The condition of the American Indian has much improved in recent years.
Full citizenship was bestowed upon them on June 2, 1924, and appropriations
for their care and advancement have been increased. Still there remains
much to be done.
Notable increases in appropriations for the several major functions
performed by the Department of the Interior on behalf of the Indians have
marked the last five years. In that time, successive annual increases in
appropriations for their education total $1,804,325; for medical care,
$578,000; and for industrial advancement, $205,000; or $2,582,325 more than
would have been spent in the same period on the basis of appropriations for
1923 and the preceding years.
The needs along health, educational, industrial and social lines however,
are great, and the Budget estimates for 1929 include still further
increases for Indian administration.
To advance the time when the Indians may become self-sustaining, it is my
belief that the Federal Government should continue to improve the
facilities for their care, and as rapidly as possible turn its
responsibility over to the States.