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Show 354- XEPORT PF SUPERINTEKDENT OF INDIAN SCHOOLS. Many utterances made to me by agents, superintendents, matrons, andother employees during my visits at schools and during the ses-sions of the summer institutes encourage me in the belief that there is reason to ho.pe for stead.y im.pr ovement in these matters throae- hout the service. INDIAN SERVICE INSTITUTES. The Indian service institutes held during the summer of 1894 had exercised such benetieial i~~Huencuep on the'kork of the schoola that I was requested by the IIo~~orabSlee cretary of the Iutc.rior ta arraoge for a series of' si~uiltcr meetinns to bo held dwinc the summrr of 18!l5. Sioux City, Tacoma, and El Keno were chosen as-the places of meeting. The Sioux City meeting was held during the week of July 1-6, at the Young Men's Christian Assbciation hall, the Tacoma meeting dnr-ing the week of July 22-27 at the First Congregational Church, and the El Reno meeting during the vieek of August 5-10 at the opera house of the city, hospitably ollered for this purpose by the citizens. The meetings were attended by nearly 500, or fully one.third of the entire force of school employees. At the same time a number of mis-sionaries and nhilanthrooists interested in the Indian school work took ~ - part in the ~nhetings a i l assisted iu the disenssiol~s. The prenx fur. uished full rep~rtxofth e proceedings aud tllereby stimulated I I I I IC~I1 1011. ular interest ill the nroblems of Indian education. diffusi~~uun1 :11i ntbr-nmtion aud d i s ~ i ~unueth~ uu~ge~ne~ro ue prejudiie. 111 :iii them cities represe~ltativesu f the civil and educationill authorities welcomed the ddegates, and members of the clergy assisted at the opening and closing exercises. A most gratifflng feature of the meetings is to be found in the increased atteutiou paid them by the Indian agents and by thehelpfil, active intereat with which they assisted in the proceedings. Much of the success of the institutes is due to the generous activity of these gentlemen, and the 3ermanent influence of %he proceedings-11pon the service will be great 'r y enhanced by the personal concern manifested by tl~cm. Much encouraeement. too. came to the institutes from the nreseuce of' Ins1,rctor bleIltlughlin and from insl~iringre 111ark8:~ ddress<dto the Sioux City meeting by Hon. J. A. Pickler, to whoso e:irueat adroc.acy i l l the House Coumittee on 111di:i11A tlairs t l ~ eIn dian sehoul service is deeply indebted. In the preparation of the programmes care was taken to leave ample time for discussion, in order to give each member full opportunity tocon-tribute the results of his experience or to seek help in the solutioll of his difficulties. These discussions proved exceedingly interesting and valuable. They secured to each participant the gratification of active cooperationin thc work of the institute; they afforded him proof that no phase of the service is trivial, and that the work of each employee has a wider scope than his position, his school, or his reservation. A noticeable gain over the work of the institutes of 1894 lies in the fact that the institutes of this year were practically self-directive. While iu 1894 the institutes were during the entire period of the ses. sions under the immediate direction of the superintendent and the supervisors of Indian schools, this year they carried on their busi-ness under the exclusive direction of officers practically of their own selection. This imparted to the proceedings the deeper intensity and dignity t,hat come of feelingsof autonomy. Probably as a r e s ~ ~ofl tth is, there was an entire absenee of manifcst&ions of rivalry among the dif- |
