CHAPTER VIII. THE ROLL. STORIES. RESPONSIBILITY FOR WHITE EARTH
Many years ago the employees at White Earth Agency made a roll of the Chippewa Indians. One would suppose that so important a document as a register of all the Indians would be accurate. But the original roll, as on file at the White Earth office, in 1909, bristled with inaccuracies. For instance, the name Mah-geed is the Ojibwa pronunciation of Maggie. Many of the Indian girls were named Mah-geed by the priests and missionaries. Those who made the Government roll apparently thought that Mah-geed was a distinguished Indian name, so they had entered up quite a number of Mah-geeds. No other name is added.
The Ojibwa name for old woman is Min-de-moi-yen. To the clerks who made the roll this sounded like the name of an Indian, so they solemnly set down many such names. “Young girl” is E-quay-zince. There are a large number of E-quay-zinces in the roll. Yet, mind you, this is the official roll, to which I objected, and to which the Indian Office employees replied that if it was so entered on the roll it must be correct! When Indians are assembled together, if one would call for E-quay-zince or Mah-geed, it would be precisely as if, in an audience of two or three hundred white persons, the speaker should ask for a “young girl” named Mary to come forward, or request that “the lady” come to the platform.
By whom, aside from old Joe Pereault, an illiterate and troublesome French-Canadian, who was employed for some time in the Agent’s office at White Earth, this roll was made, I do not know.
As the roll we found in the Agent’s office in 1909 had been there for years, I have often wondered how the authorities could differentiate between the various Mah-geeds. If annuity money is to be paid an Indian woman, E-quay-zince; what E-quay-zince would receive said payment? And the same is true with reference to Min-de-moi-yen. If on an occasion of great moment all the women of these names should appear at the agency simultaneously, how would the employees be able to deal with them? The spectacle would be amusing, and complicated, to say the least.
Inspector Linnen and myself made an accurate roll of the full-blood Indians. We did not trouble ourselves concerning the mixed-bloods, who were citizens, and under the law can dispose of their property. We were sent to Minnesota to make an investigation as to the full-blood Indians, and our work was confined to these Indians. If I remember correctly, we entered five hundred and fifteen names.
The oldest and most reliable men of the tribe were assembled at the various points where we investigated. These men knew all of the Indians living in certain parts of the reservation, and their parents. In many instances, they knew the grandparents and whether they were full-blood or mixed-blood Indians. Through the assistance of two or three interpreters, we carefully examined the witnesses in the presence of those old men. An affidavit was drawn, in accordance with the facts, and each witness attached his thumb-print thereto. On page [81] I present a photographic copy of an affidavit taken by Mr. Linnen. It will be observed by study of this that the testimony was exact in detail, and the Indian proved to be a full-blood. If this plan were followed on all the reservations in the United States, accurate lists of Indian population would result. The list was made on ethnological lines. The trouble has been, that men who were not acquainted with Indian customs or descent, and who did not assemble together a sufficient number of the older Indians, have attempted to make these rolls.
At the conclusion of our work at White Earth, the affidavits, the rolls, and other papers were given to the Indian Office, and submitted by them to the Department of Justice. The Department accepted our affidavits and put them in legal form and began prosecutions, which have extended down to the present time.
When Hon. Marsden C. Burch had charge of the White Earth cases for the Attorney General, Mr. E. C. O’Brien served as his assistant. Hon. C. C. Daniels succeeded Judge Burch, and Mr. O’Brien is associated with him in the prosecutions. Mr. O’Brien kindly read proofs of my White Earth chapters and offered suggestions. Mr. O’Brien says:—
“All suits are based on the Linnen-Moorehead roll, except a few suggested by Mr. Hinton. The Hinton roll includes all Indians on the reservation, and was prepared to determine who were entitled to fee simple patents.”[[14]]
Mr. John H. Hinton was appointed Special Agent and sent to White Earth to make a new roll of the Ojibwa. I was informed he added many names, but Mr. O’Brien’s recent letter indicates that this is not correct. The “interests” responsible for the White Earth scandal, petitioned Congress a year ago to make a new roll of the Ojibwa. This bill nearly passed. A Commission of two is now making a roll of allotments, which Mr. O’Brien assures me are not included in the suits.
All lovers of justice may pray that no new roll be attempted. The Linnen-Moorehead list is accurate and has stood the test.
Having assembled as our witnesses the most reliable old Indians, we were able to check up the many errors in the Government roll. Frequently there would be as many as forty or fifty Ojibwa assembled in the schoolroom where our hearings were held. When the interpreter called out such a name as Min-de-moi-yen, or E-quay-zince, or Mah-geed, the other Indians would shout with laughter, and when they had recovered sufficiently they would state they did not know what individual Indian was named as there were a score who might respond to that appellation.
