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Show 394 IlEPORT OX TEE SUPERINTENDENT OF INDIAN SOHOOLS. have been through education. Altho~gh feeble attempts were made fmm time to time b miasionsries toward the c tion of cehm tribes of the Indians there was a gnopner6io:d of inactivity. hnaw&tbm civiliation said: "We must, in all fairness, give the Indianedncational advantages equal to the best." Systematicedu-cational work was then begun. Missionaries took up the work with renewed zeal. Congress made generous appropriations in addition to fulfilling treaty ohli@ions. The Preeident was authorized to ap ly large sums of money annually in aidlng the societies and individuals engaged in?ndian education. Educational work should he continued along lines already well established. Fur-ther, the importance of domestic trainin for girls should be emphasized, especially cooking and sewing; and instruction oug%t to be giventhe boys in agricultural, stock- -raising, and builders' trades. They should also be given Christian training. The essential qnali5catians of goodcitiaen~hip.-Dr. James H. Canfield, librmian of Columbia University, New York, N. Y.-There are cehin qualifications of Ameri-can citizenship, that are generally understood, that seem to be permanently ne-ary. I would put as the first the great underlying characteristic-a sound character. There never was a time in the history of this country when more character waa needed than now. In the sim ler days perhaps they might have ot on without as much of it. For instance, wien a man personally attended to alf his business affairs, it was not so necessary that his emplo ees should be men of great character and intel-ligence, hut now thlngs have reachd that point when men can no longer be respon-sible for the details of their business and must rely with'abolute confidence upon the chamter of their employees. The man is out of place who has no truepemper-tive and has no power of adjustment. Intelli ence and industry go hand m hand. The idle man has no place in this country. ~ f suecce ssful one must be largely and wisely unselfish. To what degree has the prement system of indim sobwt been sacoess io-lq in for oitizea~hip&-Dr. H. B. -11, principal Rampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, Hampton, Va.-Prominent among the earl Indian teachen was the Rev. John Eliot, of Massachusetts, whose raetid lans oreducation have had animport-ant influence upon all training of ~nBiansin tEia eauntry. ~ t i orte ceived their con-fidence and respect, and at the ssme time inspired in them a sineere desire for the industry snd thrift, the Godliness and purity of life which characterized the white settlers of New England. He made a careful stud of the Indian lanpqe disposi-tion, and character. Instean of endeavoring to k& out their race eharaeterhica, he recognized the good that there was in them and endeavored to pe etuate it. The Indian da schools are among the most interesting and vzuable because of the instruction ti;e give to parents as well as to children in civilized ways The teacher and his wi& 8E provided no! on1 with a schwlroom, but with a house and a piece of land. During a part of each schlool day the boys work with the teacher on the farm, while the girls help the wife in the cooking and housekeeping. At noon all sit down together to a meal which the girls have cooked. In Government Indian schools undenominational religious work is carried on, and opportunity afforded both Proteetants and Catholics to intlnence the life of the pu ils In some of the schools there is cordial cooperation between Catholic priests an$ ~iotestanct lergymen. When one goes to the agencies where returned students live in p t na mbem, he h d s that most of the important sitions at the ageney-thase of mterpreter, clerk, farmer, and policeman-are filleaoby returned students, and that near1 every place in the trade shops, except that of foreman, is filled b boys who have {earned more or less of their trades at school. Jn the boarding sc~oolosn e or more will usually be found in the clam moms as teachers. and eeveral in indoatrial wsitiona. Amone the camp schools-little oases in the desert of ignomee-verybften an educatez Indian and his wife are in char doing their best teaehing by providing a living object lesson to both children anriarents. At several agencies societies have sprung up among the returned students, which hold the leaders together, sustain the weak, and have proved of political as well as ethical value, sup lying the places made vacant in civil affairs by the depositions of the chiefs and tie absence of any other guiding power. An Alasksn skn't towsrd citi5enahip.-Dr. Sheldon Jackson, general agent of educs-tion in Alaska, Washington, D. C.-Alasks has fiveaboriginal people8-theEskimos, the Athabaakans, the Thlingets, the Hydahs, and the Aleuts and Creoles. They are industrious. The necessities of their hard life compel the Alaskanman, woman, and child to work from earliest childhood to secure sufficient food to aupport life. They are also of a mechanical turn of mind. With a few pieces of driftwood anda walrus hide they construct a canoe which will weather heavier seas than the boats of the same size created by our highest skill. |
