The American Indian in the United States, Period 1850-1914 / ... The Present Condition of the American Indian; His Political History and Other Topics; A Plea for Justice

by Warren K. Moorehead

EVICTED INDIANS, TWIN LAKES, WHITE EARTH RESERVATION, MINNESOTA, 1909

The effect of the allotment on the Whites near White Earth was immediate. Mushroom banks sprang up in the surrounding small towns. The Indians in their affidavits (of which Linnen and myself took 505) testified that lawyers, banks, county officials, and business men of prominence in Detroit, Ogema, Mahnomen, and other towns, joined in the scramble to secure their pine lands and farm tracts.

As few of these men spoke the language, it was necessary to have interpreters, and the educated Indians were soon divided into two camps, those who were willing for pay to interpret for the land-sharks and timber thieves, and those who would not help in defrauding their own people.

It is sad to note that in a hundred or more instances the Indians were purposely made drunk and their lands taken away from them while under the influence of liquor. Many of the Indians do not remember what kind of papers they signed, whether deeds or mortgages, or whether any papers were signed at all.

While our investigation was in progress, and we had moved over to Rice River, Mr. J. Weston Allen visited us for three weeks. He came as a representative of the Boston Indian Citizenship Committee, and because of his high standing in the legal profession, rendered valuable assistance in the investigation.

The key to the whole situation lay in the question of blood. As has been shown before, the mixed-bloods only could sell their land. The full-bloods could not. Consequently we assembled the old record-keepers, medicine men, chiefs, and Indians of prominence who knew their own people. Some of these were more than eighty-five years of age and none of them under seventy. When an Indian appeared before us to give his testimony, we first asked him whether he was a full-blood or a mixed-blood, and the names of his parents and grandparents. The old witnesses, probably twelve or fifteen, might not all know the parents or grandparents of the Indian testifying. But three, four, six, and sometimes eight of them would know the family history, and would be able to swear whether the Indian was a full-blood. If he was a mixed-blood, we told him with regret that we could do nothing for him.

One affidavit of the Indian himself as to his blood relationship and parents was taken, another signed by the old witnesses to the same effect. A third affidavit related to the property possessed by the Indian, with number and description of allotments, and by careful questioning we ascertained when and where he had disposed of his land. The fourth affidavit was by the interpreters in which they solemnly declared that they had correctly interpreted our statements to the Indian and his answers to us, and that he understood the nature of the papers that he had signed. The interpreters also made further affidavit that they had carefully interpreted to the old Indian witnesses the papers that they signed. In addition to all of the above, we frequently took affidavits of Indians who were present during the swindling operations. Thus it will be seen that the evidence was very complete, positive and exact. So far as I know, no investigating force on a reservation had ever done more work in the same length of time. We labored from eight o’clock to twelve, one to six, and frequently from seven until eleven at night.

The Indians took great interest in the investigation, and as we moved from one portion of the reservation to another we were accompanied by large numbers of these poor people. On one occasion over eighty Indians were present, and we were compelled to turn two large school buildings into dormitories.

These Indians had lost their property almost without exception. Whether the term “swindle” is used or not is immaterial. They lost their property through many and devious ways. The affidavits indicated that in many instances Indians appeared before the buyers either drunk or somewhat under the influence of liquor. Not only did the interpreters give the Indians liquor, but frequently the Indians drank of their own accord. Of course the bankers, lawyers, county officials and real estate men knew that the ordinary code of business ethics would not countenance their dealings with drunken persons. But these land-owners being Indians, and the sentiment of the thirty-seven individuals and firms who in the affidavits are shown to be responsible for the conditions at White Earth being against Indians as land-owners, no discrimination was made and Indians were permitted to “do business” whether drunk or sober. Next to drunkenness as a means of separating the Indian from his land, the deliberate deceit practised by the buyers stands out conspicuously. Scores of affidavits and statements were taken of Indians who owned two, three, five, or even seven or eight trust patents. The trust patent was preliminary paper, but as trust patents would in the process of time become deeds, the white people did not differentiate and trust patents were in most cases accepted the same as deeds. In order to be within the law it was necessary to prove the Indians mixed-bloods. Most of the Indians were therefore sworn as mixed-bloods. They frequently protested, stating that they were full-bloods, but were described in the papers as mixed-bloods just the same. Therefore few of the papers signed by these Indians were read or interpreted to them, and in the majority of cases, as the Indian could neither write nor read, he did not know whether he was signing receipts, mortgages, deeds or releases. The favorite form of expression used by the interpreter, according to affidavits, was “the buyer says this is a legal document which you would not understand if read to you, and all you have to do is to sign your name and receive the money.” Very few Indians appear to have sworn to the papers they signed.