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About The Chemawa American (Chemawa, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 1933)
T he CHEMAWA AMERICAN P age 4 # About Lo Friends « second picture is a slander upon a race that is honest ly trying to adjust itself to the civilization of the aliens now the lords and masters of this continent. —I— The longevity of Indians is usually accepted as a settled and indubitable fact by most people and it is true that certain in dividuals have grown to great age but we suspect that the ven erable “Old Chepo’’ of the Mono tribe in California exaggerated a little when upon being asked his age he replied: “You see that mountain? When that mountain little hill, me small boy.” * * * The Haskell Institute football players on their way to a game in Philadelphia against Pop Warner’s Temple university eleven stopped off at Carlisle and practiced on the old Indian school football field. Old citizens of Carlisle, having so often heard of the wizardry of the old-time Carlisle teams must have had visions of ghostly Thorpes, Exendines, Mountpleasants, etc., as there suddenly broke upon their ears the sound of shouting young voices and the thump of boot meeting pigskin on the old field. * * * A community of American Indians in Detroit, Michigan, de serve the praise and admiration of all their fellows. They have deliberately cast themselves adrift from the comparative security of reservations and invaded and conquered the big city. These people are becoming home owners and are active in the religious, social and political life of the city. Most of them are common school products but a few are college grad uates. They represent many tribes and come from all parts of the country. They are skilled workers in their trades and professions, send their children to public schools and are re spected and worthy citizens of the commonwealth. * * * Interior Secretary Ickes has put into effect for the national parks a new policy which deserves three snappy cheers. He has ruled that all Indian-made articles offered for sale to tour ists in the parks must, henceforth actually be of Indian man ufacture. Previously, it seems, vast quantities of “Indian” handicraft, which had really been made in New Jersey factories, were unloaded upon national park tourists. In the future these must be bona-fide goods, made by Indians in the traditional way. The tourist gets a break, in that he is protected from a lot of shoddy imitations; and the Indian, relieved of competition in his efforts to turn an honest penny by selling the product of his craftmanship, gets an even bigger one.— Indian Leader. * ♦ * The following item appeared in the Metronome this summer under the caption, “Shaveless Artists.” The Frank Verigun referred to once trod the boards here as a student actor in a stupendous production called, “Evangaline.” Shunatona passed through here a couple of seasons ago with his famous band. WINS is located in New York City: It may be hard to believe, at first, but two of [radio station] WINS’ outstand ing performers haven’t shaved in over thirty years—and al though they gloat over their freedom from the scrape of razors against cheeks, neither has the slightest vestige of a beard. The answer to this anomoly is that Frank Verigun and Joe Shunatona, the gentlemen in question, are both full-blooded Indians and, of course, Indians are practically beardless, the few hairs growing on their faces being plucked out as they appear, BEING INDIAN, SERIOUS BUSINESS Being an Indian is a serious business. I’ll tell you why. The white men has two mental pictures. Look ing into the past, he sees a painted brave clothed in a breech-clout and a headdress of feathers. Coming in to the present, he sees a red vagabond sunning him self on the station platform of a little railway station built in the sagebrush or among the cacti. The first picture may be true to nature but it is obsolete. The The Indian is a worker, instinctively, the habit be ing formed, of course, by necessity. He had to live, and he hunted assiduously. He had to defend his property and he fought persistently. If he sat down he starved or fell into the slavery of his enemies. So he was always up and always doing. He suffered many hardships. He tracked his foes day and night. No one has a right to say he was lazy. There are good Indians and bad ones just as there are good and bad white men. Some Indians are thrifty and some are improvident; some are industrious and some are not; some are smart and some are dull. An Indian is a human being, and that is all I claim for him, capable of remarkable development. Sam uel Ely Parker—he was no relation of mine, by the way—was a full-blooded Seneca. He studied civil engineering and successfully practiced his profession at Gelena, Illinois. Grant knew him and made him a member of his staff and his secretary. After the Civil War he was an officer in the regular army. The Southwest today is filled with successful Indian businessmen, lawyers, preachers, physicians and teach ers. They helped to write the constitution of Okla homa, and in all modesty let me add that I wras among their number. The Indian has traveled up and down the road of human experiences in business and self-government. Primitively, he is a communist. White men are still practicing his abandoned experiment. Then became to see the sound philosophy of private property. His weapons were his own. He made them and used them, for himself as a hunter and for his tribe as a patriotic member. In the social principles of his life he was the equal of the white man. And that is the seed of my argu ment. Give the Indian a chance.—G abe E. P arker . LINFIELD TO BE FIRST OPPONENT Although the boys are practicing faithfully and keeping in trim, there are no games definitely sched uled yet. ChemawTa has decided that it would be best not to join the high school league as it would result in the loss of too many men. The rules of the league would cause many of the boys who are now playing to be ineligible so they have agreed to remain as they are and play with teams who are not in this league. It is reported that there is to be a game in the near future w’ith Linfield college reserves but we do not know7 the details at this time. Other games will be arranged as the season progresses.
