The Government boarding school is now attended by about 300 pupils and does excellent work. At the time of our investigation, however, it was in a most unsatisfactory condition, and immediate reforms had to be inaugurated.
Prior to the Linnen-Moorehead investigation there was entirely too much swindling of school children. One would imagine that pupils in a Government school, and under the protection of the American flag, would be safer than pupils in ordinary institutions not governmental in character. Yet there are many cases on record where children, little and big, have lost their allotments while attending school. For this the Indian Office does not seem so much to blame as the teachers and superintendents who should have refused admission to persons who came to transact business with minors. It is gratifying to learn that the Commissioner has issued strict orders, and now it is impossible for strangers, land sharks, or others to enter Government boarding schools and swindle minors out of their property. My only regret is that the strong, right arm of the Government did not protect these poor people and their children prior to my arrival at White Earth.
Miss Phillomea Donnell was a pupil in the school at Flandreau, South Dakota, where many Indian children are assembled each year for instruction. She lived as do the others, in large dormitories. She testifies that while she was there, a prominent, educated Indian appeared and entered the music room without opposition on the part of any teacher or person in authority, and sent for Miss Donnell. She came down from her room, and the man produced a folded paper and a fountain pen. He said that there was a dispute as to how her name was spelled on the Government roll. There was some discussion about it, and he secured her signature on each side of this paper in order, as he assured her, to correct any error in the record. So she signed the paper in both places, and he gave her a folded piece of paper, or an envelope, and told her it was a present for her. Indians frequently make each other presents when visiting, and so she did not look at this paper until she had been in her room some time, as he told her it was a surprise. When she looked at the paper she found it was a check for $500. Then, realizing that her allotment of eighty acres, near the town of Mahnomen, was a valuable allotment, she concluded that probably he had made her sign a paper the result of which would be the loss of her land. She immediately sought the superintendent of that school and he referred the matter to Inspector Linnen and myself. The Indian had come to the school in an automobile to hasten matters. There were no witnesses to the signature, and he had no power of attorney in South Dakota, but only in Minnesota. Yet in a few days the deed was recorded with the signature of witnesses.
In our capacity as Government officials we reported this outrageous proceeding to the Department, prepared carefully-drawn affidavits covering the entire circumstances, and rushed them to Washington to enable the Commissioner to take immediate action. Up to the last that I heard from Miss Donnell, she had obtained no relief from the Government, but has been compelled to pay $57 out of her own funds (which were limited) to obtain her own land. The buyer would not have given it up but for the fact that he knew we were ready to proceed against him. I cite the case of this girl in detail, although there are others which could be mentioned where frauds were practised on minor children in the Government schools.
When the Graham Committee hearings were published, the affidavits and correspondence were made public. The Indian is supposed to have persuaded Miss Donnell to speak in his favor. One of the Department of Justice officials told me that the case against him was dropped.
We learned that certain educated Indians made a practice of going to these Government schools, calling the pupils into the parlor or the music-room or parade-ground, and transacting business with them.
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.