Correspondent, Beaulieu, Minn.
“The best protection to the Indians would be the giving to each man the portion of goods and lands that belong to him as an individual, or to his family, and then for a very brief period exercise an elder brotherly control of his affairs, rather by way of suggestion. This is my opinion as to the Indians in this region at the present time.”
Correspondent, Rosebud, S. Dakota
“When I came here, over eighteen years ago, many lived on their farms, miles away from town, wore citizens’ clothes, talked English, were industrious in a way. When they were allotted, they were allowed to have Indian villages and in consequence they left their farms, flocked together, returned to the blanket, Osage language, old customs, etc. In northeastern Oklahoma, where they were allotted, they were forced to live on their allotments and became industrious.
“In conclusion, I would say turn the Indians loose entirely, place them on a par with the Whites, as soon as possible, and that should be very soon.”
Correspondent, Pawhuska, Okla.
“The Government is doing something in the way of intellectual and industrial training of the young, but fails to stir up an ambition to carry these things into life; the Government has established a hospital for the sick, and has several physicians who are paid for caring for the sick; yet disease and death are on the increase; the Government recognizes the Indians as wards, and says that no liquor shall be sold to them, yet will sell a license to a man that he may open a saloon on a reservation. The saloons may not sell liquor to Indians, yet drunken Indians are as common as dandelions on a lawn. I need not say more. The Government is too big; it is ineffective. The whole problem should be put into the hands of a Commission made up of men with hearts that are something more than pumping-stations, and who are experts in this matter. I say this without any criticism of individuals but of the system as a whole. We must get the Indian problem out of politics; we must give the Commission power to act within certain limits.
“Had we had men of heart and of vision, what might not have been done for the Indians on the White Earth Reservation? A study of the Indian would have revealed him as a social creature; of choice he lived in a settlement surrounded by his friends. This would have suggested the gathering of Indians into villages rather than scattering them upon allotments of land without any knowledge of, or taste for farming. In these villages might have been built houses on one-acre tracts for 150 families, and there might have been provided a school, hospital, store, etc. The school would be a day-school, and the children left in the homes of their parents. Two field matrons could visit every home at least once each week, and from time to time gather the women for instructions in care of the home, care of children, etc. The physician could easily look after the sick.”
Correspondent, Cass Lake, Minnesota
“In the town of Yerington, Nevada, having a white population of 682 (last census), there are at least fifteen places where liquor is sold. Yerington is situated in Mason’s valley about twenty-five miles from the reservation, and is surrounded by a farming section and in the outlying hills are many mining prospectors and a few mines in operation. Occasionally a stranded prospector drifts into the town, and readily learns that the easiest way to get another ‘grubstake’ is to bootleg whiskey to Indians, and so there is considerable of this work done. Also, in the town of Yerington are many places where ‘yen-chee’ is sold, and a good per cent. of these Indians are opium users.