THE NEW INDIAN POLICY
I have tried to state plainly some of the difficulties found so
harassing in adjusting the relations of the native and white races in
America. While there have been terrible and most un-Christian mistakes
in dealing with the Indian (who has always been fully able to appreciate
fair play and to resent the lack of it), it is equally true that there
has been of late years a serious effort to bring him within the bounds
of modern progress, so that he may eventually adapt himself to the
general life of the nation. Until recently he himself preferred to
remain just outside the borders of civilization, and was commonly
assumed to be incapable of advance or change.
The birth of the new era really dates from Abraham Lincoln's refusal to
order the execution of three hundred Sioux braves, whom a military court
had, in less than two days, convicted of murder and condemned to be
hung, in order to satisfy the clamor of the citizens of Minnesota. They
demanded to be avenged for the loss of friends, relatives, and property
in the outbreak of 1862, and they forgot that these Sioux had been
defrauded of the finest country in the world, their home, their living,
and even cheated out of the ten cents per acre agreed to be paid for
millions of acres of the choicest land. They had shown their teeth at
last, after more than a century of patience and self-control.
The great President personally reviewed the records of the court, and
wrote with his own hand the names of the forty Indians who were
executed, instead of three hundred originally condemned to die. He was
abused and insulted for his humanity. Governor Ramsey of Minnesota
appealed to him in vain in the name of the frontier people: that gentle,
brave, just President had his way, and many of those whom he pardoned
afterward became leaders of the Sioux in walking the white man's road.
INDIAN REFORMS UNDER GRANT
During General Grant's administration the famous "Peace Policy" made a
remarkable start in the face of the determined resistance of the Plains
Indians. The Indian, when making his last stand against injustice, is a
desperate and a dangerous enemy. It was estimated at this time that
every warrior killed in battle had cost the Government twenty-three
lives and a round million of dollars. At this rate, the race would not
be "wiped out" for generations. Kindness would be infinitely cheaper, as
well as more pleasing, doubtless, to the white man's God!
In a word, Christian men and women came tardily to the conclusion that
something more consistent with the claims of their religion must be
shown these brave people who had lost everything in the face of the
herculean advance of the dominant race. Reflection upon the sordid
history of their country's dealings with the red man had taught them to
think clearly, above the clamor of the self-seeking mob. Some of them
had lived side by side with their dusky neighbors, and studied them at
close range, in the light of broad human feeling. Such men were General
Grant, Bishops Whipple and Hare, William Welsh and his nephew, Herbert
Welsh of Philadelphia, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Smith, General
Armstrong, and General Pratt. No class or sect has more fully endorsed
this policy than have the Quakers, of whom the late Albert K. Smiley of
Mohonk Conference fame was a distinguished representative.
In 1870 President Grant placed all Indian agencies under the control of
the various churches and missionary organizations, which had hitherto
been practically the sole channels of educational or uplift work among
the tribes. Undoubtedly Grant sincerely wished to put an end to official
corruption in this branch of the service, and to make the best possible
use of all moneys that might be appropriated for Indian civilization,
when he took the radical step of inviting each of the denominations
interested to name the agent at one or more agencies, their candidate to
hold office as long as he enjoyed their confidence, and to choose his
own subordinates. It was confidently hoped that by this means the civil
and religious work might be in full harmony, and that the Indians,
instead of being hopelessly confused by conflicting views and practices
among their would-be teachers, might learn equally by precept and
example.
Grant's policy remained in force for about ten years, and there is no
question that in this short space of time the churches accomplished
wonders among the raw Sioux but lately confined to their reservations.
The following agencies of which I had personal knowledge were then
industrious Christian communities: namely, Sisseton under the
Presbyterians, Devil's Lake under the Catholics, Yankton under the
Episcopalians, Santee under the Quakers. Winnebagoes, Pawnees, Omahas,
all the wild Plains Indians did well under consistent and conscientious
management. Large fields of wheat were cultivated by them, with but
little assistance, which have since gone back to wild land under the
"spoils system," and over which, ten years ago, I hunted prairie
chickens.
There were developed during this period many strong Christians of a
genuinely apostolic stamp, who became teachers and preachers to their
wilder brethren. Both children and adults were taught to read in their
own language, and at least two papers were published monthly in the
Sioux tongue, which had been reduced to writing by the Riggses and
Williamsons, the earliest Protestant missionaries. It was then and there
that I myself received my impetus toward an education. My father, who
was one of the two hundred and sixty Sioux pardoned by Lincoln, had
voluntarily abandoned the reservation with its pauperizing influences,
and was a self-supporting citizen in 1870.
