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About The Chemawa American (Chemawa, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 3, 1920)
Facts About Oklahoma Indians By CA TO S E L L S U. S. Com m issioner of In d ian Affairs (C o n tin u ed from last issu e) Decided im provem ent has followed th e new re g u la tions prom ulgated on A pril 7, 1917, u n d er w hich a num ber of leases covering valuable In d ian lands have been entered into by or on behalf of the Indian allottees, or heirs, w ith the o p eratin g com panies, the resu lt of w hich will probably lead to g reater m ining operations, larg er production of lead and zinc ore, and increased royalties to the In d ian ow ners. T h is rapid developm ent of m ining in terests has been reflected in the grow th of great m ining cam ps on the reservation. It is not difficult to believe th a t the m in in g and town- site properties in the Q uapaw agency involve m illions of dollars in invested capital and th o u san d s of income to th e In d ian s. U nder these circum stances, it was not strange th at designing persons of the w hite race were ready to take advantage of conditions, w ith the resu lt th at we have several suits now being prosecuted in an effort to undo some of the gross w rongs th at have been com m itted. G eneral A g ricu ltu ral C onditions T h e lim its of th is article will hardly perm it e x te n d ed reference to the trib es in th e w estern p art of the state nu m b erin g approxim ately 17,000, and em b rac ing the Kiow a and Com anche, C heyenne and A rap a ho, Shaw nee, Iow a, K aw , K ickapoo, O toe, Paw nee, P onca, P ottaw atom ie, Sac and Eox and other small bands. T hey com plete the large In d ian population of a great state and I am proud to say, hold a forw ard place in th e progress of our continental In d ian life. In th e ag ricu ltu ral industries th at hold the roots of civilization they are am ong th e active and prosperous of th e ir race. T h e area of land cultivated by the In d ian s in O k la hom a has doubled in the last six years. T h is sig n i ficant fact is a strik in g approval of th e policy w hich has been p u rsu ed for helping these In d ian s m ake the m ost of th eir lands and create an in terest in th e ir g reater possibilities. I have encouraged the sale rath er th an the leasing of in h erited lands and have insisted, especially in the case of non-com petent In d ian s, on the ex p en d itu re of th e proceeds for im provem ents, and have refused to allow th e In d ia n s to lease such im proved hom esteads. As m ost of th e In d ian s in h erit o th er land, this plan is resu ltin g in th e u p b u ild in g of In d ian homes w hich com pare favorably w ith w hite hom es of the co m m u n ity . It resu lts also in elim inating the lease incom e upon w hich the In d ian s are apt to rely for su p p o rt and w hich rem oves the incentive for vigorous effort to prom ote th e ir own w elfare and m aterially belter th eir condition. G enerally the In d ian s used the proceeds of the sales of th eir inherited lands for the betterm ent of th eir homes. T h is is a radical change from the old system w hich perm itted the Indian to lease p ra c ti cally all o f bis land, living on the rentals as long as they lasted and then merely existing. W ith few exceptions, due to varying conditions, the In d ian s of O klahom a have had sufficient m oney of th eir own to equip them for fan n in g . T h ere w ere som e, how ever, w ho were not fortunate in having in- hei ited land sales to aid them or oil and gas royalties to provide revenues. T hese have been assisted from th e reim bursable (re p a y m e n t) funds w hich congress has w isely appropriated during the past six or seven years. E ducational Progress I have th u s far referred chiefly to th e m aterial in terests of th e O klahom a In d ian s, w hich in no sense m eans th a t less im portance is attached to their ed u c a tional sta tu s. No civilization can long endure unless th e w ork of the schools is built into its foundation, and no better exam ple of achieving th e self-su stain in g developm ent of th e In d ian s by m eans of education is found than in O klahom a w here there have been evolved m any years those governm ent boarding and day schools for In dian children w hich have recently approached an ideal system w ith stan d ard s and practice co m p ara ble to those of the best schools elsew here. T he educational facilities for the F ive Civilized T rib es had th eir origin and for som e years th eir m anagem ent, u n d er th e tribal system of g overnm ent, w hich was u n fo rtu n a te because too often selfish and political considerations prevent efficient in stru c tio n , econom ical m ethods, and m aterial upkeep. A lthough there was federal legislation as early as 1906 providing for tak in g over the control of these schools, it was not until 1910 th a t th e ir en tire m anagem ent passed to th e com m issioner of In d ian affairs. Since then they have come w ithin th e general plan of o rg a n iz a tio n , su p erintendence, and course of study as applied to other governm ent schools for the In d ian s, and today, u n d er capable in stru c to rs and economical supervision, they rank w ith th e best schools of like grade in our service. N o g reater w ealth has come to the F ive Civilized T rib es th an these schools have b ro u g h t to their children who are there ta u g h t the th in g s m ost practical and valuable in real life. (T o be co n tin u ed n e x t issu e) A t a recent m eeting of the ju n io rs th e follow ing officers w ere elected: P resident, A lbert Spearson; vice- president, E lm er T h e rria u lt; secretary, Millie B ennet; treasu rer, Alex W illiam s; sergeant-at-arm s, Joseph Racine; cheer leader, Dewey Sam pson; assistant cheer leader, H attie C avton.
