The Word Carrier of Santee Normal Training School (Santee, Nebraska), 1913-11 - 1913-12

              The Word Carrier
of Santee normal Training school.
VOLUME XLII
HELPING THE RIGHT, EXPOSING THE WRONG.
NUMBER 6
SANTEE, NEBRASKA.
NOVEMBER-DECEMBER, 191B
THIRTY CENTS PER YEAR
Our  Platform
For Indians we want American Education! We want
American Homes! We want American Rights! The r-sult
of which is American Citizenship! And the Gospel is the
Power of God for their Salvation !
Dedication of Crow Agency Chapel
The American Missionary Association is a
home missionary agency of Congregational
churches, which has for its field, the neglected
races of America. For nearly 20 years this
association has maintained a missionary to
the Crow Indians at Crow
Agency. Rev. J. G. Burgess and family have had
that work. There was no
church on the reservation,
and the services have been
hud in the government
buildings and schools.
But during the last few
months an effort has been
n:ade to secure money to
erect a church building.
It started with two Indian
girls whottold their teacher they had some money
whieh tbey wanted to give
to help the cause. It was
only five dollars, but it became tbe .nucleus. Then
some stranger from the
east wanted 'to give $500,
providing there would be
enough more added to it.
.Mr. Burgess made a trip
through the east in behalf
of the ludian chapel and
secured enough money to assure the building.
It is a beautiful little church, bungalow stvle,
and fitted up in very good taste. The dedication services were held last Sunday. Walter H.
North of Billings preached tbe dedication ser-
'oou to an audience composed mostly of the
white residents of the agency. Rev. G. J. Powell conducted the act of dedication.
The afternoon service was for and by the Indians. There were songs in English by the
Indian sehool children from Reno, Black Lodge
and the Agency. There were addresses by Goes
Ahead, Enemy, Talks Everything and Dick
Bushyhead.
One of the numbers, which was unique, was
a mixed quartet. Two of the four were in
American dx-ess. The other two were in native
dress. The soprano wore a large plaid shawl
of very fine texture, the usual short skirt and
the high moccasins. The tenor was a typical
Crow Indian with brilliant red shirt, hair braids
tied with red flannel, beads about his neck and
huge earrings. That which impressed the visitor as most interesting was the fact that neither
they in the American dress nor they of the native dress seemed conscious of any incongruity
whatever. They sang well and their selections
were beautiful, American gospel songs.
The deep earnestness of the whole service was
impressive. The Indians spoke very seriously
upon the necessity of Christian character, and
impressed their auditors with the message.
They also sent in a request that they be allowed to sing a typical Crow song. The words
and musie were of Crow composition. It was
good sentiment, but the music was wild and
weird and very serious and earnest. To the
uninitiated it would have been suggestive of
some savage sentiment.
There were a number of things which were
highly amusing to the visitor. Goes Ahead is
an .old man, a preacher among his people, and
pronounced by the agent to be one of the best
Indiaus he ever knew.
This old man tries to get into the apparel of
civilization. His long hair is combed out and
hangs down upon his shoulders.    He wears an
antiquated frock coat, much too small for him, i
a boiled shirt, collar find tie, and his trousers j
are creased and turned up at the bottom.    Ver-1
ily he seems  'the glass of fashion aud the mould
of form."
That the missionary work lias paid out. there,
is evident in the splendid Christian character I
of some of the men and women.    The. Indians
themselves were greatly pleased with the ser-j
vices, and after the services were-dismissed and
the company was scattered in little groups about
tbe yard,  Curly, the   alleged scout of Custer
fame, dressed in a full buckskin uniform, announced as only an ludian cau that they would
meet for services again next Sunday.
There were representatives from all parts of
the reservation and the most impressive thing
about it all was the genuine earnestness of the
people themselves in the religious work undertaken for them.—from Billings Gazette.
Problems of Indian Missions
It is wisely said that our country's real problem in dealing with our dependent peoples is
fundamentally moral, aud that no effort to regenerate a community can succeed if it ignores
the regeneration of the individuals that compose that community, and that the government
needs the co-operation of the churches in creating that type of personal character which
Christianity develops.
