The Word Carrier (Santee, Nebraska), 1895-02

              The Word Carrier
VOLUME   XXIV.
HELPING   THE   RIGHT,   EXPOSING   THE   WRONG
NUMBER 3.
SANTEE AGENCY, NEBRASKA.
FEBRUARY, 1805.
FIFTY CENTS PEE YEAP.
OUR   PLATFORM.
For Indians we want American Education! We want American Homes!
We want American Rights! The re
suits of which is American Citizenship!
And ihe gospel is the Power of God for
tlieir Salvation!
The industrial development of the
Indian is one of the problems before
us- How can he be brought to
earn his living in a civilized way ?
How can he be lifted fiom dependence to independent self help? It
is much gained that he has come to
accept the theory of work. It is a
great thing that so many of the
Indian youth have learned something about work in the schools.
Yet an Indian community is far
from being a working community.
Or its work is so fitful, misdirected
and misfitted that the economic
result is very small.
One great cry is that there is
nothing for the Indian to do. He
has no opportunity to earn his living
by his daily toil. He may work
but there is no pay for it. To meet
this condition some say : Let the
United States furnish employment.
Let it build factories and establish
industries that will pay wages to
Indian workers. Senator Kyle has
wrought out this idea in a magazine
article. He would have the Indians make on the ground a large
portion of the articles now issued
to them by the Government. He
would build factories and utilize
artesian water power to run them.
It is no objection to the scheme
that these articles would be manufactured at a loss. If by that means
the Indian can be started in the
way of self supporting industry
that would be the greater gain.
But will such a scheme work?
What experience we have leads us
to doubt it. The independence of
the Indian,a valuable characteristic
if it could be harmonized with other
things, stands opposed to it. To
put himself under the rule of shop
routine is galliug. What is barely
possible under the discipline of
school would be entirely impracticable among adults under no compulsion. He lacks in the foresight
and thriftiness which in other
people counteracts their independence, or rather controls it for the
sake of a larger independence to
come. The average Indian wage-
worker would lie off every other
week to enj oy his last week's wages,
or to enjoy somebody else's wages.
Another scheme is that of the Indian Industries League, of which
Miss Frances C. Sparhawk is secretary. Tlieir main idea is to disintegrate the Indian communities by
taking off all the enterprising and
thrifty ones and planting them individually here and there in white
communities. Christian Endeavor
societies are now implored to adopt
such proteges for whom they are to
find places to work and to whom
they will furnish moral support.
Tho spirit of the scheme is excellent. Bnt the Indian is not disposed to this kiud of thing. In him the
ties of skin dred and race are exceedingly1.strong. It is almost impossible to graft him on to a new stock.
So that whatever may have been
done in this way has been temporary and these individuals have ultimately gone back to their people.
Can nothing then be done. Is
the industrial problem to go without solution. By no means. But
we must take the people as they
are. And they must work out the
problem for themselves. The most
we can do is to make favorable
conditions so far as we are responsible for conditions. For one thing
we should not carry off their most
enterprising element. It will be far
more useful at home. The difficulty
has been that when this element
has drifted back it is with the sense
of failure, if it could return with
a mission of helpfulness it would
carry a self preserving power. For
another thing we must foster individual development. The difficulties we have found in the way
of the factory system do not lie so
strongly against individual crafts.
These may be encouraged as much
as possible. Yet they will have to
do their own growing. The Indian
workman must learn to deserve his
wages and the Indian community
must learn to pay for what it gets.
These ideas are making way among
them. They are discussed in their
gatherings and some heginings are
made. We should now see to it that
all this is not frustrated by Government's relation to them. While all
government aid may not be dispensed with, yet the distribution of
it may be so materially modified as
to encourage the self helpful and
discourage the lazy and improvident, instead of the reverse.
The Indian appropriation bill, now
being considered by the House of Representatives, continues the policy inaugurated by the Indian Bureau, of gradually reducing the amount appropriated for the maintenance of contract
Indian schools, although the total a-
mount appropriated for Indian schools
is slightly in excess of the amount for
the current fiscal year. According to
information received in Washington,
a number ofthe contract schools will
cease to exist as such with the present
fiscal year, on account of the reduction
in appropriations. T h e Unitarian
school will, according to this information, with all its buildings, furniture,
apparatus, aud even its teachers, be
tendered to the government, and it is
expected that many of the Catholic
schools will cancel their contracts and
the Indian scholars they have be divided
among the government schools. This
is precisely what was expected and is desired by the Indian Bureau. The idea
is to do" away entirely with the contract
system of educating the Indian children.— Washington Correspondence.
So far the reduction in the money
given to contract schools is chiefly
that which has been voluntarily relinquished by Protestant denominations. The Government is willing to take the credit of this as its
own reduction, and would have it
answer the protests made against
giving such great sums as it does to
Romanist schools. This last year
the reduction on grants to Protestant schools has been thirty per cent,
and less than eight per cent, on
grants to Romanist schools. Let
the Government be straight forward
about this matter.
