The Word Carrier of Santee Normal Training School (Santee, Nebraska), 1915-09 - 1915-10

              ■MHHM
The Word carrier
of Santee Normal Training School.
volume xliv
HELPING- THE RIGHT, EXPOSING THE "WRONG.
NUMBER 5
SANTEE, NEBRASKA.
SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1915
THIRTY CENTS PER YEAR
Our Platform
For Indians we want American Education! 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 !
The Mission Conference at Poplar, Montana
Going  to   "Mission   Meeting"   has  always
suggested  a  long   railroad   journey  tapeWug
off with a toilsome overland drive, and a leav
ing behind most of the appurtenances
of civilization.
This one was different. There was
the long railroad journey but no tapering off. When vie alighted from one
of J. J"- Hill's cross-continent trains
we were there. An Indian band gave
the delegation a rousing welcome. A
former Santee pupil ushered my father and mother and me into his automobile and whisked us through the
streets of the handsome little town up
tn the residence of Rev. D E Evans.
missionary in charge, aud this hospitable home served during the meeting
as a delightful centre for rest and re-
. freshment for the white missionaries
present.
We might have been in doubt as to whether
we bad really arrived at Mission Meeting if we
had not seen the big circle of white tents flung
out over the flat east of town.
Yet it does not seem so long ago that my father, after arriving home from a mission trip
to Poplar by steamboat, told us children how
the boat had run into a herd of buffalo swimming the river, and the deck-hands had lassoed
a yearling bull and dragged it on deck only
to find that the fun had just begun,—for the
buffalo.
The buffalo has gone but the Indian remains,
and he was very much in evidence at Poplar,
Mont. Tho enforced change of date at a late
moment and the unusual expense of travel re
(iuced the attendance from distant points, but
the 300 tents, with an average of perhaps five
persons to the lodge, would indicate that our
Montana church people availed themselves of
this opportunity to attend.
Favorable weather, comfortable surroundings
and thorough preparation, all contributed to
the success of the meeting. Rev. Evans and
the committee deserve congx-atulations for the
i -ompleteness of the arrangements made. The
main meetings were held iu a fine new tent
costing about $300. This was a gift from the
Sisseton people, and the formal presentation
and dedication of this new tabernacle attracted
much interest. The old tent was put up as an
annex to the new, aud the uncomfortable crowding experienced at former meetings was a-
voided.
The Sabbath morning communion service
has always been the crowning feature of the
meeting, and this was no exception. The
large, double tent filled with worshippers, women on one side, men ou the other, the bowing
of heads during the prayer, the raising of the
familiar hymns with increasing volume in whieh
every one joins, the unpriestlike but fervent
and dignified preaching, and the solemn hush
as the bread and cup are passed, the thankful
appreciation of the sacrament manifest on every
hand,—all this leaves an impression of the presence and work of tlie Spirit of Christ among
men that one may fail to get amid more sumptuous ehurchly surroundings.
The forenoons as usual were devoted to discussion of practical, moral and religious topics
which had been previously announced, most
ef them having been proposed by the Indians
themselves. After the principal address on
each topie, five minute speeches were allowed,
and the participation in the discussion was
general, ready and pointed.
Under the subject of strengthening our race
Mr. Reddoor gave an up-to-date talk on eugenics exhorting the   parents   not to allow their
children   to   marry too early   or   according to
whim, and   to   refuse  consent   to   any  marri-i
age of the sickly, intemperate, thoughtless or!
idiotic and  lie appealed to the   young people t
to observe the same standards.    A discussion ;
on the subject, of  child training iu  the home j
brought out many excellent thoughts.
tion which has been the chief object of our missionary effox-t.
The Bible study class which met at 8:00
a. m. each morning was an important feature.
Those who joined this class evidenced a spirit
of earnest inquiry and love for the Word whicli
made  the sessions very enjoyable.
The choice of place for next meeting excited
the usual iuterest. The first ballot gave the
meeting to the Mdetanka Congregational church
on the Standing Rock reservation.
Prof. F. B. Riggs aud Rev. John
Eastman, Joint Directors for the
past two years, were succeeded by
Rev. E. J. Lindsey and Rev. Arthur
Tibbetts.       Jesse P. Williamson.
