OCR Text |
Show REPORT OF COMMISSIOh~R OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 11 . of colnpetition and every incitement to labor incident to ordinary life in this countrv : t.he unwillinaness of the Indians to take their lands in severalty; the persistent refusal of the Choctaws to give negroes their rights as citizens of the Territory, together with the strong pressure from parties interested in railroad enterprises and investments in lands, will be quite likely to induce legislation of sorne kind for this country. If the inhabitants of the Territory would adopt the Okmulgee con-atitution with the amendments suggested by the President., upon this a satisfactory government could be created for this connt,ry. Then if the Indiaus would have their lands surrayed and allotted to them in sever-alty, .the first ~ t e p sto ward citizenship would he fairly taken. Every considerat,ion of justice seems to require that the treaty obligation which the Oovernment has assumed toward these nations shall be ob-served. No cimnmstances can be supposed to exist that will justify the nullification of these obligations, but if it is found, on careful ex. amination. that the highest interests of both the United States and the ludinn n;irion* oi tl& Territory require ;I chougr iu their rr1;lriouu wl~ielis~ n ot prnvidrd for by the differcur trei~ties,t lwn the qaestiol~i s f ;~i r lrra ise11 whetl~err hu Govr r~~~a cmnaty not assume the resl~onsi-hili6, of making the changes in such form as shall secure every right which these Indians can reasonably ask for themselves, and as will also commend itself to the moral sense of the country. The attempt to ad-minister justice for all the Territory through the United States courts at Fort Smith has beer~largelya failure, and sometilnes Forse: If the adoption of a territorial coustitutiou by the Indians does not provide a, remedo. then a United States court should be established. at some ~~ ~-~ ~ - . . couvenient 1~,i11itn tho l'errirory, to talie (!~!guiz;rr~o~f .ea ll ~.aseos f eompl:ri~lta rising bet!rt!eu the ci t ize~~ofs thr United States and i1111nh-itants of tllr Trrritorv. onrl hrt\reru I I I C I I I ~ CoIf~ tlir ditkra111t rlbrs and nations in the ~erritGb. MISSON I'NDIANS IN SOUTEERN CALIFORNIA. Special attention isinvited to the report of John G. Am&, who was appointed a special commissioner to inquire iuto the coudition and ne-cessities of the Mission Iodibs in Southern California. TheseIndians, nuder the Mexican government, eujoyed civil and property rights, and were abundantly able to take care of themselves from the products of the soil. But under our Government these rights, were uot considered as transferred, and they now fiud themselves liable to have the lands which t,hey have cultivated for generation8 taken from them by white settlers. It would seem that there is no alternative, in any just settle-ment with these Indians, but to secure for them, in the way proposed in the report of Agent Ames, the land to which they are entitled, or its equivaleut, upon which they will be able to subsist themselves mith-out help from the Government. WEAVING. The effort during the year to instruct the Indian women among the Chippewas in Wisconsin and Miuuesota in the art of weaving bas al-ready succeeded so far as to make it certain that, by theintrod~~ctioonf looms among all Indians where the herding of sheep is practicable, a new industry may be brought within the reach of the Indians, which will be of large service in the slow process of civilization. |