The Word Carrier of Santee Normal Training School (Santee, Nebraska), 1914-01 - 1914-02

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the Word carrier
of Santee Normal Training School.
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VOLUME  XLIII
HELPING- THE RIGHT, EXPOSING THE "WRONG.
NUMBER 1
SANTEE, NEBRASKA.
JANUARY-FEBRUARY, 1914
THIRTY GENTS 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 !
Doing Things for the Indians
Commissioner Sells of the Indian Bureau
proposes a thorough investigation of the relations of the Government and the spoilers to the
Indians of the country. It is promised that
the study will go far enough into the past to
develop the truth about the administration of
tbe national trusteeship for the aborigines.
There will be found very grave difficulties in
reopening old Indian affairs. The despoilers of
the Indians for many years conducted their most
important operations in Washington. Moral or
otherwise—and their performances were largely
otherwise—they enjoyed all too generally the
sanction aud countenance of law. The laws
were very frequently such as should not have
been passed. Many were in violation of treaties
with the Indians. Many were, in.effect, legalizations of outrageous projects in loot. But
thy were made the law of the land,-and in a
day of quickened conscience it will be impossible to put affairs back in the status they occupied before the wrongs were done. The Indian
eggs have been scrambled, and all the king's
horses and all the king's met: will not unscramble them.
This is not by way of discouragement to the
good intentions and high hope of Commissioner
Sells. He willgetdouc avery greatdealof good.
He is one of the best administrative officers
brought into the Government's business under
the present Administration. He was a loug time
one ot the most successful United States district
attorneys in the country, and knows Government procedure, as we, as the law, very thor
ougbly. He is not undertaking in blind enthu-
si-ism a task of which he knows nothing.
The greatest service to the Indians will be done
in the wide swing of events, in helping them to
free themselves from Government supervision ;
in making them good citizens exactly like other
good citizens. People who know the West, as
too few enthusiasts in behalf of Indian reform
do, know that there are many thousands of
splendid citizens of full and part ludian blood,
who operate good farms, live in excellent houses
maintain and patronize public schools, and are
leading people in their communities. There
never has been any race prejudice against the
Indian. He rather readily assimilates with the
rest of the population.
To care well for what the Indiau yet has left
of his wonderful estate, to help him to adjust
himself to the new relationship in which he will
be most useful to both himself and the community at large, is the thing that will best serve
tbe Indian. Commissioner Sells makes clear
that he has all this in mind, and if he succeeds
as well as his experience and abilities should
forecast, he will make his administration a
bright spot in Indian history.—The Washington Times.	
Evangelistic Work
Mr. Levi M. Rouillard, a graduate of Santee,
and licentiate of the Dakota Congregational
Association has been giving some time during
, the fall and winter to Evangelistic work. In
October and November he visited four Indian
churches in Granite Palls, Minn, and ou Sisseton Reservation. In the early part of December he made a visit to a small band of Winnebagos near Portage, Wis. They live in tents
and huts, and get a living by trapping and
selling furs. They received the Gospel message reverentially but indulge in "mescal". Mr.
Rouillard spent Christmas week with the Indian church at Eggleston, Minn. And he had
invitations for meetings in January and February at Standing Rock and Devils Lake reservations.
The Prosperity of a Converted Indian
A few years ago there was a Y. M. C A. convention on a certain Indian reservation in South
Dakota and a drunken Indian reeled into a back
seat. After the meeting this ludian young man
was pointed out to a visiting Y. M. C. A. secretary as a most worthless and hopeless case.
The secretary followed the Indian out into the
darkness and finding that he could talk English
sat down under a tree to visit with him. Mr.
Indian sobered up and Mr. Secretary labored
with him far into the night. The result was that
Mr. Indian resolved that be would try to be a
Christian. The change that came in Mr. Indian from that hour was wonderful. Whereas he had been known as the most debauched,
lazy and altogether worthless Indian on that
reservation he soon astonished people by his
temperance and industry.
Tbe short of it is that this Mr. Indian is now
one of the most successful farmers in all the
Indian country. Last-fall he took $38. in prizes
for the best live stock. He had raised the best
bull and the best calf in all that region. He
also took the prize for the best corn. Mr. Indian has been raising Galloway cattle but says
that he is now going to substitute Shorthorns
because his wife cannot make enough butter from
Galloways. He has 43 hogs that are nearly
pure Poland China. Last year be raised 7,000
bushels of wheat. He planted aud harvested
400 acres of wheat,' oats and barley. He owns
16 large work horses and has two gang plows
which run by four horses each. He has a 26
foot harrow which requires six horses and his
boys harrow 100 acres in one day. Whereas
Indians are apt to sell their land as soon as they
get title to it, this Mr. Indian has been buying
land. He has now bought 240. acres and is
renting 120 acres.
