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Show I RETURNED STUDENTS. The subject of "returned students" has frequently given rise to severe criticism both of the Indians and of the schools. It has been claimed that graduates of Indian schools return to their respective reservatiol~su Grely to relapse into so-called I u d i a ~s~av agery, i i most enscs even of all aggrav;lted form. I have, therefore, taken steps to collect data with roterenee to l l~ism atter. Thile I am not yet ready to rollatr sncl~d ata, to classify rhem, aud to drnn therefrom irrefutable co~~cl~~siothnem i,~ ~formstioalllr eady in 111yi ~oseeasiouj untifies me in statinc that the criticisus above reforred to. if at a11 i~istitiable.a re so in a very limited degree. Wherever on reservations there has been marked progress in civilization such progress is traceable largely to the influence of returned students,the greatmajority of whom seem to benot only eager to turn away from the evils and drawbacks of tribal life, but measurably successful in this eflort in viem of the many obstacles that confront them, not only in the stubborn conservatism of older Indians, but also in the excessive tutelage on the part of the Government. In "i ud.g. in~e o, f the influence of education unon returned students it is 1leeess:rry to rake into eo~laidcrariont he obsiaeles which tueet then1 on their return. The social a11t1r eligio~~idse als and custom8 of Indian civiliz;itiou diiier so r;~cli';lllv fi.0~1th ose of tho I I ~ Wci vilization into I which they a1.e being e(l11cat"ed th:~t, illatead of 111:ame ;ind cr,~~t~lmely for scnllty success, rllc 1111lia1d1se de~ve:ip 1)1ausc and :dmiration for the 8trides tbev havcm:i~lew ithin well thelast tlrwtle. The waninc Indian civilizatiori looks upon the tribe or family as the unit; with usit is the individual. With the Indian, he is richest who gives most; with us, it is he who keeps most. The Indian claims hospitality as a right untll the means of his host are exhausted. To the Indiw, land is as free as the water he drinks; proprietorship continues only so long as the land is tilled or otherwise in use. He prizes the worthless ~ o n vw. hilom his friend ill the lost oeeupations of rile ellahe arid the ma:. ?he eo\v is to ltiu~o nly a poor finbstitute for the lost butfalo; lle kuows 11ot11iuogf her value ns a giver of Illilk and n breeder of ~.:ittlc. Wonlnn in l n d i : ~ci~v-~ ilization is: producer and enjoysin full Iudian life a degree of economic value and independence to which in our civilization she is largely a stranger. His religio~lrsi tes and ceremonies afford the Indian, in addi-tion to a certain degree of spiritual elevation, opportunities for intense social enjoymerit for which'he looks in vain in thenew civilization. Add to this that the wauts of the Indian are few and easily gratified by sim-ple formsof homely skillin which theindustries andother acquirements of the returned students find no application, that chiefs and mediciue-men in the very nature of things look with distrust and disdain upon a new civilization which robs them of coveted power and influence, that time-honored tradition imposes upon the young Iudian silence and obedience, and you have an array of adverse conditions which is appalling. Honor and grateful admiration are due to the young heroes and heroines who annually go forth from our Indian schools, pitting their lives against adamantine walls of unreasoning tradition and supersti-tion, wresting victory for themselves and their unwilling people from conditions which seem utterly hopeless. It is not to be wondered that of these soldiers of a new dispensation numbers fall by the wayside or succumb to fear or worse; but the misfortune or dishonor of theseshould not render us blind to the steady valor of the greater throng wlio are pushing ahead, gaining their ground inch by inch, until even now the |