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About Weekly Chemawa American. (Chemawa, Or.) 189?-198? | View Entire Issue (Nov. 1, 1901)
CHEMAWA AMERICAN. 3 a great boon to the school a3 well as to the farmers in the neighborhood . A great deal of our Incoming freight arrives here on Sundays and is dumped by the railroad people on the ground whether it is raining or not, and like the man with the sheep in the pit we must handle it regardless of the day. We have been hoping against hope for a couple of years that the Southern Pacific people would do something for us in this direction, but our hopes are about dead. Education Circular No. 55. Department of the Interior, Office of In dian Affairs, Washington, October 10,1901. To United States Indian Agents and Bonded Superintendents. Sirs: Statistics relating to Indian schools for the fiscal year 1901 have been collated, and results are gratifying. There were 251 schools which show an in crease of 1208 in enrollaient and 1650 in av erage attend ance. Non-reservation schools have an increase of 676 pupils, reservation schools 1222 and day schools a decrease of 218. These increases are indicative of the zeal and ability of the agents and superin tendents, which is commendable in the highest degiee. In this connection you are advised that it is believed essential to the ultimate civil ization of the Indian that he should be got ten away fnm the rt-eeivation as much as possible. The work of the reservation day and boarding schools is not by any means minimized, but the transfer of pupils to non-reservation Hchoola brings them into broader con tact with civilization, and tends more to enlarge their aspirations and causes them to seek citizenship earlier than otherwise. On a number of reservations then is a large scholastic population : not in s chool. , On " the others the older pupils should give place to the younger ones. The ideal system, therefore, would be that after a pupil has completed the curriculum of. the reserva tion boarding school, or has remained -Jri school a sufficient time to bave!'done sot he should be transferred to a non-reserva-: tion school, provide all conditions are favorable. If'thtse conditions , are not' favorable, ha should be promptly relieved from the reservations schools and Informed that it is time for him to go to work and earn his own living. His place can then be filled from the camps or day schools. An Indian boy or girl who has remained in a reservation school six or seven years has had a fair opportunity to develop his or her characteristics, and those in charge of the school should be able to judge whether additional educational advancement in a non-reservation school will be to his or her interest. If not a further continuance in the reservation school is undesirable. It is hereby ordered that every reserva tion boarding school shall at once begin the preparation of a class of pupils for transfer, at the close of the year, to some non-reservation school. You will also, in a separ ate report, inform this Office what steps you have taken to carry out this order, and in what way you have complied with those directions which were embodied iu Educa tion Circular No. 48, February 19, 1901. . The attention of agents and superinten dents of reservation schools is directed to the necessity of keeping up your en rollment and average attendance during the earlier portions of the present school year. You are urged to fill your schools to the limit of their capacity with eligible pupils always giving preference to full-bloods and those proximating the same. Attention is specifically called to com. plaints which have reached this Office this' agents and reservation gchool superin tendents, in some instances, have opposed the transfer of eligibles to non-reservation schools, because such transfers tend to de crease t heir enrol lint-nt and average attend ance. You are expressly informed that even if such result does follow your action and decrease the size of your school, it is praiseworthy and to ourcretfit. The limit of enrollment of eligible pupils of Indian Schools has not been .reached, there re maining ample material to fill your schools, and push out the older and better ed ucated pupils to non-reservation schools. If the limit, however, has been reached to your reservat ion, you must understand than Indian schools are for the purpose of civi lizing the Indian and not for the purpose of simply maintaining a school. Hence, if