Weekly Chemawa American., March 28, 1902, Page 8, Image 8

8
CHEMAWA AMERICAN.
The long hair, the paint, anil the blanket
art to ttiem the symbols of their old lift,
and in casting aside these symbols they
signify their intention to P'tt on the gar
ments and the methods of the white man.
The government is unending from $!SiOO
to $1500 for the education of each Indian
youth. Should it not, then, have a right
to Insist upon the school graduate making
so'ne ue of these udvantHgtw, and not
going hack to the long hair and blanket,
to dancing and idleness, with its attendant
vines?
Could th editor have witnessed the "sun
dance" last summer; hav seen the young
nieii.-fome of them school graduates, who
had had good social euhnre, ad whose
command of language might shame a col
lege Instruct ir. and vbo.e handwriting
woul'l do credit to any commercial college
eu1d he hav seen them in all the
hideou-mees of their pai .ted iiakediies-,
with dishevelled hair and fantastic decora
tions, gravely following the leadership of
the ''shaman" of their tribe, be wimt'l say,
with Com-nisioner Jones, cut off his hair,
forbid him h p if tit, do anything to help
liini tn bre.ik awav fmm the hid nm fas
cinains or the medl.inp-man.
Snwe the average Indian has nether the
.energy nor the Belf-reMan.-e to compete
with th white mechanic in his struggle
fur existence. hIihII he then fit dwn and
"play tlie moutii-org j," while the white
man work his land, grown, g ili-h in no do
ing, and leaving t he "poor Indi in" to suf
fer the results of idleness, and become the
prey of the gambler and the bontleggr-r?
There is a threadbare proverb which in
ft i it true, and xceptionaliy appropriate in
the eae of the returned school -buy "'Satan
finds some mischief ytill fr idle hands to
do."
The time is drawing nenr wilh many
trittes when the supporting arm of the
g'lvernm'!)! is tn be withdrawn, and, hc
coiding to their treaties, they are to be self
eupponing. Is it not time, then, that they should he
required to pin away chlldijdi things, and
l d something for themselves?
Aa the country they occupy Is mainly
agricultural they must begin to vie with
the "poor Western farmer," who, in spits
of his' poverty, manuges to rake out quite a
substantial existence, and to pay for. the
education of his children., in many easeson
land not so rich and productive as the al
lotment given to the Indians.
There are still many serious problems to
be worked out in the Indian question,
problems thai require wise bends and large
experience; there are wrongs, to be righted
and mistakes t be corrected.
Let us not, then, place a obstacle i 11 t tie
way of thi little attempt at progress in the
direction of uplifting and sustaining the
honest, efforts of the younger members of
the tribe
True, the government may never bean's
t nuke it. "wlii! man out of a black mmi
or an Indian"; but there is much being
don- inanc'i schools us Hampton and Cur
Itnle to urn uaking good aelf renpectingand
sell-supporting Citlzensont of both. E. T. J.
Itlx doubtless bettor for the Indian now
day that he should imitate the white m in
a uearlyas piBible in all particulars in
which the white iu in In exemplary. Hli
only chalice for survival s 'ems to lie in
adopting white man's clviliz tdmi and fluH
iuga profit in it. Our correspondent's
support of Coramii-inner JoueVa order
is not without force, for ibe order aims
at the correction of evils which aeennvery
real. But would the order. If executed, he'p
to correct i hem? It is a novel idea In this
country that man even hii Indian may
not regulate the length of hi hair aixl
til" cut of raiment to suit. hi own
whim. To persuade the Indian to take
excellent plan. To cnatrai.i him to tin
so, especially In ihe details of hair-nut-ting,
palm, and feathers, seem very arbi.
trary. ami of very doubtful expediency.
The (Join lutssto ter'a order is undoubr.ttdly
well mean, but can he make an unwilling
Imtian "white." by main force! It seem
to us that the transition is bound to lake
time, and t hit lo hurry it will be to botcli
the job, Harper's Wtekly.