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Show 406 REPORT OF SUPERINTENDENT OF INDIAN SCROOLB. remains to be done if we would preserve the native industries of the Indian, whose historic associations, no less than their material value, appeal to us to save them. Complying with your directions, institutes have been heldduring the ast fiscal year as follows: The Department of Indian Education of the k. E. A. at Boston,Mass. ; thePacific Coast Instituteat Newport, Oreg.; local institutes at Standing Rock Agency, N. Dak.; Rosebud Agency, S. Wk.; Fort Berthold Agency, N. Dak.; Fort Totten, N. Dak., and the general meeting of the Congress of Indian Educators at St. Louis, Mo. Detailed reports of the proceedings at these institutes will be found in the ap endix, with the exception of the meetings at Boston and Newport, wlich were included in the report for 1903. All these meetings were well attended. The coming together at stated intervals of Indian teachers and work-ers for mutual exchange of views as to methods and systems is as necessary as it is for teachers in the ublic schools; even more so, as many of them live in isolated parts o f the country and are denied the privilege of attending educational meetings whereby they would be stimulated and come in contact with the educational thought of the day. We have endeavored to extend the uractice of hold in^ institutes and to~ysteruntizeth t.111I I a~rl. anging tin;es and placed 111o0tn )nvellieut to tllc teaehcw. io order that all iliav hnvc the onuortu~litro f atrend-ing at least onk meeting. During 'the past we have, by corre-spondence and personal interviews, requested supervisors to conduct institutes in their respective districts, in order to enable teachers to keep abreast of the times and to bring their standard up to the degree of excellence re uired in the public schools. These institutes offer Indian teachers tR e same o portunities for mutual benefit and dvance-ment that the county an$ state meetin s offer to the public school teachers. With your a proval, a circu ar letter on this subject was f f sent to the field, from w ich the following is an extract: It is desired to emphasize the great henefita derived by teachers as a result of attendance at institutes where, through interchange of thoughts and experiences, and listening toinstructive papers and addresses by leading educators, they are stimnlzted by new ideas and broadened and helped. The Congress of Indian Educators will meet at St. Louis, Mo.; June 25-July 1, 1904, and the sessions will be devoted to addresses and mund-table discussions. Teachers will be able to attend the meetings of the National Educational Association, where eminent American and foreign educators will present the characteristics of their respective systems. They can also take advantage of the unusual opportunities afforded to make an intelli ent study of the educational exhibits in connection with convention discussions. ~ %Inedi an Bureau desires that agents and superintendents encourage their teachers to attend. The attendance at the St. Louis meeting far arurpassed that of any similar meeting, and the teachers general1 availed themselves of the exceptional opportunities offered for stu 2 y and improvement. The meeting being held during the World's Fair and on its grounds, teach-ers were enabled to study American and foreign educational methods in all grades and to listen to addresses by the leading educators of the world. They also took advantage of the opportunity to visit the various model schools, including manual training and kindergartens. In order to call the attention of the Indian workers to the special facilities for study and improvement during this meeting, we sent to |