Another interesting feature of Grant's administration was the number of
Indians holding responsible positions in the service. At a time when
there were no great Indian schools, there were found and trained men
competent to act as agency blacksmiths, carpenters, millers, etc. There
was even a full-blood Iroquois at the head of the Indian Bureau--Grant's
chief of staff, General Ely Parker.
THE WARS OF THE SECTS
It was a genuine calamity for our people when this system was
overthrown, as it was in a few years, by the clamor of the politicians
for patronage, together with the sectarian disputes that have been a
scandal to the heathen throughout the history of Christian missions. On
many reservations proselyting work had been begun by two or more
denominations, and these bodies now became rivals, even bitter and
hostile rivals, for the souls and bodies of their reputed converts. To
the Catholics, in particular, who claimed thirty-eight of the
seventy-two agencies, on the ground of prior religious influence, there
had been assigned but eight. Strong pressure was brought to bear
through their Bureau of Missions to reverse this ruling; and equally
strong, or stronger, was the political pressure for the rich spoils of
the Indian agencies. By 1883 Grant's too idealistic system broke down
entirely, the fat offices were returned to the politicians, and all
denominations were permitted to engage at will in missionary propaganda,
but without secular authority.
A certain chief in the Red River region well expressed a view common
among our people when he said to the priest: "You tell us that we can be
saved only if we accept your faith and are baptized by you. The
Protestant minister tells us the same. Yet both claim to worship the
same God! Who shall judge between you? We have considered the matter,
and decided that when your two roads join we will follow you; but until
then we prefer our own religion!"
Nevertheless it was largely through the influence of the missionaries
and their converts that in most of the treaties made during this period
there were inserted clauses providing for the practical education of the
Indian children. There has been much fraud connected with the purchase
of materials and supplies, and in every way that shrewd and
unprincipled men can devise, but even the politicians could not entirely
prevent the building of those schools. One fact stands out boldly: it
was the Christian missionary, in spite of serious mistakes, who played
the most important part in the transformation of the Indian and the
development of the West.
MODERN "FRIENDS OF THE INDIAN"
From this time on the old view of the Indian as a hopeless savage has
been gradually abandoned, and replaced by the juster modern view which
regards him as essentially a man, and as good material for the future
citizen. The volunteer organizations arising under Grant and continuing
active to the present day have been effective molders of public opinion
along these lines.
The Boston Indian Citizenship Committee was organized in 1879, on the
occasion of the forcible removal of the Poncas to Indian Territory.
Chief Standing Bear and the Indian maiden Bright Eyes (Susette La
Flesche) visited many leading cities and told eloquently the story of
their wrongs. They were ultimately restored to their old home, largely
through the efforts of this group of influential men. The committee
then undertook to secure citizenship for Indians on the basis of
taxation, a principle that was denied by the Supreme Court; but a few
years later the same end was attained by the passage of the "Dawes
bill." Since then they have endeavored to secure honest allotments to
Indians, to prevent the sale of the best lands to whites at nominal
prices, and to obtain the dismissal of corrupt Indian agents and
inspectors.
The National Indian Association, composed chiefly of women, began work
with a memorial to Congress in 1879, and has continued it until now,
under the efficient leadership of Mrs. A. S. Quinton, Mrs. Sara T.
Kinney, and others. The missionary department has established fifty
pioneer missions in as many neglected tribes or tribal remnants, turning
them over ultimately, with their buildings and plant, to the mission
boards of the various Protestant denominations. The society has also
fostered native industries, being the mother of the Indian Industries
League; has loaned money to Indians for home-building; assisted in the
education of especially promising individuals; built and supported
hospitals, and done other valuable work. Its headquarters are in New
York City.
The Indian Rights Association was organized in Philadelphia, in 1882, at
the home of Mr. John Welsh. Mr. Herbert Welsh has been for many years
its leading spirit, and others who have done yeoman's service in the
cause are the late Professor Painter, Mr. Brosius, and Mr. Matthew K.
Sniffen. Its slogan was the same as that of the others: Education; Land
in Severalty; Citizenship! To all three of these bodies, as well as to
the Board of Indian Commissioners, belongs much credit for urging the
reforms which triumphed, in 1887, in the "Dawes bill," the Emancipation
Act of the Indian.
The Indian Rights Association maintains a representative in Washington
to cooperate with the Indian Bureau and to keep an eye upon legislation
affecting the tribes, as well as a permanent office in Philadelphia. Its
officers and agents have kept in close touch with developments in the
field, and have conducted many investigations on Indian agencies,
resulting often in the exposure of grave abuses. They have been
courageous and aggressive in their work, and have not hesitated to
appeal to the courts when necessary to protect the rights of Indians.
