OCR Text |
Show 36 COMMISSIONEE INDIAN AFFAIRS. 6. If possible, give number of baskets, blankets, pieces of headwork, amount of lace, etc., made by the Indians at your jurisdiction annually; the number of Indians engaged in the work; the average length of time it takes to make the various articles and their minimum and maximum values. 7. Where do the Indians obtain the material entering into the articles made? 8. Are the local markets ample to handle the products of the Indians, and do the Indians receive the full value thereof? To whom do the Indians sell, snd do they receive cash, merchandise, or store credits for their supplies? 9. Do you recoulmeud that the office attempt to find nlarlrets in the Bast for the products of native industries; if so, why; for what class of articles, and what length of time would it take to 811 orders for the various articles7 10. Could you furnish samples of the various articles for exhibition to mer-chants and others interested with fixed prices in quantities as well as for one? 11. Won!d the Indians consent to send their wares to merchants in the East, through your ofgce, 0. 0. D. or cash 30 days after delivery? Please acquaint the employees with my wishes in this matter, answer the questions as fully as possible, and give any further information available which you believe would be useful to the ofice in arriving at definite conclusions Your reply should be mailed in time to reach this office not later than Augnst -. MARKETING NATIVE PRODUCTS. The conditions under which the Indians must now sell the prod-ucts of their native industries are very unsatisfactory. In some places the fineness and real art depicted in the work of the Indians, especially in basketry, is not appreciated, and the result is inferior articles are being produced. Investigations are now being made with the view to ultimately formulating plans to induce the Indians to make the better grade of articles and k d for them better markets from which they might realize the true value of their work. These native industries from which the Indians derive so large a sum are recognized to be of great importance, but the problem of bringing about improved conditions is a difficult one, primarily because the Indians usually want their money as soon as they bring in their articles, and this is virtually impossible where the products are disposed of in markets distant from the homes of the Indians. Under the direct exclusive supervision of this bureau, 62 prin-cipal irrigation projects or systems on 56 different reservations or tracts of allotted lands will afford irrigation when completed for the farms of about 30,000 Indians. These projects in their present completed and partially completed state are capable of delivering water to over 368,000 acres of land without additional constructioil, and will require for completion and providing an adequate supply of water an estimated expenditure of over $13,000,000. These do not in-clude 40 or 50 minor ppojects, the large Indian projects in Montana under construction by the United States Reclamation Service under |