The Word Carrier (Santee, Nebraska), 1897-01

              the Word Carrier
volume   XXVI.
HELPING   THE   RIGHT,   EXPOSING   THE   WRONG.
NUMBER    1.
SANTEE AGENCY, NEBRASKA.
JANUARY, 1807.
FIFTY CENTS PER YEAR.
OUR   PLATFORM.
For Indians we want American Edu
cation! We want American Homes!
We want American Rights! The result of which is American Citizenship!
And the gospel is the Power of God for
their Salvation ' ■
THREE NEW HEADS TO AN OLD DOG.
The last message of President
Cleveland brings to the front again
the proposition of the late Secretary
ofthe Interior, Hoke Smith,to have
the Indian Bureau put under the
control of a commission of three,
who are to hold office without limit,
who are supposed to be nonpartisan,
one being an army officer, and
each of the other two being from a
different political party.
It is inconceivable what this triple-
headed board can do besides watching one another. The bureau will
be run by some clerk who is sharp
enough to play off the members of
the board against each other. As a
consequence it will be run for the
benefit of private interests that edge
their way in by degrees and cannot
be put out because of the conservative conditions of the board. In the
nature of things the board will be
against any radical change, which
means that all things evil are to be
kept intact, and may grow as much
as they have wit and wickedness to
do, while things that are good will
dwindle and be elbowed out.
What the times demand is that
we have something else than the
running of a machine, or the administration of the estate of a dead
man. Vital force to produce vitality is required. The Indian Bureau
needs purpose. It should be a bureau of civilization. It should have
the benefit of the keenest thought,
to apprehend conditions and invent ways and means, and the highest moral aim, that the result may
be nothing less than the best. In
no other department of the government are the mental and moral requirements so exacting, if we would
come up to the necessities of the
work in hand.
The number of people in the
United States who are interested in
securing life for the Indian is large
enough to demand that all changes
in the appointments and methods
of the Indian Bureau shall be made
in the interests of Life. At any
rate they are not ready to have the
seal of death placed upon the Indian's tomb by the creation of such
a commission. They have use for
something else than a three headed
Cerberus to guard the gates of an
inferno.
NEW YEAR'S EVE AT SANTEE.
A large audience gathered in the
spacious dining room of Davis Hall
the last evening of the year, to attend the New Year's sociable, and it
was a pleasure to see so many happy faces and to hear such cordial
greetings on every side. Some of
the friends who live at a distance
from the Mission were there with
their little ones; in fact, it was a
general reunion, and the sound of
'Happy New Year" everywhere was
almost enough to make one forget
the old year "with its joy and
with its pain," and to turn with
bright anticipations to the new, always so full of promise.
An  entertaining   program   had
been prepared, and we listened with
pleasure to the opening songs by
Mr. Stephen Riggs, accompanied by
Miss  Worden.    The   quartet    followed with a ballad entitled, "Gee,
Dobbin!" which elicited much applause ; one verse was even encored,
but this is not surprising, considering the originality  and  ingenuity
j displayed by a composer who could
j write thirty-seven stanzas and make
! each more interesting than the last.
Next   on    the   program   was  a
scene from  Uncle Tom's  Cabin—
j "The Art of Bed-making"—by four
j members of the Girls' Literary So-
j ciety;  and   the   young    actresses
were a  success in their assumed
characters. Ifthereal"Topsy"looked one half as winning as her namesake, the real "Miss Ophelia" must
have found it difficult to scold her.
Some of the young ladies of the
school added much to the enjoyment of the occasion by the song
—"Good-bye to The Old Year."
The quartet than rendered with
infinite pathos, the classical song:
"I've Lost my Doggie.,, The intense
emotion manifested could not have
been all assumed, for the sympathetic audience could distinctly see
how dripping wet were the handkerchiefs held in the trembling hands
of the agitated sufferers.
We weie somewhat relieved from
this strain by the series of shadow
pictures now thrown upon a screen
stretched across one end of the room.
"Little Miss Muffet" eating her
curds   and  whey, was   frightened
j away by a spider whose gigantic pro-
1 portions were  enough to send an
I ordinary Miss Muffet into convul-
i sions.    "The Milliner's Shop" was
j a farce containing many grains of
truth; the obsequious shop-woman;
the  customer,   persuaded   against
her will into buying the most ridiculous hat in the whole stock; the
little girl, cuffed and shaken by an
! impatient mother until she wept bitter tears (quite as large as marbles),
which rolled  down   her alabaster
cheeks,and fell "with a dull, sickening thud."
The sympathies of the audience
were again demanded when the
dear, little "Babes in The Wood,"
whom we have loved from early
childhood, passed in review. Then,
when the sweet innocents lay down
to die, with a long-necked robin to
match their brogans, our agitation
was equal to that of the bird. "Father Time," with scythe and hourglass, followed by little 1897, now
silently proclaimed that the sands
of 1896 were nearly run, and that
our evening's entertainment was at
an end. So, after prayer by Pastor
Ehnamani, our friends left us, with
many a hearty hand-shake, and
more wishes for a "Happy New
Year!"   Maegaeet Robins Spence .