The Ojibwa Indians have had a number of attorneys in the past twenty, or twenty-five years. None of these men seem to have concerned themselves with the prevention of the wholesale thefts of land and timber. The gentleman who acted as attorney at the time of our arrival, became active toward the end of our investigation, and did what he could to secure justice for the Indians. But he had done nothing previously along such lines, and his activities savored of a death-bed repentance. The Secretary of the Interior did not approve his re-election. The full-blood Indians were against the employment of the attorney, and the mixed-blood Indians, headed by Gus Beaulieu, were very insistent that the attorney be retained. During the three years prior to 1909, the attorney had received in salary and expenses about $20,000.
A large council was called in July by the Indians to talk over the attorneyship. Mr. Linnen and myself were spectators, and while we could have helped the poor, ignorant full-bloods, because of our official position, we were compelled to sit in silence and see Gus Beaulieu and John Carl, Rev. Clement Beaulieu and others manipulate the meeting. The first morning, there were sufficient full-bloods to have outvoted the Beaulieu element, two to one. But Gus Beaulieu and his brother, Rev. Clement Beaulieu, consumed the time in speech-making, while Ben Fairbanks sent mixed-bloods in teams all over the reservation to bring in those who would vote according to Gus Beaulieu’s desires. At the afternoon session the full-blood Indians might have carried their point, but they spent their time answering the arguments of the two Beaulieus and others, being cleverly heckled into making long speeches.
The next morning, the council adjourned to a larger hall, in the center of White Earth village. By this time the mixed-blood element predominated and a very motley crowd was assembled, including a number of saloon-keepers of Ogema and other towns, and several interpreters who were mentioned in the affidavits as having acted as go-betweens in land and timber deals. To shorten my story, the poor full-blood Indians were outvoted, they were asked to write out ballots (which they did not understand and most of them could not write) and the attorney was re-elected. We made a report against the council, and the Secretary of the Interior sustained our objections.
OJIBWA GRAVEYARD, WHITE EARTH MINNESOTA
Nearly all of these burials are those of consumptives the past few years.
In addition to the Chippewa attorney, there was also a Chippewa Commissioner. The Graham Investigating Committee considered him at some length.
Senator Clapp asked that Darwin H. Hall be appointed Chippewa Commissioner. The history of this appointment is interesting, but must not (at present) be related. Previous to that, Hall had been employed at various intervals until his employment totaled eight years and cost $31,845. In this connection it is well to remark that the investigation made by Linnen and myself, including the employment of thirty-seven persons, and lasting all summer and part of the fall, cost for my part $3,066.64. Mr. Linnen’s expenses could not have been more than a third of that sum.
Hall came to White Earth while Linnen and I were investigating, and was of no value to us. He helped us in no way. He was detailed to move some 200 or 300 Mille Lac Indians about one hundred miles (more or less). I had offered to move these same Indians in sixty days, but my offer met with no cordial response. During the twenty months that Hall was in office he moved fifty Indians, according to my information, and fifty-one according to the Indian Office report. At that rate, his job would have lasted nearly seven years! It cost him $167.50 per head to move an Indian one hundred miles. It would have cost $33,500 to move 200 Indians to White Earth!
I met Hall at the Hiawatha Hotel, White Earth, prior to the arrival of Mr. Linnen. We stepped out into the street in order not to be overheard and I told him of the dreadful situation of the Chippewa Indians and how that he could help us right their wrongs. He informed me that he had no sympathy with the investigation, and I could see his attitude was hostile.
The Secretary of the Bureau of Catholic Missions, Charles S. Lusk, wrote to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs in August, 1910, calling attention to the sad condition of these Indians, that the removal of a portion of them to White Earth had brought them under the influence of one Gus Beaulieu and other politicians. They were promised houses, lands and farming implements. In Washington three years ago I met a delegation of the Ojibwa. Three of the members of this body were personally known to me, and the Chief Ah-bow-we-ge-shig well known. They told me that the last thing that Darwin Hall did was to summon the Mille Lacs and persuade them to move a considerable distance from their homes. He left them in camp, promising to return shortly and move them to White Earth. These Indians waited two weeks. They had little food. Mr. Hall did not move them, and they suffered privations, and at last returned to their former homes. The story of the Mille Lacs reads as a page from Helen Hunt Jackson’s “Century of Dishonor,” yet this scandal did not occur in the old days, but is recent history. Who is responsible?