Everv Indian who conforms his life to Chris
tiau teaching becomes a national asset, and
every one who will uot accept it remains a national liability. The Indian problems are many
aud varied, and can only be solved by wise and
patient investigation. The Rev. C. L. Hall,
who has been a missionary among them for thirty years and is therefore well qualified to judge
of their character and its possibilities, in an address on Indian life on the reservation says:
"Making a study of our Indian neighbor, we
find him a man like ourselves and a man wox-th
saving. We must look at him with eyes that
see not only that which is bad and hateful, but
that also which is good and lovable."
One of the greatest problems in our dealing
with the Indiaus is to make them feel the necessity of self-support; they have been so long
the wards of the government and treated like
children, that it will be difficult for them to assume their own support when thrown upon their
own resources, as the government intends that
they shall be. They have no idea of the value
of time, as they have no way of measuring time
in their homes; none of husbanding their resources, usiug and spending freely when they
have it aud doing stolidly without even neces-
saiy food when it is exhausted.
Another great problem which confronts us
among these people is not so different from that
which relates to ourselves. I refer to drunkenness, but there is this difference—environment,
which is a great restraint among us, is not so
with them. A white man would be very much
ashamed to meet a sober friend upon the street;
it is not so with tbe red man. His family are
not disgraced when he is drunk, and he hears
less warning from the pulpit. What is there
to lestrain him? Unless he can be safeguarded
from the white man who is lower in the scale
of humanity than he, his
drunkenness will remain
an unsolved problem.
Let us look for  a few
minutes   at   the   chauge
which   is  wrought  when
Christianity   really grips
them.   A missionary who
had for a time a room with
a Christian family says:
"The   home was  a light
spot iu the midst of heathen darkness.   Here moi-n-
ing and eveuing there was
the voice of prayer, and
after tea the wife would
sit sewing while the husband would be  studying
his Bible or textbooks, or
singing at the little organ.
In the bouses about them
the people would lie about
smoking and telling tales
of their exploits, or gossiping about their neighbors.Their houses were for
, the most part little more than herding places."
The converted Indians are coming to a good
! understanding of what Christian education will
\ do for their children, and make many sacrifices
| that they maybe sent where the "Jesus way" is
I taught. 'The Indians are giving for their church
j buildings, for the support of their pastors, for
i missionaries to their own people and those of
I foreign lands.    They say: "We are very poor
and earn what we have with difficulty, but we
I give with glad hearts in obedience to Christ's
'command."    The young people who have re-
| ceived Christian training are helping to bring
' their people from darkness into light, and into
j kindly relation  with  their  white   neighbors.
i Through these wise leaders the Indians are com-
j ing to recognize their responsibility to tbe government of the United States, and they are steadily advancing with purpose toward the goal for
which they are striving—Christian civilization
for themselves and their people.—From   tbe
Work at Home.
Santee Visitors
The life at Santee is that of a little world by
. itself.    We are by location quite isolated so it
I does us much good when visitors come to see
!us.    Recently we  have  beeu   cheered by the
following guests:     Mrs.  C.  L.  Goodenough;
Dr. and Mrs. Lucius 0. Baird of Chicago; Rev.
George W. Reed of McLaughlin, S. D.; Mrs.
John P. Williamson  of  Greenwood,   S.   D. ;
Mrs.  J. G. Barton of Wagner, S. D.; Mr. and
Mrs. J. W. Simpson of Geddes, S. D.; Mr. C. J.
Cochrane of Franklin, Neb.; Miss Edith Dabb,
Indian Secretary of Y. W. C. A.; Mr. Elmer
Lindquist, Y. M. C. A.   Secretary of Haskell,
Lawrence, Kan.; Rev.and Mrs. Arthur P. Wedge.
The Work at Cannon Ball
We have voted $150. to buy a church bell. They
need a good bell jere. We bought some pews
from Chicago for $244. and an organ for $75.
You will notice that in giving money for our Native Missionary Society Bdetanka (Cannon Ball)
women gave more than all the other societies.
My work has grown every year since I became
pastor of this church. A. T. Tibbetts.