Every one was glad that it was
possible for Mrs. A. L. Riggs and
Stephen to spend Christmas at Santee. The two weeks they were here
passed very quickly. When it came
time for their return to Yankton
Miss Olive accompanied them in
order to continue her studies there.
During her three months at home
she has won anew the hearts of all,
especially of the little folks who have
begun already to ask: "When Miss
Olive come back?"
THE  RACE PROBLEM.
How to educate an Indian to-
help himself or herself is not an
easy problem to solve. In the
first place we need men and women to work for and work on.
When I say man I do not mean a
person wearing pantaloons or a person with a man's face. I mean a
person who really has a back bone;
moral courage, with honest convictions. Have we got any amongst the
Indians? Wehave them, but they
are getting to be mighty few. What
is the matter ? The matter is here. |
We have a low set of white trash !
who set the example to our noble
race and degrade them. How?
Through an example of immorality,
leading them to degradation, corruption of language and the use of liquor. These weaken our generation
and men are scarce. And they are
so scarce that whenever we have
one, white people do every thing in
their power to corrupt such an one.
They try to make him or her believe
that unless they come on to their
side they are on the minority side,
and have got to suffer; and they
generally make it a hell-like place
for them and crush their man-hood
and woman-hood. One by one our
Indian race is killed by this mode
of usage. It is said that the Indians
are a set of drunkards, loafers, unprincipled and immoral beings.
Who made them so? Whites made
the whiskey; government gives them
food and clothing, and whites set
the immoral unprincipled examples.
The Indian people once were
very religious according to their
heathen beliefs; and were a law abiding class, although their laws may
have been rude and few. They
were noble and firm. They were
proud and honest. They were generous and kind hearted. They were
heroic and willing to die for their
fellow men. They were trustworthy and faithful to their duties and
to their families. They had a
great deal of vitality and strength.
Our white brethren have destroyed all these elements that are natural gifts to our Indians. They give
us instead, as I mentioned before,
every thing just reversed. Who is
to help us ? to whom shall we go to
find and gain strength for our race ?
We have no confidence in the white
trash any more. They are our
friends when any money is in sight;
but wc are of no use to them otherwise: As fast as we try to rise
to defend ourselves we are crushed down by combined influences.
Let all this be. Young,tender trees
that stand in an open place, where
the wind storms toss them to and
fro and bend them down upon the
ground, gain strength by it. The
soldier who has most wounds and
has stood up to fight every time,
gains honor. And those of our
Indian people who can stand against
the sneers of the shallow minded
whites will become oaks and generals.
Our Indian people may be degraded by the whites; but I believe
that there is enough goodness and
kindness amongst them to correct
the evil. I do not look for it from
the government nor from any political party nor any Indian Friends,
Society.    But I am looking towards
Mount Zion, where the children of
God are, who are ready to act like
the good Samaritan.
There is a time near at hand
when we can say to the government. Sirs: we do not need your
clothing nor your food, because
by these we are made paupers and
we lose self-respect and self-confidence. But if you owe us anything pay us all and give us the
full privileges of citizenship. On
the other hand, when we get to that
stage, let Christian people come to
our aid. For we need your christian education, and your christian
influence.
Let me suggest a few things concerning the christian education and
influence that might be exerted and
exercised amongst our people. A
few schools have been started with
feeble aid. I would be impartial
and name all denominations who
have good schools that are wholly
supported by the churches. A-
mongst the best of the schools that
are planted are Santee Normal
Training School of the Congregational church, St. Paul's School, at
Greenwood, S. D., ofthe Episcopal
church, and Good Will Mission
school at Sisseton Agency, S. D., of
the Presbyterian church. These
schools have turned out students
that are worth something and have
weight to them amongst their own
people. But these schools have
been hampered for lack of support,
though they are the schools that
will solve the Indian problem.
Christian people ought to respond
when one of these schools needs
their help. We need teachers and
examples more than we need food
and clothing. Under the Young
Men's Christian Association, we
had a very profitable summer school
which revolutionized those of our
young men who attended it. Christian Endeavor Societies have started at some places; and there are
Mother's Meetings and other like
influences that are just what meet
the needs of our people. But it
takes money to run these societies, and it requires self-sacrifice
to be a teacher at these remote
places.
There are also other things that
can be suggested for some good
people to carry into effect. Let
there be a place for young women
to be taught as nurses or in other domestic sciences, to fit them to become good mothers or good leaders
among their own race. We have
one young man at Springfield,
Mass., in the Young Men's Christian Association Tiaining School,
and we ought to have three or four
at that place to salt our thirty thou
sand Sioux with. In conclusion, let
me ask the christian people to provide places for our young men and
women where they can fit themselves to meet this world face to
face, with all its obstacles, and be
able to go through with self-respect.
We make appeal to the christian
people. Do not neglect your brother because he is abused and wronged. Do not neglect him because it
takes money to give him the christian education he needs.
James Garvie,
Santee Normal Training School Press,
Santee Agency, Neb.