TH E C H E M A W A
A M E R IC A N
11
T h e im pression m ade by the M emorial Delegation was profound. Dr.
W illiam K . Cooper, Secretary of the W ashington V. M. C. A, stated th a t
the event was the most dignified and orderly he had ever seen in th e E x
ecutive M ansion and his opinion was verified by Mr. Samuel Brosius, A t
torney for the Indian R ights A ssociation, who affirmed th at it was the
m ost im pressive event he had ever witnessed in connection with Indian
affairs. O thers stated th at the event was a positive dem onstration of
the ability of In d ian blood to achieve. T he m em bership represented I n
dians prom inent in civil, religious, and political life, in clu d in g clergym en
educators, scientists, congressm en, b u sin essm en , law yers and financiers.
If these have struggled upw ard th ro u g h adverse conditions how many
more m ight achieve and advance as efficient factors in the national life
if the laws of the land would only perm it it.
In this m em orable council only earnest faces were seen. T h e men
and women who composed it were energetic factors in the life of the re
public. E very man and woman of Indian blood was conscious of his re"
sponsibilities and eager to meet his obligations to his race and to his
country. Proud of the ability of race to advance, as they were, th e ir
clothing was th a t of citizenship, of th e great n ation. T h ere were no
blankets, no feathers, no relics of the p ast,— for these men and women
were the In d ian s of today, pleading for th e fu tu re. T h eir vision was
fixed upon th in g s ahead. T h o u g h in th e ir hearts was the best
traditions of th eir people, each know th a t such th in g s were a part
of the past. T h eir appeal was not only for race and for co untry, but
for hum anity .
T h u s has a new day daw ned and dynam ic effort has been applied
from w ithin.
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