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T H E CHEM AW A A M ER IC A N
The CHEMAWA AMERICAN
P u b lish e d W ee k ly a t th e Salem In d ia n T ra in in g School
C hem aw a, Oregon, H A R W O O D H A L L , S u p e rin te n d e n t
A d d ress all com m unications to R u th y n T u rn ey , M a n ag e r
E n te re d a t th e Chem aw a, O regon, Postoffice as S econd-
Class M ail M a tte r
S U B S C R IP T IO N
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5 0 Cts P E R A N N U M
THE TRUTH OF THE MATTER
Pertaining to
Pueblo Indians
E m otional and sentim ental people, th o u g h well-
m eaning, often are th e au th o rs of a lot of harm . They
arriv e at conclusions w holly at variance w ith facts be
cause they do not in v estig ate carefully or fully enough
before they take action, or because they are p re ju d ic e d ,
or em otionally blinded to the u n d erly in g tru th in the
m atter.
D u rin g the past w inter the In d ian B ureau has been
m ade the targ et of m any vicious and w holly u n w ar
ran ted attack s by people, who, th o u g h they may be
w ell-m eaning, are certain ly poorly inform ed. P ro p a
g an d a has created a m ost harm ful state of public mind
in m any sections of th e c o u n try , especially in regard to
the treatm en t of the Pueblo In d ian s who dwell m ainly
in New M exico. T h is has proved harm ful in the tr u
est sense of th e word, as d istru st has been created both
in the m inds of the In d ian s and the w hites, and for
the purpose of allaying suspicion we are pleased to
set forth the tru th as borne o u t by th e governm ent
records at W ashington, D .C ., as th e resu lt of the
hearin g s before th e C om m ittee on Indian Affairs and re
ported to th e H ouse of R epresentatives, as follows:
T h e large am ount of p ro p ag an d a th a t has flooded
th e m ails, new spapers, and m agazines can not be pass
ed w ith o u t com m ent. N o th in g to com pare w ith it has
heretofore been seen in connection w ith In d ian legis
lation pending before Congress. T h is propaganda has
been insidious, u n tru th fu l, and m alicious and will
resu lt in great harm to th e In d ian s of th is co u n try if
it is perm itted to be continued. Som e of th is p ro p a
gand a is n o th in g more nor less th a n crim inal libel.
T hose responsible for it have attem p ted to destroy the
confidence of the Indians in the In d ian B ureau and the
officials who are by law charged w ith th e ir g u a rd ia n
sh ip . T h ey have not only m aligned and attem pted to
destroy the character of these responsible G o vernm ent
officials, but they have severely im pugned the m otives
of M em bers of Congress. T h e hearings before this
com m ittee have dem onstrated that these criticism s are
w ith o u t foundation. Some of those who are responsi
ble for the propaganda them selves appeared before the
com m ittee as w itnesses, and th eir testim ony discloses
th a t false and slanderous statem ents against the ex ecu
tive officers of our G overnm ent were w ithout fo u n d a
tion or justification and not a single charge contained
in som e of th e m ost sensational of the published sta te
m ents, w hich were a p art of th e propaganda, was
sustained by any com petent evidence before your com
m ittee. On the co n trary , those responsible for these
published statem ents disclaim ed any intention of co n
v ey in g th e sole im pression th a t was possible for the
average th in k in g person to reach after read in g such
publications. T hose responsible for th is propaganda
deserve the strongest condem nation from all fair-m in d
ed people.
I t was contended in th is propaganda th a t the health
conditions of the Pueblo In d ian s w ere deplorable and
th a t they w ere receiving b u t little assistance from the
G o vernm ent. T he facts as b ro u g h t out in th e h e a r
in g s show th at the G overnm ent is o perating four
h ospitals am ong the 8,000 Pueblo In d ian s, w ith a
total bed capacity of nearly 100; th a t th ere are m ain
tained am ong the Pueblo In d ia n s 8 physicians, in ad d i
tion to field m atrons and nurses.
I t was also show n in th e hearings th a t there has been
a su b stan tial increase in the population of the Pueblo
In d ian s d u rin g the last year, and th a t the health of
these In d ian s is fairly good.
T he propagandists attem pted to m ake it appear th a t
th e Pueblo In d ian s were sta rv in g and w ere in serious
need of assistance. T h e records disclose th at only 2
of the 18 pueblos, San Ildefonso, and T esuque, w ith a
total population of approxim ately 240 out of the 8,000
Pueblo In d ian s were in need of any assistance, and
th at th e G overnm ent had provided them w ith am ple
funds to m eet th eir needs.
I t was also contended th a t b u t little had been done
in the past for th e Pueblo In d ian s by the G overnm ent.
T he testim ony before y o u r com m ittee show s th a t d u r
ing th e last 10 years th e G overnm ent has expended
m ore th an $8,000,000 for the In d ian s in N ew M exico;
th a t approxim ately $250,000 is being expended a n
nually (o u t of g ratu ity appro p riatio n s from the G ov
e rn m e n t), for educational w ork am ong Pueblo Indians;
th a t tw o splendid boarding schools are being m ain
tained for them at A lbuquerque and S anta F e, in addi
tion to a large num ber of day schools, and th a t p ra c
tically all of th e Pueblo In d ian children have excellent
educational facilities.
It was claim ed in this propaganda th a t the In d ian
B ureau had done n o th in g for these In d ian s as to irri
g atio n , w hereas th e records show th a t d u rin g th e last
15 years th e G overnm ent has expended for th e Pueblo
(C o n tin u ed on page 3 )