Commissioner Sells very kindly instructed a number of his Supervisors
and Superintendents to reply to my fourteen questions covering the
present condition of our Indians. The questions need not be repeated as
they are given in the table, Chapter XXXII.
These replies present the administration point of view, and I herewith
append such of the answers as are already not repetitions. Those that do
not convey special information are omitted.
Honorable H. B. Peairs, Supervisor of Schools, Washington, D.C.,
writes:—
VI. “From extended observations during the past five years, I am
confident that there has been very marked progress and that the general
condition of the Indians is very much better than it was ten years ago.
I had the opportunity of doing one full year’s work in the field in
1897, during which time I traveled in all sections of the country and
visited more than one-half of the reservations and schools. The past
four years have given me an opportunity to visit practically all of the
reservations and schools, and I unhesitatingly say that there is a
marked improvement.”
VIII. “The mixed-blood. They are an English-speaking people, more
intelligent and more capable in every way, considering the average
mixed-blood. Their homes are far superior and they are more ambitious to
improve conditions. The fact that they are unwilling to remain as they
are in many instances results in their being somewhat troublesome, but
this only emphasizes a desire for better conditions.”
XIII. “I believe the Government is making a conscientious effort to
protect the Indian in all of his interests, both property and human.
Undoubtedly there are instances where, through bad legislation, weak
administration, or both, great injustice has been done. There is great
difference of opinion as to what is best to do in many instances for the
Indians. What might be considered by some to be an injustice, might be
considered by others as being the best possible thing for the Indian.
For instance, some oppose very positively the taxation of Indian lands
of any class. Personally, I believe that all productive inherited Indian
lands should be taxed in order that funds might become available for the
support of local institutions, such as public schools, and for the
proper maintenance of public roads, bridges, etc. On the other hand,
there are those who believe that there should be greater freedom in the
matter of issuing patents in fee for allotted lands and to the allottee.
Personally, I believe that the original allottee should not be permitted
to dispose of his allotment and thus be without a permanent home. In
instances it might be well to permit the allottee to sell a portion of
his allotment, the receipts therefrom to be used in improving the
remaining portion.
“I give these illustrations simply to show that differences of opinion
with reference to what is best for the Indian and what is not best, may
give color to the answer to the seventh question.”
Honorable John B. Brown, Supervisor of Education, Muskogee, Oklahoma,
says:—
VII. “The morality of the Indians in the Five Civilized Tribes is
believed to be as good as the average of their community, which is
reasonably high, except possibly in some full-blood communities where
living conditions are not conducive to the best moral status.”
X. “The opinion on this subject is divided. I have made careful inquiry
at every Agency visited, both within and adjoining the Five Civilized
Tribes. I believe that more depends upon the home conditions and
efficiency of Government employees on the reservation than any other one
point except the individual peculiarities of the young Indian in
question. Given the same quality of manhood in the Indian under
consideration, and the same efficiency on the part of officials in
charge of the reservation, I have not been able to detect any marked
change in favor of either the reservation or non-reservation system of
education.”
VIII. “My judgment is that under the more recent practices of our
Department, the Indians are being as fully protected as it is
practicable to do; that is, that every reasonable effort is honestly
being put forth for such protection.”
Honorable O. H. Lipps (at the time Mr. Lipps wrote he was in charge of
Coeur D’Alene, Flathead and other Indians in the northwest.) Briefly
summed up, his opinion is to the effect that the full-bloods are in the
best condition; that white people are taking advantage of the Flatheads,
but not of other Indians in his region. Few white men marry full-blood
Indian women, but white men marry mixed-bloods for their property.
XIII. “I believe the Indian Department is doing all in its power to
protect the Indians’ property; more could be done to protect his
health.”
Mrs. Elsie E. Newton is one of the Supervisors in charge of health of
the Indians. She has served for many years in the Indian Office, and is
one of the most competent employees. I quote at considerable length from
her letter.
VI. “I cannot answer this with precision as my knowledge of the Indian
country, except in one or two localities, is less than ten years old.
“It can be said, however, that even in five years there has been a great
change in the environment of the Indian, with few exceptions. The Whites
have settled pretty well in and around him and have diffused ideas which
in time he is bound to adopt in more or less degree. I speak of matters
of dress, food, shelter, etc. The superficial aspect of his life is
changing. In like manner, his attitude toward law, morals, etc., are
being modified. It appears that he is going through that period of
transition, forgetting the old code of life, or at least not regarding
it, and yet not dominated by the new. This transition period is always
one of distinct loss both in moral force, and achievement. From this
point of view, he is not as well off today as he was ten years ago, but
until he has passed through the critical period, it is unfair to make
comparison by years merely.”
