OCR Text |
Show regulation which will enforce compulsory attendance upon the schools must be enacted. The trend of public and legal thougllt is away from the traditional idea that the Indian is both a ward and a sovereign to the practical everyday fact that he is simply a ward of the Govern-ment; that he is in his tutelage, and requires the tender ca,re and corrective authority which should always be lodged in the 11ands of a gnardian. For eentnries he roamed untrammeled a vast domain, his ownllature and inherited tendencies drawing him away from the dignity and excellence of Anglo-Saxou civjli~ation-away from those elements of thought and action which have made this civilization the grea,test on earth; and yet, under the policy now being pursued, the old Indian, with his blanket and feathers, reeking with the feverish traditions and aspirations of a past glory, gauged by the scalping knife, attuned to the barbaric masic of the war dance and buffalo hunt, is permitted to stand in the pathway of his child's entrance into that civilizatiou-to obstruct by ignorance and hereditary impulsas the material welfare and prosperity of his offspring and hinder tbeCovernment inits efforts to prepare the younger generation of Indians for their incorporation into our complex political organization. The natural loveof the Indian father and mother for their offspring is fully recognized, and no violence is done to those bonds of humanity; but no parent,.whether red or white, has a moral or legal right to stand in the way of his cllildls advancement in life; no nation has a similiar right to permit a portion of its embryo citizens to grow up in ignorance and possible vice. Under tlie present policy of the Departmegt, and of Congress, as soon as the Indian has arrived at that state of advancement when he can be trusted, although partially, with his own material interest, he is urged to accept an allotment. It is difficult to teach the old Indian the value of education with reference to that allotment. It is not so difficult to prepare his child, and tberefore it is axiomatic that the duty of the Government requires, if neressary, its strong hand to force an ignorant parent to allow his child those advantages which will be, not only of absolute benefit to himself, but also m eletlleut of safety to the perpetuity of its own institution. All over this broad land public schools are preparing the white boys and girls for the active duties and responsibilities of real life, but, notwithstanding our advancement and learning in tbis direction, it has been found necessary in some States to enact compulsory school legislation. If such a course is necessary for the white parent, it is of fa,r more importance for the red parent. Remedial legislation along these lines is especially desirable if the full benefits to be derived from the expenditures made by order of Oougress are to be attaiued. |