The Word Carrier of Santee Normal Training School (Santee, Nebraska), 1913-07 - 1913-08

              The Word Carrier
of Santee Normal Training School.
^
VOLUME  XLII
HELPING THE BIGHT, EXPOSING THE WRONG.
NUMBER  4
SANTEE, NEBRASKA.
JULY-AUGUST, 191S
THIRTY CENTS PER YEAR
Our   Platform
For Indians we want American Education! We want
American Homes! We want American Rights! The result
0fwhich is American Citizenship! And the Gospel is the
Power of God for their Salvation !
The two articles on educational and health
conditions among the Five Civilized Tribes of
Oklahoma are well worth studying together as
showing inherent conditions of degradation that
have to be battled with in the end in every Indian
community before the people as a whole are
brought into the way of life. The so-called Five
Civilized Tribes have been unblessed, we will not
say cursed, by a civilized half-breed uppercrust.
whicli hasbeen the show element and has stood for
what it did not represent. The real people were in
the hack country and did not go to Washington.
Indian Economic Conditions
These questions concerning the present economic condition were propounded by Rev. L. E.
Camfield, of Academy, So. Dak., and the replies by Rev. T. L. Riggs. of Oahe, So. Dak.
1. Has giving land in severalty been a success
or failure in making farmers,—in producing
economic independence?
Answer. Giving land in severalty has been a
success in leading the Indian towards economic
independence. I say leading towards,—the
tina! outcome is a long way off as yet.
2. Has the sale of Indian land, either inherited or patented, educated the Indian in caring
for and wisely using money! If not, would
holding the land and renting, giving Indians
the rent money to use, be any better?
Answer. The sale of lands, both inherited land
aud i hat patented to the seller, is educating the Indian in the use of money. He often uses it foolishly, still he is being educated. Renting by the
Gov rnment for the Indian, under the present
system of paternalism, is bad for the Indian.
3. Has the breaking up of Reservations and
granting of suffrage so educated the Indian in
the responsibilities of citizenship as to make
a change in his economic independence?
Answer. The breaking up of the Reservation is
great gain. As the Indian comes into the responsibilities and power of citizenship he is under
"forced feed'' pressure towards economic changes.   .Many will abuse their privileges, many do.
4. Have the ludian Schools, Boarding and
Day Schools, so educated the Indian as to
change him for the better in obtaining economic independence!
Answer. I do not think that Indian Schools,
Boarding and Day, as conducted by the Government, can be said to have done much directly towards economic independence. Iudirectly
there may be gain. By -'economic independence" I understand the ability not only to
provide bread and meat and clothing for themselves, but also the power to direct their own
affairs, take their place on district school
boards and help administer local civil affairs.
Judging by results of today the Government
schools have largely missed the mark, perhaps
because they had no mark to aim at.
5. If I rightly understand the present policy
of the Government it is to let go of the Indian
as soon as possible and turn him over to the
States,—in theory he is to be turned over, educated and provided with land and other visi-
'ble means of support. The interesting question, the real problem to be faced in the future,
is whether this will be theory or fact. If theory then we may have the interesting problem
of caring for a race of paupers. If fact, then
we may welcome the process, the problem will
be solved almost without our knowing it.
What is your point of view?
Answer: The sooner the Christian Citizenship of South Dakota awakens to the fact that
right here is the opportunity and now the time
for effort in meeting this problem, the better
will it be for us all.
Our Mission Council
The annual meeting of the heads of our
Congregational Indian missions is a meeting
of great interest and value to those concerned. This year the council met at Santee, Neb.,
June 26 to 29. And all our fields were represented. Burgess from the Crows of Montana,
Hall from the Mandans, Grosventres and Rees
of North Dakota, Reed fx-om the upper Titon
Dakotas, Thomas Riggs of the central Cheyenne River reservation, and Pinkerton, our new
co-laborer in charge of the Rosebud mission.
Also we were favored by the presence of H.
Paul Douglass our Secretary from New York.
Dr. Chas. Hall came in on Wednesday night
to bave a days visit before hand. Mr. Hall is
very much at home at Santee, as he has reason
to be, for his Indian missionary work began
here when he was pastor at Springfield, the other side of the river from Santee.
Dr. Douglass with Burgess and Pinkerton
arrived Thursday noon from the west. Dr.
Douglass had been going over Mr. Pinkerton's
new field with him, and settling upon the new
location for the mission station, that at the
Agency having become altogether undesirable.
It is now to be ten miles from the Agency, near
the large Government Boarding School. Dr.
Douglass' arrival at this time gave him half a
day to look over the condition of our Santee
mission buildings. Shingles that have withstood the winter wind and summer suns of this
Nebraska climate for thirty five years have
about gone out of business, aud there is urgent
need of new x-oofs everywhex-e.
