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Show : . XIV REPORT OF THE COMWIS8IOh'ER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. INDIANS IN THE PWL1d SCHOOLS. Believing that the true purpose of the Government in its dealings with the Indians is to develop them into self.supporting, self-reliant, in-talligent, and patriotic citizens, and believing that the public schools are the most effectide means of Americanizing our foreign population, I am deairons of bringing the Indian school system into relation with that of the public schools. Not only so, but wherever possible I am placing Indian pupils in the publio schools. Very few are thus far enjoying these advantages, but in a letter addressed to the snpcrintend-ents of pnMic instruction in the several States and Territories khere there are Indians under the care of the N;ltional Government I have invited their co-operation, and have offered tocontract with school dis-tricts for the tuition of Indian pupils at the rate of $10 per quarter. For the letter and some of the cordial replies thereto see Appendix, page CLXIX. I think this will prove a very important feature of the work in hand, and confidently expect within a year to be able to report a great id-vance in this direction. Indian allottees dan be provided with educa-tional facilities for their children in no more satisfactory manner, and the tuition paid by'the Goverument aids the school districts to main- : tain schools in sections of the country where lands in severalty have been taken by the Indians. COMPULSORY EDUCATION. My predecessors and many of theagents andsuperintendentsof schools have strongly urged the importance and necessity of a law compelling the attendance of pupils at the schools. I am in favor of compelling every Indian child of suitable age and health, for whom accommoda-tions are provided, to attend soh001 ten months out of twelve. A gen-eral law, however, could not now be everywhere applied, for the simple reason that school accommodations are provided by the Goverument for less than halEthechildren of school age. The qnestion among many tribes is not so much one of filling the schooln as it is of finding room for the pupils. With few exceptions every reservation school is crowded, and hundreds of children who are willing to go to school are prevented by want of proper accommodations. Something in the way of compnlsory attendance may be secured through the authority already vested in t,he agent under direction from this Office, whereby f~illa nd regular attendance at school is required upon forfeiture of raf.L& annuities, or other favors as the penalty for indifference or open 6 - ! ?-?. It does not meet the case of the non- . . reservation schools, h. ..* Under the law children can not be taken from the reservation bxcept by permission of their parents, and although the uon-reservation schools are generally better equipped than those at ' the agencies, at times great difficulty is experienced in inducing pupils and parents to consent to the transfer. |