VII. “Immorality is a relative term. Certain Indian tribes had moral
codes under which they lived and lived acceptably, or morally. Those
codes differed and the difference in them marks the diversity of the
general condition of those tribes today. Thus we find the Crows
deteriorating while the Northern Cheyennes, living practically next
door, are still good stock. The sexual morality of the former is low
compared to that of the latter.
“Few Indians practice monogamy after the Anglo-Saxon ideal—one partner
only, and one partner for life. Divorces are common and frequent; even
so, one finds few prostitutes among the best tribes, and promiscuity is
not common. Even in the lower tribes where promiscuity is common, the
prostitute is not. Such tribes have still the remnants of phallicism in
their ceremonies.
“The state of morals is not due so much to the presence of low Whites,
generally speaking, as it is to the fact mentioned above, that the
tribal authority has become loosened, their own social restraints have
disappeared, and there is no definite code, or its enforcement
succeeding. The Federal law has never covered the ground on reservations
where it retained jurisdiction and where the Indians are citizen
allottees, the State does not exert itself to exercise control; local
judicial machinery is reluctant to punish infractions of the law, partly
because the community concerns itself very little with offences of the
kind among Indians themselves, and partly because of the expense
involved in prosecutions, in which Indians bear no share by taxation.
“As regards that morality which is designated honesty, I hardly believe
that the word of an Indian today is as good, man for man, as in the
previous generation. Traders would be more competent to give testimony
on this point, because in their business they have learned whom to trust
and whom to suspect.
IX. “The white man is more likely than not to take advantage of an
Indian where his own advantage is concerned. This is due as much to the
innate pushing quality of the Whites, as the corresponding retiring
quality of the Indian. It is frequently a racial rather than a moral
matter. It is often a matter of mere competition between Whites. For
instance, I once had a conversation with a bank official in an Indian
country, where banks were discounting Indian notes at an impossible
usurious rate. The man was highly respected in the community, well
regarded for honesty, a church worker, and in my own opinion a good,
typical American. We discussed the matter reasonably, and he concluded
by saying, ‘I suppose this sort of thing seems unpardonable to you,’ and
when I acquiesced, he continued, ‘We look at it about this way,—if we do
not get the Indian’s money, some one else will.’ The Indian makes no
resistance to such treatment, partly through inability, partly through
unambition.
XIII. “In general, it is; in some instances it is too paternalistic; in
others, it is sometimes crowded to an issue contrary to distinctly good
Indian policy by interests which bear upon general public policy. In
other words, the Indian interest must frequently be sacrificed for
general and broader interest.
“I might say that the Government is protecting the Indian, and
protecting him well, but the public is not. If the public would be more
just, the Government might exert less paternalism, with great advantage
to the individual Indian.
“It should be added that often the Indian stands in the attitude of
finding Government protection irksome, just as a child often feels
toward parental authority. As one Government official aptly said, ‘It is
hard to protect the Indian when he doesn’t want to be protected’.”
Honorable Horace G. Wilson, Supervisor of Indians, Rosebud, Oregon,
replies to the questions rather briefly. He believes that the general
condition of the Indians is better than ten years ago; that the Indian
is naturally immoral, but his wickedness increases through contact with
low Whites; that the mixed-bloods are in the best condition; white
people are taking advantage of the Indians; Indians should be educated
near at home; white men are marrying Indian women to secure property.
Finally, that the Government is protecting the Indians.
Honorable Charles F. Peirce, Superintendent of the Flandreau school,
South Dakota, says he has in charge a large number of pupils each year.
He considers the condition more satisfactory than ten years ago; that
the moral condition of Flandreau Indians compares favorably with that of
white people in the surrounding community under same conditions; that
there is little drunkenness; that the observance of marriage relations
is as good as among white people; that most of the Indians are
full-bloods; that the mixed-bloods are more industrious.
[Illustration:
CLASS IN DOMESTIC ART. HASKELL INDIAN SCHOOL. KANSAS
]
“The Flandreau Indians have been citizens of the State of South Dakota,
voting and otherwise taking part in municipal affairs for twenty years,
and while the Government is nominally holding jurisdiction over them,
they need but very little protection, and that is being exercised by the
Government as necessity demands.”
Honorable Frank A. Thackery is Superintendent of the Pima Indian School,
Sacaton, Arizona. As to the prevalence of trachoma and tuberculosis ten
years ago as compared with the present, he cannot give much information.
He admits that there is a high percentage of deaths from tuberculosis,
and recommends inexpensive hospital camps.
VI. “Speaking for the Pimas alone, the matter of their water rights is
the principal factor to be considered in connection with their
advancement in the past ten years, as upon their right to the water of
the Gila River rests their sole opportunity for industrial independence.
The Pimas are victims of circumstances beyond their control in so far as
the irrigation problem is concerned and the Indian Office is now taking
very active steps to protect the rights of these Indians wherever the
encroaching whites have jeopardized them.
