OCR Text |
Show school. Congress recognized these conditions and provided in the Indian appropriation act for the hcal year 1901- For the wtablishment, in the discretion of the Secretary of the Interior, of an Indian school at or near Riveraide, California: Provided, That a suitable site a n be obtained there for a. reasonable sum, to be selected by the Commissioner of Indian Affairs with the approval of the Secretary of the Interior, for the purchase of land, the erection of buildings, and for other purposes necessary to establish a complete school plant upon the new site, seventy-five thouaand dollam. In pursuance of this, United States Supervisor of Schools Frank M. Conser was in June, 1900, ordered to make an investigation of all available sites, and in an elaborate report recommended an ideal one on Magnolia avenue, about 59 miles from the center of the city of Riverside, and three-fourths of a mile from Arlington Station on Santa Fe railroad. Negotiations have satisfactorily progressed, and plans are now under consideration for the plant. The present site of the Blackfeet Agency boarding school, Mon-tana, is unsatisfactory from a sanitary standpoint, aside from the fact that the buildings are old, dilapidated, and unsuited for school pur-poses. A new location at Cut Bank Creek has been selected, sewer and water systems laid out, plans prepared, and work will begin during this fiscal year. Contract has been let for rebuilding the Winnebago Indian school, Nebraska, which was destroyed by fire several years ago. It will not be ready for occupancy before September 1,1901. The Indians living about Pryor Creek, on the Crow Reservation, Mont., have often petitioned this office and inspecting officials for a school for their children. Plans have been prepared and a school will be given them during the coming year. The unsettled condition of the Apache Indians under the Fort Apache Indian Agency in Arizona has deterred the office from making any extensive plans for improving- the present miserable buildings. Recent reports justify the opinion that the time is ripe for pushing school matters on this reservation, and details for water, sewer, and irrigation systems in connection with new buildings are now under consideration for the Indian children of this agency. The Flathead Reservation in Montana and the Southern Ute in Col-orado are two of the three Indian reservations which have no Govern-ment boarding school. The former has been the subject of an investi-gation, and as soon as a suitable site is obtained steps will be taken to give the Indians of that reservation adequate school facilities. United States Supervisor of Schools Charles H. Dickson, after an investiga-tion of the latter. has selected an excellent site for the Southern Ute boarding school. Plans have been prepared, and as soon as sewer and water systems can be arranged the matter of making a contract for carrying out the plans will be taken up and a school given these Indians during the next year. |