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Show 1' ' , 144 REPORT OF THE ,COMMIS8IONE& OF INdIdN AFFAIRS. . ' . . 1 cogency by the Hon. N. G. Taylor,Comrnissioner of Indian Affairs, in his annual report for 1868, pages 7 to 15 inclusive, and as these are pub- ' , lic documents. easilv accessible. I will not reueat them. 6 After having been nuder the 6ontrol of the 'war Department for many years the Indians were placed under the charae of the111terior I)el~art-ment, and the reasons assigned for restoriog &em to the War Depart-ment ill 1868 have far less weight at the present time thau they had ! , then. The one great and all-important object which the nation has set be-fore itself is to civilize and make of them intelligent, self supporcing, r self-respecting American citizens. This is essentiall~a civil process, to be brought about by civil measures and ageucies. I yield to no man in my respect for the Army and in my recognition of its valuable services in the performance of its legitimate functions, but it is not, never bas been, and never can be a eivilizing force. A11 that can be claimed for the Army in this w~lnectioni s tha,t i t crushes, or holds iu check, forces antagonistic to civilization, ant1 renders it pos-sible for the real uplifting ageucies-education, ir~d~istrrye,l igion-to operate. To turn the Indians, or any cousiderahle number of them, over to absolute military control, would beto take a great step backward in the humane work which the Government has undertaken. If it should be said that the proposition is limited to the Sioux, I am constrained to say that I am of opinion that there is no such exigency in the present condition of a.ffairs in the Dakotas as to warraut soradi-cal a departure as this in the Indian policy of the Government. The socalled hostile element embraces but a small portion of the Sioux, and even if it does not yield to peaceable measures, which it will be very likely to do, can be controlled by the military authorities without this great addition to their power. As soon as the present trouble has subsided it will be better for all wncerued that the military retire from the reservations, leaving only a sufficient force in the neighborhood to meet future exigencies should such arise. With reference to the question of l'divided responsibility," allow me to say that accordiug to my understanding the President has given to the War Department absolute authority to suppress any uprising, and that in this respect there i s no divided responsibility. Certainly the Indian Bureau has not interfered with the plans of the military, and, so far as I know. the Denartment has not. I am sure that the Indian ~ -~~ ~ ~~ agents art) ready to ohc; ~ ) r ~ ~ a r t omrdee~rs~, atu d iu the auppresaion of any outbreak will ulace themaelves and their nolice force nbdl1llltt.l~n t the control of the military authorities. r 1 see no reason whatever why, when the Army is called in to sup press a turbulent Indian faction, it should be put in absolute control of the whole Indiau country. The great body of these Indians are friendly, submissive to authority, and engaged in peaceful pursuits. They should so far as possible be unmolested, and should be left uuderthe controlof their civil agents and police. Here tbere could be no "divided re-sponsihility." It may not be easy to determine precisely what Indians are peaceable and what hostile, nor exactly where the hnctions of the I . military and those of the civil authorities begin. I think, Nwever, that the terms of the order already issued by direction of the President are sufficiently explicit a.nd elastic to enable these authorities to co-operate in suppressing any outbreak and in preserving order, while ' leaving the civil authorities-agents, teachers, farmers, eto.-to go on - with their important work of promoting civilization. |
