OCR Text |
Show ~p~ ~~ - ~ -- - REPORT OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIR8. XLI support, in whole or in part, of seminaries, academies, and mi6sions among the five civilized tribes, nor $24,149 devoted to establishing and carrying on schools and missions in ikP;rsks. This aggregate of $252,016 by no means expresses the value of the assistance thus given to Indian educatioll and civilization. The infln-ence of men and women whose lives are devoted to the uplifting of the I degraded and ignorai~t oannot be measured by dollars and cents. ;Moreover, the very fact that be represents a great religious denomina-tion, that a Christian communit.~is~ h is constituency, and that the funds which come into hi8 hands havc been consecrated by prayer and self-denial, gives to % man and his work a moral force nnd momentum which Government patronage does not impart. In my opinion, the best'hope for the Indian lies in bringing him iuto the closest possible relations with the various religious societies whose sole business consists in working for the elevation of humanity, and who! from long experience, are presnmablj best informed as to the methods and men and means to be employed in such work. Mentibn should also be made of thc donation to the Government by citizens of Albuquerque, N. Mex., and Lawrence, Kans., of valuable tracts of land containing 65 and 280 acres, respectively. The donations were made with the understanding that the Government would ereet buildings thereou to be used for Indian schools. Citizens of Genoa, Nebr., have also (lonated $500 to so supplement an appropriation as to enable the Government to purchase a certain desirable tract of land adjacent to the Indian school building there. The widening interest in the civilization of the Indian as shown by such acts as thae is one of the most hopeful indieatio~~ins his fax-or. Alaska.-Attention shonld be again ciilled to the need of schools for the Indians in Ala,slra. Froin the best inforrnation that can be obtained the Indians of Alaska nun~ber about 20,000, and since that country came into possession of the. Uniteci States these people have had no aid for schools from this Government. All that has been daue in the mab ter of edncation has been by the missionary cforts of the churches. If the published statenlents in reference to Alaska be true, we are doing much less for the civilization of these people than was done be-fore we toolr possession of that country. The KnssianGovernment gave them laws, churches, and schools; tho American Government has clone. nothing in that direction. In my estimates for the next fiscal year I have asked for an appro-priation of $25,000 for tbe support of industrial sohools in Alaska. I earnestly hope that this very modest sum will be granted. These In-dians need no subsistence, no clothing, no implements, no agencies, but they beg for an education, arid it is discreditable to an enlightened Government to longer deny their request. The twelve Alaska boys who havc attended the Forest (;rove training school have done admirably in their studies and their work. |