They have also done much to mold public sentiment through meetings,
letters to the press, and the circulation of their own literature to the
number of more than half a million copies.
One of President Grant's first acts was the creation, in 1869, of the
United States Board of Indian Commissioners, a body of ten men supposed
to be "eminent for their intelligence and philanthropy," to serve
without pay in an advisory capacity, and to cooperate with the Interior
Department in securing a sound and progressive administration of Indian
affairs. The only appropriation is for travelling expenses and for a
salaried secretary with an office in Washington. It has been one of the
important duties of this Board to inspect the Indian supplies when
purchased, if possible securing goods up to the standard of the samples
submitted and preventing open fraud. Its members have travelled
extensively in the Indian country in order to observe conditions, and
their patriotic services have been appreciated by both races.
In the autumn of 1883 Mr. Albert K. Smiley, the large-hearted owner of a
hostelry overlooking beautiful Lake Mohonk, in the Shawangum range,
invited a number of prominent Indian workers to meet as his guests for
discussion of actual conditions and necessary reforms. With this
historic meeting began an uninterrupted series of "Mohonk Indian
Conferences," at which missionaries of all denominations, Government
officials, members of Congress, representatives of philanthropic
societies, teachers in Indian schools, editors, ministers, and other
influential men and women, with a sprinkling of educated Indians, meet
annually at the call of Mr. Smiley, and since his death in 1912 at that
of his brother, Mr. Daniel Smiley, to discuss all matters bearing upon
the welfare of the race in a sympathetic atmosphere and amid the
pleasantest surroundings. Mr. Smiley was a member of the Board of Indian
Commissioners, and for many years these conferences were closely
connected with the affairs of the Board, and the proceedings were
published as a part of its annual report.
The platform adopted each year at Lake Mohonk is widely circulated, and
has had much influence; although, as it represents only the unanimous
vote of a body among whom there actually exist wide differences of
opinion, it is not always as satisfactory as it might be. It has seemed
to some who attended the early conferences that those of late years have
been less fruitful, owing partly to less novelty in the subject-matter
and to the sharing of the time with problems of Hawaii and the
Philippines, and partly to a desire for unanimity and good feeling that
has kept unpleasant facts from the light. It is certain that the debates
are more carefully pre-arranged and therefore less spontaneous.
The Mohonk Conferences have consistently recommended larger
appropriations for Indian education; the extension of the laws of the
land over Indian reservations; the gradual withdrawal of rations; the
allotment of communal land to individuals, and more recently the
breaking up of the tribal trust funds into individual holdings. Emphasis
has been laid upon the need of greater care in selecting men of
character as Indian agents and superintendents. The thirty-first
conference urges a vigorous campaign against tuberculosis, trachoma, and
other diseases among Indians, also against the liquor traffic, and
mescal habit, and declares that the proposition to control Indian
affairs through a non-partisan commission to serve during long terms is
"worthy of serious consideration." It also makes special recommendations
in behalf of the Pueblo, the Navajo, the Five Civilized Tribes of
Oklahoma, and the New York Indians, looking toward their present
protection and future citizenship.
These "Eastern sentimentalists," as they have often been called by
persons interested in depriving the red man of his heritage, have
pursued their ends steadily, though not without severe setbacks. The
opposition to Indian schools in Congress was for many years very strong,
but it has now almost ceased, except in sporadic instances. One seldom
hears it said nowadays that "the only good Indian is the dead Indian,"
and the Western Senator who declared that "you could no more civilize an
Apache than you could civilize a rattlesnake" would rather shock than
convince his hearers in the light of present-day progress. The greatest
enemy to Indian civilization has been the return of the "spoils system"
in the eighties, and the formation of a corrupt "Indian ring" whose
ramifications extended so deep and so high that even the most sincere
and disinterested despaired of obtaining justice. Yet the average
American citizen honestly wants to give the Indian a fair chance!
To sum up, he had been an indomitable foe, and occupied a vast region
which by 1870 was already beat upon by the tides of settlement. Two
things were determined upon: First, he must be induced, bribed, or
forced to enter the reservation. Second, he must be trained and
persuaded to adopt civilized life, and so saved to the future if he
proved to be worth saving, which many doubted. In order to carry out
these projects his wild food supply had to be ruthlessly cut off, and
the buffalo were of necessity sacrificed.
Here is a system which has gradually taken its present complicated form
during two thousand years. A primitive race has put it on ready made, to
a large extent, within two generations. In order to accomplish such a
feat, they had to fight physical demoralization, psychological
confusion, and spiritual apathy. In other words, the old building had to
be pulled down, foundations and all, and replaced by the new. But you
have had to use the same timber!