THE CHEM AW A
A M E R IC A N
3
stances w ere, you will understand the w arfare th a t followed; you will
understand w hat the a ttitu d e of th e A m erican In d ian was tow ard the
explorers. Now th a t is a th in g th a t I th in k A m erican historians will
have to recognize.
I d o n ’t w ant to be understood as m aking a rash criticism of all h is
to ry . If I may be pardoned for the use of a m odern m ethod of speech,
I d o n ’t w ant to be understood as being the man who put the “ h iss” in
history; bu t I do th in k th at there is th a t standpoint th at has to be con
sidered.
Now then , w hat does all th is have to do w ith the subject we are d is
cussing this m orning? W hat can th e Indian do for his race and for the
country? In the first place, he has to do the same th in g th a t the w hite
man has to do— he m ust have an u n d erstan d in g of the other people’s
standpoint; he m ust put him self in tu rn in place of th e w hite m an,
u nderstand why it is the w hite man does certain th in g s, and assist the
w hite m an to understand why it is the In d ian does certain th in g s.
T h ere is w here I th in k a g reat deal can be accom plished.
In other
w ords, you have got to know your own history; yen have got to have a
know ledge of these th in g s.
It helps us all in our stu d y of fu tu re con
ditions to see and know w hat has been done in the past in order that we
may proceed w ithout m istakes and w ith effectiveness in the fu tu re.
Now, how m uch do we w hite men and In d ian s know about the rela
tions between th e w hite race and th e Indian race in the past? W e know
certain definite th in g s, some of them very g ratify in g , some of them
otherw ise. H ow m uch of an u n d erstan d in g does the o rd in ary w hite
man have— to take that up first— of the relations between his gov ern
m ent and the Indian? I th in k it would be p retty safe to say th at a very
large proportion of th e w hite people of this co u n try have absolutely no
know ledge of w hat has been done, w hether good, bad or indifferent, by
his people tow ard the In d ian race and their people. Now th at is a th in g
th a t m ust be changed—absolutely m ust be changed. And it is the d u ty
of th e w h ite m an to brin g about th at change. T he same th in g is tru e
of th e In d ian . I th in k , w ithout any question, there is to a certain ex ten t
the same lack of know ledge on the part of the Indian of his own history
and of the relations between his people and the w hite race—between his
people and the U nited States G overnm ent.
I do not mean in question
of detail; I mean th e whole broad general policy between the gov ern
m ent and the In d ian .
T h at m ust be understood com pletely by the
great mass of In d ian s before we can m ake any long steps in advance.
But there is another th in g :
I was interested in the passing rem arks
th a t were made by one of th e officers, to the effect th a t the th in g rests
very largely upon the In d ian s them selves—any progress th a t is made.
I believe th a t h eartily.
I t>elieve, in fact, th a t it is up to th e Indians