lUeekly Cbemawa JUtnerican
VOL. 12
OCTOBER 1, 1909.
NO. 12
Helping the Indian to
Help Himself.
Charles Dagenett, Supervisor of In
dian Employment, with headquarters at
Albuquerque, New Mexico, has been at
the Indian Office on official business.
Mr. Dagenetfs duties consist of finding
employment for Indians in various occu
pations throughout the country. He is
a quarter blood Peoria, and his wife is a
full-blood Miami. He received his edu
cation at the United States Indian School,
Carlisle, Pa , and at Hampton Institute,
and as soon as he completed his course
of study, was employed under the Car
lisle School in connection with the out
ing system, which has been in force there
for twenty-nine years.
This is a system of placing among
farmers young Indian boys and girls
where they will be received in the homes
and treated as members of the families
and learn the life of the oridinary
American fanner. As the system has
been conducted at the Carlisle School,
the boy? have been placed in south
eastern Pennsylvania and in New Jersey,
where the authorities of the school may
keep in touch with them tnd see that
they are well treated.
The idea under which this system
grew is that the only practical way of
weaning the Indian away from his
aboriginal ideas and customs is to show
him how a conventional, self-supporting,
self-respecting white man lives.
Mr. Dagenett had been employed in
connection with this system under the
Carlisle School for a number of -years,
but it proved to be so great a success that
former Commissioner Leupp concluded
that the idea should be expanded, and
Mr. Dagenett was given . a larger field
and his duties increased to cover the
obtaining of employment for Indians of
all ages and conditions and in all classes
of industries. The idea has been thor
oughly exploited - by Commissioner
Valentine and has been justified by the
results that have been accomplished.
Employment has been found for Indians
on the railroads in the Southwest, on
Government Reclamation projects, on
other independent irrigation construc
tion, and; in the sugar beet fields of
Colorado and Wyoming.
Mr. Dagenett now has five assistants
(Continued on page 8.)