The Vanishing Race: The Last Great Indian Council

by Joseph K. Dixon

CHIEF KOON-KAH-ZA-CHY: I never before have seen so many chiefs meet together. I have met a great many chiefs here whom I have never seen before. When I was asked to come here I heard it was for the purpose of making a record, and to me the thought was good. I am sorry in my heart that I must say farewell to all these chiefs.

CHIEF RUNNING BIRD: I am sixty years old, and when I came to this ground it was ground I had never seen before in my life. I met the chiefs whom I had never seen before. I had heard of them but had not seen them. I was very glad to come here and see the old-time tepees, the kind of tepees our fathers used to live in. I grew up to manhood myself in this kind of a tepee, and I had good health. Now When they give us a house to live in I am not healthy at all. I am getting old now, and am getting up in years, and all I wish now at the present time is that my children shall grow up industrious and work, because they cannot get honour in the war as I used to [pg 204] get it—they can only get honour now by working hard. I can only teach my children that the way to get honour is to go to work, and be good men and women. These impressions have been strengthened by this council. I shall go home and tell the other Indians and our agent about the council, for the meeting of the chiefs will always live in my memory.

CHIEF BRAVE BEAR: The meeting of all the chiefs, my friends and those who are strangers to me, makes my heart feel high. I think of this and when I get back I shall still think of it, and it will be just as though I was here. I will never forget these men sitting here as my friends, as long as I live. We have been treated kindly and this I shall never forget. I would like a nice little story of this meeting so that I can show it to my friends.

CHIEF UMAPINE: I have come from the far distant mountains of Oregon to meet the chiefs in council. I cannot understand their language; I can only talk to them in signs, but I have great respect for them. We each have two hands, two feet, two eyes, two ears, but one nose, one mouth, one head, and one heart. We all breathe the same air; we are all, therefore, brothers. On my journey to this land, where in former years I have chased the buffalo and fought the hostile Sioux who came to steal our horses and women, I saw the old buffalo trails where these great beasts used to march in single file, each [pg 205] walking in the footsteps of the other until they had worn deep their trail. The snows of many winters have cut the trail deep like an irrigating ditch, and when I thought of the buffalo I cried in my heart. I have taken these great chiefs by the hand, I have been glad to meet them; I must now say farewell forever, and my heart is more lonely than when I think of the buffalo.

CHIEF TIN-TIN-MEET-SA: My idea of this meeting is that we are doing a great thing. I am of old age and I feel strange to these people whom I have met here at this place for the first time. I know that after this meeting is over we will all of us go back to our own country, probably never to see one another again, or talk any more to each other. The man who was sent here to do this work has been very kind to the Indians and is a fit man to do this kind of work. The work he is doing is one of the greatest works that has ever been done. The record here made will not perish. We will soon all be gone, but the record will last. I have no hard feelings toward any one in this camp, and I am only worrying about my hay at home.

CHIEF PRETTY VOICE EAGLE: The meeting of the chiefs is to me a great thing in many ways. First: I was glad to come here and meet the chiefs from all over the country, and see many whom I had never seen before, and talk to them by sign language. It is a great sign to me that we have all met here, [pg 206] met in peace. We had this feeling before we came, but now that we are here and can see each other face to face, the feeling has grown. Second: it is a great idea that has been thought of to send a man here to take our speeches and make our pictures, and think over and talk over the old times, and make a record of them. To me this is a great accomplishment. It is a great accomplishment in this way: we cannot go to Washington; we cannot present ourselves there, but the pictures and the record will be preserved there and in great cities, to speak for us. I want to draw a little illustration. You speak a language that we know nothing about. With the help of your people you have educated the younger element and through them we can speak to you, and the different interpreters can speak for the different tribes to you, and thus we can all talk with you and tell our story. I want to point out in this way the difference between the old people and the young people. The illustration I have given seems to me like a dream. I can see the advancement our race has made thus far. Our race is constantly changing, and this meeting will be a great memory to all the Indians represented here. This meeting means a great deal to my tribe. One great feeling of gratefulness I have about this meeting is that I hope that my grandchildren and their grandchildren will read the speeches I have made here, and will see my pictures.

CHIEF RUNNING FISHER: I think there is a great idea back of calling the chiefs together, because there will be something left of us when we are all gone. This record and pictures will live when we are all dead. I am glad to have had this privilege of meeting all these chiefs from all the tribes. I feel sad at the thought of not meeting these chiefs again, for I would like to meet them all once more, but I feel pretty sure we will never meet again.

Chief Running Fisher died within two weeks after reaching home from the council.

CHIEF BULL-DON'T-FALL-DOWN: This meeting of the great chiefs in council I consider one of the great events of my life. Chiefs from all over the United States have come here, chiefs whom I have never seen before and whom I will never see again. We have had an opportunity to see their faces, shake hands with them, and talk with them in the sign language. Since the great council of the chiefs on the Platte River in 1867, we have not seen any of their faces until this day. Then we were on the warpath—at this council we meet in peace. I was one of the first Crow Indians to make peace with the Sioux after we had been on the warpath, and now I can say farewell to all the chiefs with peace in my heart for all men.