VII. “The Pima Indians have a high standard of morality for a primitive
people, but I believe such deviations as occur are due to the Indian’s
own nature, which is, after all, human nature, and as liable to err as
his white brother, whose example we will all agree leaves much to be
desired if set up as the standard to which other races should aspire.”
IX. “Yes, in so far as appropriating river water to which the Pimas have
a prior right.
X. “Again speaking of the Pimas only, I believe the peculiar climatic
conditions here make it desirable that the boys and girls shall receive
their training in this locality. It is safe to say that 95% of the boys
will be farmers, and such training as they receive along agricultural
lines should correlate with their home conditions and this it is not
likely to do if obtained in a locality where climatic conditions vary
greatly from southern Arizona.
XIII. “I believe the administration is taking every possible step to
safeguard the interests of the Indians within the limits allowed by the
laws governing and the funds at its disposal, hampered as it is by the
political intriguers who now, as always, seek to control the management
of Indian Affairs for their personal benefit and gain. Your true
reformer is first, and always an extremist; to him a thing is either
black or white, good or evil, a crime or a virtue. He knows no gradation
of color, no perception of proportions, no knowledge of values. To him
the world is made up of entirely unrelated antitheses, and all acts of
which he does not himself approve are evil. It is easy for such a person
to contend that the Indians have been imposed upon by those entrusted
with the management of their affairs and to find evidence to support
their contentions. But the broad-minded investigator will recognize the
peculiar racial problems with which those interested in the Indians’
advancement have had to deal, will give due consideration to the
enormity of the task set them, will weigh carefully the intricacy of the
machinery with which the workers have been forced to labor and will
hesitate to judge adversely where superficial observation would appear
to warrant such a judgment justifiable.”
I regret that I could not produce these lengthy communications in full.
But the quotations will give an idea of the Departmental point of view,
and that the dangers are fully appreciated, and every effort made to
overcome them.
PAST COMMISSIONERS’ VIEWS
Honorable T. J. Morgan, appointed Indian Commissioner in June, 1889,
might be said to have crystalized the policy having as its chief aim,
the allotting, and the educating of Indians. He was followed by
Honorable D. M. Browning, who served for four years. Honorable W. A.
Jones, appointed in May, 1897, served until December, 1904, when Mr.
Leupp succeeded to the office. We may dismiss the careers of the
Commissioners preceding Mr. Leupp, with a blanket statement that they
did not foresee that a policy emphasizing allotting and educating, and
minimizing protection, would bring about disastrous results. Mr. Leupp’s
administration felt the full force of the evil effects of policies
inaugurated by his predecessors. We have already discussed Mr. Leupp’s
views, and further comment is unnecessary.
Coming down to Mr. Valentine’s appointment, June, 1909, we find that Mr.
Valentine recognized in the full sense the dangers confronting the
Indian and strove to combat them. At the Lake Mohonk Conference,
October, 1909, he delivered a splendid address entitled, “What the
Public Should Know About the Indian Bureau.” In this he admits that his
inspection service has been weak and that much of the trouble is due to
incomplete, or faulty reports. I have commended elsewhere in this book
Mr. Valentine’s health propaganda—for it is largely due to his efforts
that Congress became aroused to the necessity of increased
appropriations.
The acting Commissioner, Honorable F. H. Abbott, who served from
September, 1912, to Mr. Sells’ appointment in June, 1913, carried out
the policies inaugurated by his former chief. Abbott opposed wholesale
allotments hastily made, as in the past. He took a firm stand against
the allotment schemes proposed for the Navaho Indians at the present
time.
Mr. Sells’ policy has been referred to at length on previous pages of
this book. He was fortunate in his selection of Honorable E. B. Meritt
as Assistant Commissioner, who entered the Bureau in 1910 as chief law
officer. It was due to Mr. Meritt’s efforts that the application of a
railroad for the granting of a right of way for the construction of a
line through the San Carlos Indian Reservation, Arizona, was prevented.
His work on behalf of the Yakima Indians, in protecting their water
rights, was especially effective. He has delivered a number of addresses
at Lake Mohonk, setting forth the aims of the Department under the
present administration, and cooperates with the Indian Rights
Association in its excellent work.
The inspection service is now under a new chief, Honorable E. B. Linnen.
As a practical field-man of wide experience, he has selected a corps of
competent men. Investigations are now carried on in a thorough manner,
and incompetent persons removed, and not simply transferred, as in
former times.
[Illustration:
MOURNING THE DEAD
Photographed by Rev. Julius Jette, S. J., in a cabin at Nulato,
Alaska, April, 1913
]
[Illustration:
CONFERENCE OF INDIAN Y. M. C. A. STUDENTS AT DENVER, COLORADO
]