The Nanticoke Indians
DAVIS   HALL
The spice of humor was not wanting in the
discussions, and if the Dakota. sens*' of humor
is not as fine grained as silk, it is at least genuine and compelling to those who can understand it. Tbe recognized humorist of the convention in speaking of this passing of the older leaders, and the urgent need of new men
qualified to take their places, told the story of
a man who sat at the death bed of his wife and
bowed bis head clown on his arm iu apparent
deepest sorrow. But contrai-y to all expectations the woman recovered and subsequently
being treated unkindly by her husband reminded him how ht- had been bowed with grief
when he thought she was going to die. ''Oh,"
replied he, "do not imagine that was all sorrow
for you. I was thinking very hard about what
woman I could get to take your place." The
application of this story, if we gathered it correctly, was that we should not be so much overwhelmed with grief at the passing of the old
leaders that we fail to give due consideration to
the problem of securing new ones.
A sign of the times is the increasing use of
English expressions in the conference, our older
ministers and leaders have always used the
Dakota language in its purity, even though
some of them had more or less command of the
English. The younger generation now coming
to the fore, are freely mixing English word*
and phrases with their Dakota even in their
formal addresses and the result cannot be said
to be in the interest of either dignity or beauty.
But this gradual beginning of the change
from the one tongue to the other is inevitable,
and this marks the beginning of an end which
all have foreseen.
Another indication of changing conditions
was observed in the nature of the "distractions" incident to holding the meeting adjacent
to a typical western village. The jitneys of the
town reaped a harvest of weightier coins than
nickels. The splendid band which welcomed
us at the station, and favoi-ed us with oue ox-
two good concex-ts proved after all to have been
subsidized by the movie trust.
The great American game of baseball was
with difficulty kept off the ground during meeting time. Our most thoughtful leaders viewed
with deep apprehension the attractive, or dis-
tractive power of these things upon our Dakota
youth. Manifestly the Indian is getting civilized when the movies, the joy ride and the ball
game exercise the most potent influence over
his life, but that is hardly the sort of civiliza-
At the present day the Nanticoke
Indians of Delaware afford au excellent example of the best products, in
physical and economic respects,resulting from the intermixture of three
varieties of mankind. They offer an
unusually good field of inquiry for
the sociologist, who is likety to find
that the tribe illustrates the advantage
of race intermixture. Despite the
fact that while studying the present culture of
flm tribe my main interest was ixi the Indian
survivals, I was nevertheless forcibly impressed
with their dignity, thrift, refinement. Iu mauy
respects their homes, furnishings, farms, and
methods, as well as their home life itself, are
superior to what one encounters among many of
tbe average white people of the same region.
One could wish, however, that the Indian
pride of history and tradition had been more
emphasized. This one thing more than anything else would have secured for them better
recognition at tbe hands of the white people of
the state. They have unconsciously preserved
several Indian arts, one of them, basketry,
having just become obsolete. The use of the
native mortar and pestle still persists. I have,
morever, beeu able to collect a number of bits
of folklore and superstition whieh I think are
of ludian origin. Other beliefs seem to correspond to what is found iu many parts of the
South among the whites, especially those in the
mountains.—Frank G. Speck in the Southern
Workman.
Santee Association
At the annual Mission Meeting the following
officers were elected for the year.
President, Rev. Francis Frazier, Santee, Neb.
Treasurer, Mrs. Victoria Simmons,
Greenwood, S. D.
Secretary, Mr. Amos Oneroad, Sisseton, S. D.
Vice Presidents:
Mrs. Eugenia Benjamin, Eaglenest, S. D.    .
Rev. Sam Rouillard, Pine Ridge, S. D.
Mrs. Lot Frazier, Belvidere, S. D.
Mrs. Chas. Frazier, Herrick, S. D.
Mrs. Mary Likehim, Grosse, S. D.
Mr. Sam Allen. Flandreau, S. D.
Mr. Ernest Hopkins, Flbowoods, N. D.
Mr. Frank Blacksbield, Oberon, N. D.
Mr. Jacob Goodbird, Veblen, S.D.
Mr. Henry Redearth, Peever, S. D.
Mr. Gilbert St. Pierre, Greenwood, S. D.
Miss Jessie Frazier, Niobrara, Neb.
Mr. Oscar Goodboy, Canuon Ball, N. D.
Mr. Anselm Killcrow, McLaughlin, S. D.
Rev. Henry Cloud, Oklahoma,
Mrs. Elida Bruguier, Poplar, Mont,
Mr. Geo. Lawrence, Wolf Point, Mont.
Mrs. Peter Thompson, Savoy, Mont.
Mr. Wm. Lee, La Plant, S. D.
Mrs. Thomas Blueeyes, Lantx-y, S. D.
Entered as Second Class Matter, November 9, 1890,
at the Post Office at Santee, Nebraska, under
the act of March 3. 1379.