TH E C H E M A W A
A M E R IC A N
3
T h is m eans w ork, h ard w ork, hut th e rew ard will be living souls.
I shall expect each su p erin ten d en t to acquaint him self w ith the hom e
conditions of every In d ian fam ily on the reservation and to adopt p rac
tical and effective m eans for quick and certain im provem ent.
S uperinten d en ts m ust organize such a system of cooperative in fo r
m ation th ro u g h their em ployees as will en ible them to do this, e x e r
cising, of course, g reat care and discretion in g ath erin g the requisite
inform ation.
I shall consider, on the S u p erin ten d e n t’s recom m endation, a reaso n
able use of individual Indian m oneys for th e im provem ent of in san itary
homes, w here the frm ily has such funds. In th e absence of such m oneys,
every effort m ust be made to secure clean and w holesome conditions
through the efforts of the ad u lt m em bers of the fam ily. If there are no
m em bers physically able to labor, ex p en d itu re may be recom m ended
from th e funds, R elieving D istress and Prevention, etc., of Disease
A m ong In d ia n s.”
T he crux of the m atter is this: W e m ust, if possible, get rid of the
intolerable conditions th at infest some of the Indian homes on the r e
servation, creating an atm osphere of death instead of life.
It will be th e d uty of the field m atron to learn of conditions e x istin g
in the Indian homes and of cases req u irin g medical atten tio n and report
them to the S u p erin ten d en t. It will be her duty to see that the pros
pective m ether know s w hat equipm ent is necessary for the proper care
of her new -born babe, and the im portance of the provision w hich the
husband should m ake for the health and com fort of the m other and child
should be early and u rg en tly im pressed upon him.
Physicians m ust be prom ptly advised of all cases of prospective
m otherhood and they m ust see th at proper atten tio n is given before
and after th a t event, arran g in g , if practicable, for hospital facilities
w here the home su rro u n d in g s are unfavorable. Special effort should
be made to see th a t th e m other has n o u rishing food before and follow
ing child-birth.
I am advised th a t th e death rate am ong Indian babies is m ost ex ces
sive after the n u rsin g period w hen, th ro u g h ignorance or carelessness,
they are given im proper food, such as green fru its, m elons or corn,
made fu rth e r harm ful perhaps by the presence of flies, and from the use
of w hich intestinal disorders are alm ost sure to follow.
T here should be vigilant and u n relen tin g effort to im press upon p a r
ents the great im portance of su p p ly in g food w hich will furnish proper
nourishm ent for the grow ing child. T here should be constant endeavor
to educate parents to an u n d erstan d in g of the value ot a sufficient s u p
ply of cow ’s or g o a t’s m ilk, or condensed m ilk, pure w ater, and s u it
able solid food, and to the necessity of m aintaining cleanliness of person,