Almost any other body of men and women in the world would be utterly discouraged if they had passed through the same experience that fell to the lot of the Ojibwa Indians of White Earth, Minnesota, during twenty-five years. I am acquainted with no community in the East where, in the minds and hearts of the citizens, there would remain even a particle of respect, or regard, or confidence, in any government, or culture, or civilization, responsible for such a condition. The sole saving grace is the natural cheerfulness and optimism of the Ojibwa people, as a whole. Many of them are discouraged, and most of them will not farm or work, for the reason that the farming and working in the past resulted in those who were industrious being disciplined, (see page [68]) and those who were indolent being rewarded. No white man or woman would work under similar circumstances. Yet, contrary to all precedents, they are cheerful and optimistic. They have a keen sense of humor, they laugh and joke among themselves. I desire to vary the monotony of this recital of wrongs and sufferings, by illustrating a few incidents.
The old witnesses and the interpreters, after dinner one noon hour, were having an animated discussion. A number of us were lolling about on the ground, smoking, and one of the officials happened at this moment to stretch and yawn. One of the old Indians immediately laughed and said something which caused the other Indians to shout with merriment. The interpreter turned to me and said, “Mah-een-gonce says, that that is the first white man he has seen to open his mouth and a lie did not hop out.”
When the Indians were assembled in council on one occasion, a long letter from Washington arrived which was read by the clerk, and interpreted by John Lufkins, a Carlisle graduate. At the conclusion of a tedious interpretation requiring an hour, a prominent Indian, whom we called “Shorty,” but whose correct name was Ah-bow-we-ge-shig, arose and uttered a few words not requiring more than fifteen or twenty seconds in utterance. His reply to the long, well-worded, indefinite Washington letter is worthy of preservation. “That letter is like the food that we Indians have today, all soup and no meat.”
When some of the preliminary trials were heard at White Earth, previous to action by the Department of Justice, the old Indian Bay-bah-dwun-gay-aush, eighty-two years of age, and who was possessed of remarkable memory, was on the witness stand. This Indian knew the family history of several hundred persons and was entirely familiar with all parts of the reservation. The lawyers, however, would ask him where was located a piece of land described as Township 4, Section 15, Range 142, and who owned it, instead of asking the Indian, “Who owns the land at the head of Otter Creek?” or “Who used to live at the head of Otter Creek?” The attorneys purposely asked the Indian in a way to confuse him, in order to substantiate their contention that Indian testimony was not reliable.
Having stood this annoying and unfair grilling for a long time, old Bay-bah-dwun-gay-aush said something to the interpreter which caused the other Indians to laugh. His remark was, “Why does the lawyer ask me where the Indian land is? The white lawyers know better than I, because they now own most of the lands.” I believe that he added that they had stolen them, or words to that effect.
Inspector Linnen, Mr. Allen and myself were criticised by those who sought, unsuccessfully, to discredit our work; for the reason that we looked on during a squaw dance. One reverend gentleman contended that we were encouraging “pagan ceremonies”. In fact, he reproached one of the Government officials rather severely. The Government official denied having taken part in a pagan dance, whereupon the reverend gentleman asked him, “Have you seen many pagan dances?” “I can truthfully say,” replied the official, “that I never observed but one dance which might truly be called pagan.” The reverend gentleman seemed shocked, but made bold to inquire: “On what reservation?” “It was on no reservation. The only real pagan dance I ever witnessed was the inaugural ball in Washington during Harrison’s administration.”
On another occasion, toward the end of the investigation, we were visited by a reverend gentleman much concerned as to the welfare of the Indians, a most worthy person, but who seemed to concern himself with details, rather than the great important questions and problems of White Earth. There was a good deal of drinking among the Indians, and the police made frequent arrests. The day following an arrest, when the Indians had become sober, they were brought into Major Howard’s office where a sort of “fatherly court” was held. These hearings might be roughly compared to police court affairs in other communities. Mr. Linnen and myself occasionally went in, but usually we were in the schoolroom taking testimony. Because we did not assume charge of all those multitudinous details, the worthy gentleman from the East seemed to think that we were neglecting our duties. He thought we did not seem appalled by the laxity of morals, etc. Such was not the case, for we had already made a lengthy report to the Secretary of the Interior and Commissioner of Indian Affairs on the whiskey curse and on immorality. However, he spoke to an educated Indian, and rather reprimanded us. The Indian’s answer was one of the best I have ever heard. He said, “Doctor, I will give you an Indian illustration. The shed, the stable and the house are all on fire. Linnen and Moorehead are trying to save the house first, and the stable next, but the shed is doomed. You want them to abandon work on the house and begin on the shed.”
