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Show I YO,. hre themlore d l r r r t ~ lw induce YOUP male Indiana UI rut their hsir, aod both serc~i c l slop pninrinx. \\'lrh xou% uf the lndisns lhla mll he an -g mattpr: with others It will rpquireronnder- \ able l a r l sni pen~veraur ro o the par1 of youlselfaod rouremplogcesmauroea~hlllgc amo u t thne in~tmctions With y ~ u r l n d l ~emnp lo).:e~an~tlh me lndiansrhodra\v nuionrand nlppli,r .I .hcull beau e&? mnlwr, RS R noncomf~linncrw ith lbs order may be made a r e w n idr di:chnxb.c or lor wi l l ~ h v l d ~ra~r~lngns nnd ~u l q~l i c%r Ian?m n? be indo~.ed to mml,ly with the order ~o l n n t n r i l~, P I P C P I ~ ~ ~thYe rrturned ~rud<'nr.T he rurl!nlcd prudeole whodur.ut ujmply roluntiirily .hould bc dealt with dummaril?. Emnlo).menl r u ~ ~ l i eosw. . , allould Le withheld unrd rl.er dorrmn.lv e"nd r~i ~~~ they beoome obstreperous &bout the matter a ~hort'cominement in the guardhouse st herd labor. with shorn locks, should furnish a cure. Certainly all the younger men should wear short hair, end it is believed by tact, perseveranoe. flrmneas, and withdrawal of supplies the went can induce dl M eomDly with this order. \ ~h ew&n g o f oitizena' cla~Ungi,n stead of the Indlsncostumeand blanket, should beeneoursged. IndlR~td auccs aod wcdlled 1n.18~"I cB~U.h 'uld le pmhloired. In !nat#y cxrc;, these danrer uxlll fzs*le arc ai:llpl? subtr'rfwr- to cover d e w i n s aera and todlefl!in immoral pecp.mcs. Yc,u hw dlmeted I , IIWYOW. best effonx in t1.r h~.~. n brcsriu01u rhc.w evil*. On or before June 30,1902, you will report to this office the progreas you have made In carrying out the above orders and instructions. . To my surprise this letter created considerable excitement, outside of the service at lemt, and the impression seemed to l rev ail that the Government intended to accomplish ita desires by main strength &d awkwardness, and there was some silly talk about "revolt" and "uprising." To counterad any mistaken impression, the following was written on January 21 to those to whom the former letter maa addressed : IR: From criticisms that haveappeared in the nempspers and fmm infdianon that has resched thi,oRic~t rim olhel quefle18 it .I.I.CIII. that the recent CIICUIRlIe llnr isucd, d i ~ e ~ t ~ o paotdl :tf~ira - tion sar d~i~untinudnc0k1 certn~nsav~cerurwm,prcsa8linramoI~n dian I", hhaa hem i.,ieunder. B~UOJT. hi s let~ctlr tLerefore WTIIICII to remove ~ n dyou bt on thesubjr,ct The cirrular letlcr rrizrred lo wss nrnplj a dcelaratlorr uf tLv poltry uf this olllrp "nd in.liratrd wllnr rhuultlCk <drrielour hg those having chargeof the lnd'm, u;i116 tart. judgmenr, an.1 pcne-ve~ attl'c. it WI I not +rieerred or m l m ~ l 4th at they aholrld teso prr.rrpitare aa to d v e iiie 1ndin1.r an? c a w I ,r revolt, but that they should hpdn Envdusllv and work steadllv and tscrf8!lir ,:.I rice end i n view should be aceompliehed. Let it-be diat inet~ujn derstood that ;his is not B wihdrawal or revooation of the circular letter mierred w, but an authoritative interpretation of its meaning. ) This ia what is known as the "shorthair" order and this is all there is of it. From beginning to end there is not a. single suggestion of force as applied to the untutored Indian,_but,, on the contrary, patience, tact, perseverance. With the case of employees and returned students the rase is different. The former is a ~alaried servant of the Government, employed bemuse he is sn Indian, while the latter has been the recipient of bounteous favors. In hoth wea the Government has a right to expect a proper observance of rules established for their good. The letter, it will ) he observed, deals with several ohjectionahleand immoral pmctices, longhair, pain6 : ing, dancing, feasts, ete., hut curionsly enough the press has noticed only that part which advocates the cutting of the hair. In it there is nothing new, nothing hut what has been axearding to the precept and practice of twenty years and more. In 1882 Senator Teller, then Secretmy of the Interior, who perhaps \!-as, and is, aswell equipped, hoth by obaeroation and experience, as any other person to speak intelli- ' gently on the Indian question, addressed a letter to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs which I would like to quote as extremely pertinent to the subject under dis-cussion. but refrain on account of its length. He presented iu vigorons language what he regarded as hindrances to civilization; he named the continuance of theold \, heathenish dances with their degrading infi,uences; he spoke of the laxity of the marriage relation; he included the medicine men and their practices in his category of obstacles; he urged the inculcation of the value of pmpertyas an agent of civiliza-tion, and concluded by saying: . . It will be extremely difficult to aooompllsh much towtord the civilization of the Indians while these adverse influences are allowed to exist. The qvenunent hsving attempted to support the Indians until such timeas they shall become aelf-subporting, the interest of the Government ga yell as that af the Indiana demands thqt every |
