OCR Text |
Show REPORT OF THE C03IMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. 5 by its ancient inhabitants, was parcelled ont according to the will of the sov-ereign powe1;and taken posssssion of by persons who claimed immediately from -the crown, or mediately t.hrough its grantees or deputies. "The law which regulates, or ought to regulate, in general, the relations b e tween the conqueror and the conquered was incapable of application to a people under such circumstances. The resort to some new and different rule, better adnpted to the actual state of things, was unavoidable. Every rnle which can he suggested will be found to beattended with great difficulty." The difficulty here suggested,,of defining a line of policy in all respects adapted to the relations between the two races, has not as yet been surmouuted. I t is, ho~ever, I think, clearly deducible from the foregoing statements, fully corroborated by our pastbistory, tbat the white and the red man cannot occupy territory in common, and it follows that a policy which shall be adequate, and adapted to the re uirements of the case, must provide for each race a sepa-rate abiding-place. I t was this necessity, I doubt not, which originated the comp;lratively modern system of Indian reservations; and this system, so far as it goes, can but be regardzd as a step in the right direction. I t is, however, subject to very grave objections, arising chiefly from the fact that, as our settle-ments are pushed forward, the numerons small reserves are snrroonded by whites; with whom the Indians are thus brought into almost immediate contact, and this is almost invariably disastrous to thc Indians, since it ia found that they much more readily adopt the vices of our civilization than its virtoes and advantages. I t is obvious that this close contact of the tvo races cannot he wholly obviated, since they must necessarily occupy contiguous portions of the same territory; but, in my judgment, the evils consequent upon the necessity of the case may he mitigated to such an e ent as to be hardly appreciable when compared with their present magnitude. ?In my last annual report the plan of concentrating the Indians was suggested. Time has only served to strengthen my convictions that this is the only method by which the great de-1 fects incident to our present policy may be amended. There should be no delay in setting apart, by suitable legislation, portions of the public domain for the exclusive use of the Indians. The tracts to be thus set apart shoald he limited to the least possible number. It is believed that tbe number nee4 nG-exceed five, and that it may be confined to three. These Indian territories should be selected with especial reference to their adaptation to the peculiar wants and requirements of the Indians, and protected by the moat stringent legislation against envroachment by the whites. Even if fully matured, which ia far from being the caae, the full details of tbe orooositioa here submitted would be inapprGpriate to a.report like the present; bu; I apprehend tbat the aub.ject, in all its bearings, whether it be considered as a measure of iustice and humanity to the Indian;, in its economical aspects, or as a measure &signed to reclaim a%arbarous and heathen race, whose destiny is intimately dependent upon the policy we may pursue, will, in the light of past experieuce, commend itself to the favorable cansideration of all who earnestly seek a satisfdctory solution of thatmost difficult of all political problems, viz: Indian civilization. The policy of negotiating treaties with Indian tribes has recently attracted a large share of pnblic attention, and it may not, therefore, be considered inap-propriate to again allude to the subject. The singular pertinacity with wbich the Indians, as a race, mhtain their tribal orgar~izations has already been remarked, and their aversion to a union with our own people, as evidenced by their entire history during the period that has elapsedsince the discovery of the western continent, has also been noted. 1odeed;it seems to have been takeu for granted by all who have enzaged in the discussion of tbis uuestion, that they are to br reganled and rrritea a* a separate and llidtiuct people ; and this being the case,it follows thnt, wl~.irever miy be tile pr~li?y adopted, they cannot he permitted to roam at will througllout those portin118 of' rlre cjuntry which are |