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.