YANKTON AGKNCY LETTKR.
The Yankton Indians, having taken lands in severalty, a few months
ago made an "agreement" with the
Government to sell all the nnalloted
lands in their Reservation. They
are now receiving the first installment of pay for these lands. As
there are 1725 Indians, and this installment is $100,000, each person
receives $57.97.
This item of news leads us to
reflect on the changes these Indians are undergoing. About three
dozen years ago the Yankton Indians made an agreement with
the Government for the sale of
their lands, but the document was
not called an "agreement," but a
"treaty." Officially at that time
the Indian tribes were considered independent nations, like the
English and French. So "treaties"
were concluded with them. Now
they are a company of people belonging to the United States, and
the Government makes an "agreement" with them, as if they were
a railroad company, or a town-
site corporation. This is a change
for the notice of the student of
history.
When "Old Strike," representing
the Yankton Indians, in 1858, treated with the U. S. Government
for the sale of all Yankton lands
except the Reservation, no survey
was. made to determine the amount
of land, or any price specified per
acre. The boundaries specified
were natural landmarks described
about as follows. Begining at the
mouth of the Pig Sioux river the
line follows the river to the foot
of Lake Kampeska. From there
it crosses to the Missouri river to
the mouth of Medicine Creek (below Pierre). From there it follows
the Missouri river to the place of
begining. In addition to this specified district they relinquished their
interest in all other land everywhere
except their Reservation. This was
a very indefinite description of property sold, but it was in accord with
the way European powers in those
days disposed of their interest in
American soil. In the present agreement, before the land was sold, the
whole was surveyed and the exact number of acres known, and
the price is known, about $3.75
per acre.
A comparison might here be made
as to the price paid per acre 37
years ago, and the price paid at the
present time. Although it is clear
the number of acres sold in the first
instance is nearly one hundred times
as much as the last, the amount
paid the first time is only about
twice as much as the last time.
Fifty hundred per cent, is a pretty
large increase in the value of land
for three dozen years, and yet we
are not sure but what the land has
really risen that much in value during that time. What was the reason?
Again in 1858 "Old Strike" did
not know whether his people wanted
the cash, and the Government was
of the opinion, with pretty good foundation, that the Indians did not
know how to use money. So it was
stipulated that the payments might
be in "goods." Some money however was paid, and from all accounts
there was little apprec ation of its
value. One Indian took his sharo
to the store, and ordered candy for
the whole amount. Perhaps the
prices in those days were such as
to make this not a very burdensome
supply. Bev. Henry Selwyn tells of
a young athlete who proposed to his
fellows to take a game at projecting
the flat coins on the water, and sent
his twenty dollar gold pieces a skimming over the Missouri river. At the
present payment the objects of expenditure show, a great advance in
appreciating its value and uses.
The greater portion of the money is
spent for articles in common use
by civilized people. In the old time
trade, beads, paints, blue cloth, and
blankets were the staples. Instead
of great bales of blankets, and large
cases of blue cloth for breech cloths
and fancy blankets, not one of the
four stores bought a case or bale
of either. One trader told me he
got a few pair of Indian blankets
and he was sorry for it. The stocks
of goods are not much different
from those in small country towns
generally. The run is on the necessaries of life,—groceries and clothing. Some articles of comfort have
a large sale. A very large number
of trunks are purchased, some
large framed pictures, and other
household furniture. The criticism of the economist would still
find a large field for its exercise. But instead of being directed against barbarous expenditures,
it would now be against luxurious
outlays. Horses and light carriages have swallowed up a very
large part of the payment, probably
over one-third. Sewing machines
have had quite a sale, where there
was no lack of time to do all the
sewing needed by hand. Marble
agents have had a large trade, often selling a tomb-stone to a man
which cost more than all the furniture in his house was worth. Perhaps a payment of $100,000. was
too much to be given to this tribe
at one time; but to be civilized a
people must know how to use
money, and they will never learn
how unless they have the use of it,
and it is not likely that our Govern
ment will ever go back on the present policy of paying Indians as
well as other people in money.
J. P. W.
The annual issue of articles to
Indians at Santee is as follows:
One blanket (one or more according
to the number in the family); dark
blue flannel, 11 yards ; red flannel,
3£ yards ; linsey, 10 yards; ticking,
3 yards; cotton flannel, 12 yards;
gingham, 20 yards; 1 shirt; 1 single shawl, four blankets per family;
2 pairs socks ; 2 pairs stocking; 1
hood;   1 pair boots;   1 pair shoes ;
3 pairs children's shoes; 6 skeins
of yarn; 1 man's overcoat; 1 jeans
suit; 1 man's hat; 1 shirt; 6 spools
of thread ; 1 pair of gloves; 1 mattress.	
One of our brightest exchanges is
Handcraft, which comes from the
Kamehameha School for Boys,
Honolulu, Hawaii, Another very
interesting little paper is Progress
which hails from Regina, Assin-
iboia. We only wish it were better printed.
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