touch a point from twelve to thirty
inches above their heads. In looks they resemble the Japanese far more than the Chinese.
But they are lighter in complexion and very
ruddy faced. The girls and young women are
good looking; some are handsome. Their eyes
are a clear brown and very bright and their
eyesight is marvelous. Their food is what the
sea produces—seal, walrus, whale, and fish.
The hair seal is the most useful. It furnishes
the skin for footwear, mittens, trousers, material for nets, ropes, and bags for oil. Tbe
flesh is used for food; the blubber, which is the
largest part of the seal, furnishes oil for food,
light, and heat. The quantity of seal seems to
be unlimited. Unlike the fur seals they never
come ashore. They are captured in the nets,
and when the ice forms they are shot.—Southern Workman.
From the Dakota Women's Meeting.
"I understand the great need all over the
world better than ever before, and I feel that
we must not use our money foolishly or waste
it, but give more to missions."
"Needle, thread and thimble are a woman's
weapons: let us be more earnest in using them
to earn money for this work."