4
THE
CHEMAWA
AMERICAN
WORTHY OF ATTENTION
A “ R E T U R N E D S T U D E N T " W RITES A L E T T E R
On the 10th day of June, 1897, which was graduating day at the U,
S. Training School at Chemawa, Oregon, I, being a member of that
class, delivered an oration entitled “ The Returned Student.” The
foundation I had to work upon at that time was largely imaginary and
of a hearsay nature.
After spending five years in the employ of the IT. S. Government as
an instructor in the art of tailoring I then became a returned student
in reality.
I shall mention some of the conditions I have noticed upon my re
turn to the Yakima Reservation. Being an allottee upon this reser
vation I am of course directly interested in its development.
During my school days I was taught to believe that any agreement
between the U. S. Government and any other party, be it individual,
private company, tribe or nation, would be carried out under the high
est ideals of justice as far as the U. S. Government was concerned and
that it would never neglect a ward of the Government or take advan
tage over a weakling. I, therefore, want to state that in 1855 a treaty
was effected between the IT . S. Government and the Yakima Nation
which consists of eight different tribes of Indians. According to this
treaty, for certain amounts of money and other stipulations the Indians
ceded a large portion of what is now the State of W ashington. The
border lines of the Yakima Reservation were clearly set forth and de
fined at that time.
Certain reservations were made by the Indians on all streams ru n
ning through or bordering on the reservation. The development of the
country as a farming community has caused a great demand for water
with which to irrigate. The soil and the climatic conditions are such
that irrigation is an absolute necessity.
It is in the protection of this water that the Government has failed.
We feel that according to our treaty with the IT. S. in 1855 we are
entitled to water from the Yakima River and its tributaries to irrigate
every acre of irrigable land on the reservation without paying for
the cost of construction in any way for storage reservoirs that have
been built by the U. S. R. S. It is a matter of record that the Govern
ment has allowed individuals and private companies to appropriate and
divert large portions of water that rightfully belongs to the Yakima
Indians.
It is a m atter of record thai.four hundred thousand dollars have been
expended in the reservation for irrigation and drainage and that our