Mr. Indian has ten children. Two have graduated from Carlisle and two from Flandreau.
His oldest sou is very remarkable for an Indian
in that he is 27 years old and not married,
owns a farm, batches in his own house, and is
saving money- in the bank. This son harvested
from his own farm last year 4,000 bushels of
wheat and with his own seeding machine be
planted the field from which his father last year
raised his 7,000 bushels Another son is about
to stndy medicine. The other children are industrious helpers at home.
Mr. Indian is an earnest Christian aud an
enthusiastic Y. M. C. A. worker. He is iu great
demand as a Bible teacher in Y. M. C. A. conventions far and near. At these conventions
he finds opportunity also to lecture his fellow
Indiaas ou general industry aud the ways to succeed in agriculture. His own well known success of course gives weight to his exhortations.
An Active Alumna
Not long ago I saw in the Word Carrier that
I had been appointed Vice President of the
Fort Yates division of the Santee Association.
Santee students on this resex-vation ax-e few and
far between so I.decided to call on the Agency
people for help. I asked every lady to donate toward a supper. Then I charged fifty cents a
plate. Everyone responded cheerfully and we
had a good chicken supper followed by a social
time, with music and games. The proceeds of
the supper came to $33.50. I hope to do something more after the holidays.
Alice C. Keeler.
Married: January 1, at Chester, Nova
Scotia, at the home of the bride's mother, Theodore Foster Riggs. and Ida Rudolph Smith.
Dr. and Mrs. Kiggs will make their home in
Pierre, South, Dakota.
Entered as Second Class Matter, November 9, 1908,
at the Post Office at Santee, Nebraska, under
the act of March 3, 1879.
Opportunities for Helping Santee
With tbe openiug of spring we ax-e expecting the work of putting up our new school
building to begin. The plans have been made
and approved; work awaits only the letting of
the contracts. In connection with this opening of our new era, a number of other things
will be necessary, which must mostly come in
as side issues and be provided for by special
gifts. We will name some of them.
Moving and resetting the Carpenter Shop
to make room for the new building... .$150
200 feet new water main   150
150 cement walk at new building     60
Seats and desks in new building, 2 rooms
$125. each, 4 rooms $62.50 each   500
Cases in Laboratory for Museum    100
Shelving for 2000 volumes in Library     50
Wall Maps     50
Reference books      50
100 volumes selected new books forLibrary 125
Besides  the  above,   250 cement  walk  at
Davis Hall ■■   100
$1335
Let our friends do whatever they may like to do
towards this, and it will all work iu beautifully.
Protection for Indian Minors
Preliminary to the appointment of attorneys
to give their full time to probate matters as tbey
effect the Indian minors of Oklahoma, Commissioner Cato Sells has for several days been in
conference with the Governors and Principal
Chiefs of the Five Civilized Tribes, and their
tribal attorneys. This confex-ence dealt only
with conditions and not with prospective appointments.
The Indian minors of Oklahoma average the
richest children in the United States, but it is
a lamentable fact that as compared with other
States tbey have the least protection to their
property rights. It is estimated that while the
approximate cost is three per cent to settle a
white minor's estate, the expense of administex--
ing the estate of an Indian minor is at least
twenty per cent. Guardians fees, attorneys
fees and other expenditures largely against the
intei-ests of these minors are very common. Misappropriation of their funds have been so frequent that it is not an uncommon thing for minors to reach their majox-ity and find that their
entire property has been consumed, many times
their guardians absconding from the State and
very frequently their bondsmen insolvent.
Minors' lauds have been sold with grossly
low appraisement and generally without consideration of the minors' best interests. All
sorts of scheming has been resorted to looking
toward the ravishment of these properties, and
it was for the purpose of fully ascertaining the
facts as tbey exist and developing a plan for
radical reform in these respects that conferences
with Commissioner Sells have been held.
It is understood that a perfectly organized
system has been agreed upon and that prompt
and vigorous action will be taken in its execution.
It is the purpose of Commissioner Sells that
these pi-oceedings shall be in full cooperation
with the State authorities and particularly with
the probate judges.
After the several meetings had been held the
conferees called upon Secretary Lane when Commissioner Sells reviewed his plans which were
heartily approved and commended by the Secretary Avho made some pertinent suggestions.
Where misappropriation of fuuds is apparent
such cases, he said, should be called to the attention of the grand juries and cx-iminal prosecutions instituted.
On the whole this conference is said to have
been one of the most earnest and affective discussions of ludian affairs ever held in Washington and that it px-omises great good for the
welfare of the Indian minors in Oklahoma.