OCR Text |
Show ' REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAI&S. XI11 ~ienltuiaul ses than those of the ~ h e ~ e n u ea~s i dArapahoes,t he great difficulty or drawback in both reservations being the ,long annual droughts, whioh make irrigation necessary in order to insure good crops. If auy,part of t.he Indian Territory is to be opened to homestead entry andsettlnment, it should be the western part, running a line north and aoutli through theTerritorp, and removing all Indianswast of that line to lands lying east of said line. Thus the. Indians would be upon lands better adapted to their support, and they mould also be adjacent to each uther.aud in a more compact form. What political developnie~tlti es before the Indians of the Indian Ter-ritory it is impos*ible to foresee; but one thing is evident, the idea of maintaining permanently an imperium itt imperio, such as now exists, must, in some respects, be abandoned. The idea of Indian nationality is fast melting awar, and the more intelligent Indinns nse themselves awaking to that fact. In a word, the Indians in the Indim Territary must sootier or later break up their tribal relations, take their lands in severaltp, and to all intents and purposes become citizens of the United States, and be amenable to its laws, as well as enjoy all of its high and distingnished privileges. When that is done they will be prepared to dispose of the surplus lands they map own to th6 best advantage. to themselves, and in a spiritpro bompublico. EDUCATION. Although I hare already emphasized the importance of' education as the co-ordinate factor with agriculture in the "solution of the Indian problem," I desire to offer some additional suggestions touching. this great audi~~terestinfega tnre of the "civilizillg policy * of the Govern-ment towards the red men. When we remember that only a few years back there was only now and then all Indian who could speak, ruueh less read and write the Englisb language, the progress of the raee in this respect may be aid to be truly wonderful. The appropriations made by Congress, whioh has ~econdede very effort for Indian advancement with com~t~endabllieb era.lity, have steadily in-creased from yeartoyear. The money appropriated has been expended in establishing altd supporting schools on the reservations and at other localities within thk limits of tho States, notably at Carlisle Pa.; Haskell Institute, Lawrence, Bans.; Genoa, Nebr.; Forest Grove, Oreg.; also at Chiloeco; in the Indian Territory. At ill1 of these institutions, as well a,s at otliers conducted by private managetnent, as, for instance, the Nortr!al aud Agricultural Iustitute at Hamptou, and the Lincoln Insti-tution in Philadelphia, and ot.hers, a higher grade of instruction and more thorough and complete induutrial training is given thauis usually afforded at reservation soliools. At the head of the list it maF be proper to meution Carlisle and Hampton. These institutions, it is claimed by their friends and promoters, are especially fitted for the education of the future teachers and miasiouaries of the race. But without detract- |