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Show 44 REPORT OF THE COMXI88IONER OX INDIAN AFFAIRS. Indians who have themselves been educated; therefore, to delay edu-cating the Indians named, and others in a similar condition, delays the final extinction of separate Government schools for these people. Ehch generation of educated Indians advances the cause of civilization among them. It fixes by the law of heredity the acquired habits and tastes of the white man. This axiom was well illustrated by an agent, who called upon the kindergarten teacher for a list of her pupils, with her estimate of the natural and acquired aptitude of each. Knowing the parents and history of each, he was agreeably surprised to find that the brightest pupils, who displayed the most aptitude, were the offspring of parents who had been educated in the schools. In some instances the parents had gone back to the blanket and the long hair, but the acquired tendencies of their education had been transmitted and stamped upon the children, thus illustrating the fact that the ele-vation of barbarous races is of slow growth and along the lines of heredity. Therefore, this large number of children should at as early a date aa possible be provided with schools. It can, by liberal appropriations, be accomplished in a year or so, and then, the apex of possible enroll-ment having been reached, it will be time to consider the question of no additional schools, but increase the facilities of those already in existence. When parents have been educated properly to appreciate the advantages of education for their children, when reservations are broken up, and civilization progresses, breaking down the barriers of the races, day schools, Indian and public, may with advantage be , substituted for reservation boarding schools, and not until then with . any measurable degree of success. INDIAN SOHOOL SEEVICE INSTITUTES. Under authority of the Secretary of the Interior, summer schools for the teachers of the Indian service were held as follows: Pine Ridge, S. Dak., June 25 to 27; Flandreau, S. Dak., July 1 to 5; Department of Indian Education, Minneapolis, Miun., July 7 to 11; Pacific Coast Institute, Newport, Oreg., August 18 to 23. Two meetings at Flandreau and one at Pine Ridge, under the direc-tion of Supervisor A. 0. Wright, were attended, and timely quest,ions were discussed from which good results will undoubtedly obtain. At Flandreau, Supt. C. F. Pierce displayed an unusually fine exhibit, and among the useful articles was a full set of harness, which was greatly admired for its superior workmanship. Thls exhibit was afterwards shown at the Minneapolis meeting. A large number of employees, chiefly from the Middle West, the Southwest, and the Coast sections, attended the meeting of the Pacific Coast Institute. An excellent exhibit from the schools of this district was displayed and was highly praised by Indian workers and those |