OCR Text |
Show the 26th of November last, together with the report of this office, and after referring briefly to the several items of that report referring to the Rosebud Indians in par-ticular, beea~nem om ~- eneraaln d eaid- "Article 5 of the treaty of 1876, known as the Black Hills treaty with the Great Sioux Nation (of which the Rosebud Indians are a part), which was ratified bv the avt of C.rncrei3 apprvvccl Felmiary 28, lh:7 (I9 Stir., 2M,, provides fur assi~hnre ior the said Intlialt8 in the wwk oi riviliration; to fumhh them school$ and ixrstrur-lion in me:hani~slu rn1 wrivulrural nursuim: &lad s renrin ~ r e s r r iWm tinn. u.llivl~ ~~ ~~ -.-. A , . .~- -. ~~~ . ration. 'or 80 much thereEf i m a v h;! nee&. shall be continued until the Indians are ahie to support themselves.' . "Fn.m t h e ~ ~ p ~ ~ r n t amtllid~e ,hry lt~he writers 01 the cornmuui~~atiornef erred to it d o r n8 t SCQm that tlw) <,r the crther Iudianu of tlle ilo~ehu<Alg en<.ya re any ne3n.r the roal uf 6clf-qunt,~,rr than thev sen. tseutu-four yeam aro. when the treaty was Gade. ~egardi&osf the pro<isions in the treatv hoking-to' the reduc-tion iu tlje rattion as t!iry Lwome ablC partly, ii nor wholly; to w~ t i i ntl lt.tn.-el\+., which they appear to 1.e able 1.) ilcr, atrti uutnithswndillg the fs.taWr~cl by the Cdnl~nis-it,urr that iudlvilual Indiana vf this hand own ncarlv 10.000 head oi cattle, a d t hat im,rr t l i i ~ r l1 ,500 head urrr pun:I,asul iroul thrm ikt <car, i;; cn*t to thr C;o\.ern~urrlto f n.orr than $5O,OUO, whicl~w rtle Here a f t e r w ~ r ~ l ~ it~o ~anude ~ l nu:n up b). the IurnJ, they still claim full hrnvfiw ut,,lvr the treat? nslclr.l." He concluded his letter by mying-and this is commended to theserious eonsider-ation of your Indians: "From the facts stated, it does seem that the time has come when individual Indians who are so we11 qu%lified to at least furnish a part of their own wpport, as some of these Indians seem to he, should be re uired to take upon themselves a por-tion of the burden of their oun care. The %ovemment has faithfully and well fulfilled its obligations to them, and as the treaty of 1876 is mutual in its provisions, I respectfi~ll recommend that such individuals as are known to be able to do so, he required to Lrnish their own support or at leaet to contribute toward it, so that the Government may he relieved of tkeir care, and the spirit of the treaty of 1876, in that respect, carried into effect by them as well as by the Government, and that answer to this effect be communicated to them through their agent, as requested." It is understood that this matter received the -mest attention of' the President arncl that hvgave the Sccretary'a Ietrer, jut quoted, hi+ unqualifir~l appro\.aI. i I n t l l r iacc ol this tlw indisarin~$iuaiks sue ui rations 11, all alike innat stov. It therefore becomes your fir& duty to go over the ration rolls of your agency and erase therefrom all those who are wholly self-supporting. Your next duty will be to regulate the ration issued to the necessities of the recipients. As now practiced, it is understood that rations are issued to all alike-that is, they are distributed equally among the Indians of your reservation without re& to their worldly possessions. This should not be continued longer. Mmy families are, perhaps, partially self-supporting, but in different dames. In such cases the ration should be issued according ta the particular needs. In determining who shall receive nations one importat considenation must not be overlooked. Rations must not be issued to those who have no disposition to attempt to support themselves. The law and re@Iationa to this &ect are old, but in many eases seem to have been honored more in the hremh t h in the observance. Never-theless, they are good, and should be enforced so far as conditions will allow. The office is unable to lav down anv. .a rticular rule for the euidance of rteents in arriving at rorrtct conclu$iun~in these matwra. Iudwll,anarhitrary rule \votlU nut a,ork ~nrisl:~ct~,rilvI .n eonw raeR3 it will not he a diffirnlt u k t o determine who is self+upporting, in othem it undohhtedly will. Neither will it be easyat all times to determine just to what extent a family or an individual should be assisted. In all eases it will be a matter of judgment in which that of the agent will or should largely predominate. The duty herein prescribed is an onerous one, and affecting as it does so deeply the present and future welfare of those under your charge, you will recognize the propriety of bringing to its discharge the most impartial, conscientious cam. If the aasietance of t h i ~o5 ce is needed, i t will be given for the asking. |