Thursday night's train from the north
brought in Dr. Thomas Riggs and Rev. G. W.
Reed and with them a welcome visitor Mr. H.
C. Hansen, who has been in the govex'nment
Indian school work among thp Chippewas.
By Friday morning the couucil was in regular session. The first matter to be thrashed
out was the proposed plan for a union with the
Presbyterians in the training of Christian workers, clex-ical and lay, for our Indian churches.
After Santee has carried on this work for forty-
three years and the Presbyterian Dakota Indian
churches owe the larger part of their ministry
to Santee's training, it is certainly uot premature to consider the question of the two denominations sharing the expense and responsibility
of this training work.
The matter has been under consideration for
three years by the representatives of the American Missionary Association aud the Presbyte-
x-ian Board of Home Missions. The first proposition was to establish a Theological Seminary. This, Santee has strenuously opposed.
And it was not favored by the leading Presby-
tex-ian missionax-ies. We wished something
more practical and less professional. So now
the proposition is to establish a Bible Training-
Department at Santee, which is really7 but the
development of the Bible training that Santee
has beeu giving all these years.
We prepare a whole bag full of topics to be
discussed aud then we take up what pleases us
or something entirely new. One topic however always demands attention, that is oux- estimates for the coming year. However we are
usually told beforehand by our genial Secretax-y
fx-om New York, that the Executive Committee
have alx-eady fixed the sum beyond which we
cannot go; so it is only left to us to cut our
garments according to the cloth. Santee has
to start out again this year as last, not knowing whether it is to keep open six months or
eight. It will depend upon our potato crop,
beef herd, and the always px-oblematieal payments of the Indian parents.
The outcome of the discussion on the waning
interest of Christian people in Indiau missions,
was similar to the famous discussion concerning
snakes in Ireland, viz.: There are no snakes
in Ireland.    So it was decided that the interest
of Christian people iu Indian missions is not
waning. It is perhaps changing and needing
direction, as it always has.
Two most precious hours were the service
Saturday afternoon preparatory to the Communion, which was a missionary experience
meeting, and tbe Communion Service on Sunday led by Thomas Riggs in Dakota, and J.
G.  Burgess in English.
This mission council has been of immense value to our mission. It has given solidarity and
corporate consciousness. It has minimized our
mistakes and added to our successes. Not the
least valuable of its results are its by-products.
The visiting hours we have, when two, three,
or the whole circle ax-e confabing together, are
rich with anecdotes and quaint character stories, which would be worth a fortune if ever
they could be written in a book. But they never can be, unless we station a phonograph by
every lawn seat and behind every door. It is
a special privilege to have both Hall and Burgess with us at the same time. Living at the
extreme points of our territory and with other
Indian tribes than the Dakotas they do not
reach all our assemblies. They are both steeped in incidents of Indian life, and they don't
know it.
Rev. John P. Williamson, D. D., the senior
member of the Presbyterian Dakota mission re-
sides at Greenwood, S, D., thirty miles up the
river from Santee. He and the writer were
both box-n in Lacquiparle aud were boys together in the old Dakota missiou in Minnesota.
Since then we have been life-long co-workers
and companions in the Indian work. It was arranged that he should visit us a day at this time,
but a copious rain made it impossible for him
to come and make time to his next appointment.
So his visit went over to the next week. But
he came, bringing good cheer and strength to
an invalid. We talked over the new plans and
stand together in regard to them, as we have
in all the years past.    Thank God for friends.
A. L. Riggs.
An Indian Exhorting Indians to Look Ahead
We can now see plainly who are the men
among the Dakota people who look ahead and
are seeking life for themselves and their children. We can also see who do not look ahead,
nor think of the welfare of their children, who
live only for today, and we can see what they
are coming to. We Dakotas are coming into
gx-eat dangers, hence we should be wise. Yet
there are many among us who, though they do
uot drink liquor, yet with the senselessness of
drunkards let their children follow debasing
and ruinous practices. My friends, if such persons do not halt in their steps they will bring
half of our nation to destruction.
Let me say again what I have said before,
that there are three things that are bringing the
Dakota people to ruin, which still exist and
ax-e growing worse: drinking liquor, love of
display, and the Dakota dances. Consider the
men who do not do these things: they honor the
Sabbath, always attend worship, and they live
happily. Our life on earth is to live obedient
to the great God in whom we trust. It is a fearful thing if we miss this.
Tbe laud will now soon be filled with white
people, and he who is not wise will be cast out
from his land and home. Why will this be?
Because we have no fear of going in debt nor
of taxes. But what our children should be
thinking of now more than anything else is education. If only they will go in the way of
understanding and industry they may euter into the white man's life and hold all things securely. And their children most of all will be
able to possess the whole of the white man's
progress.
My friends, Look ahead.     Eli Abraham.
Translated from the Iapi Oaye.