Today the Department of Justice has before it something like sixteen hundred cases involving lands at White Earth. Several times have I written the Honorable Attorney General for information. While some lands have been returned, and some reforms instituted, it must be admitted that there has not been the prompt, efficient “clean-up” for which we hoped. This has had a bad effect elsewhere on both Whites and Indians. It is my firm conviction that white people are encouraged to defraud Indians, for the reason that they are willing to “take a chance.” That is, they know that the Indian property can be obtained in a short time, whereas the procedure of recovery will drag through months, (and usually years) and that the Government stands more than an even chance of being defeated. It was defeated in the first White Earth cases.
The Indians take the point of view that the grafters are more powerful than the Great Father at Washington. While this seems entirely illogical, nevertheless it is entirely true—from the Indians’ point of view. The Indian loses his property under such conditions as occurred at White Earth, by the removal of restrictions, in a few days, or a few weeks, elsewhere in a few months, or not more than a few years. He knows that this is true and that it occurs all over the United States. The Government does not spend a few weeks, or a few months in recovering the property, save in very rare instances. Usually, the Government cases drag on for years. The Indians write letters to the men who began the investigation, or the attorneys who tried the cases, and they receive just such replies as fill the files in my office: “I have the honor to advise you that the Department is doing all it can to bring the cases to trial. There was much testimony to be taken before they could be tried on their merits.[[15]] Some are now almost ready for trial, and we hope to submit them before the close of the calendar year;” or, “The Department is doing all possible;” or, “The delays are due to the activity of the attorneys on the other side;” or, “It has been found that according to Act 462, 57th Congress, that these white persons are empowered”, etc.; or, “The information contained in your communication of the 13th has been submitted to our legal department,” etc., etc. From the Indian point of view, there is anything and everything under the sun except the return of the property or the punishment of the guilty. This is strong language, but it is absolutely true. So long as we permit Indians to lose their property without let or hindrance from us, our Indian citizens will lose their property; and so long as we administer our justice in such a manner that the burden of the proof seems to rest on the poor Indian rather than upon the white grafter, just so long will the bulk of the Indians care neither for industry nor education, neither for civilization nor Christianity. The Indian must have the same standing and the same justice in court as the white man. Furthermore, there must be a swift administration of justice, and some means devised whereby the tricks of grafters’ lawyers may be overcome.
The Inspection Service, under the supervision of Honorable E. B. Linnen, is now what it should have been ten years ago. I went into this phase of the White Earth situation in 1909, very thoroughly. There had been Special Agents and Inspectors at White Earth time and again.
One who had done real work was Mrs. Elsie E. Newton, one of the most able and conscientious women in the Indian Service. She had visited the sick and the suffering, had made recommendations, had done her part toward remedying intolerable conditions.
How the others could have visited such a place as White Earth and not reported on actual conditions is incomprehensible, unless we accept Mr. Valentine’s address at Lake Mohonk, in October, 1909, in which he stated that too many of his Inspectors were blind and deaf! I talked with one or two men now out of the Service, who used to be Special Agents, and they did not even know the names of all the places on the reservation! I don’t know of one of them who went into the cabins and sat down and talked to the Indians and heard their troubles. Most of them drove from the railroad station at Ogema, over to the Agent’s office and talked with Mr. Michelet, the agent preceding Howard.
I would close this chapter on White Earth with an incident which occurred at Pine Point during the first investigation, March-April, 1909.
The Chief of the Otter Tail Pilligers lives at Pine Point. One of the most dramatic instances which occurred during the investigation happened in the latter part of March before the large party, employed during the summer, had begun their labors. It was cold and we were compelled to hold our examinations indoors. Just opposite the office was a schoolroom in which some sixty Indian children were assembled under the charge of three or four white teachers. The chief had lost a number of children and other relatives, and thus he and his wife were heirs to about eleven allotments. These were easily worth $45,000 or $50,000, being mostly pine timber. With the exception of one or two others, this man had been robbed of more property than anyone else, and it was pathetic to hear him state how certain men in whom he trusted, had taken advantage of his ignorance. When he had finished his long recital of wrongs, I remarked, “You must have lost entire faith in the white people and in the Government at Washington.” “Oh, no,” he replied, “I think that Washington would give me justice if only the men there could hear my story.” Just as he completed this statement, the school session came to an end, and we heard through the thin partition the childish voices singing in unison “My Country, ’Tis of Thee, Sweet Land of Liberty”—and this was the first time in my life that the words sounded in my ears like a hollow mockery and a sham.