OCR Text |
Show OOMMISSIONEB OF INDIAN AFBBEPI. 7 . an understanding of the value of a sufficient supply of cow's or goat's milk, or , mrldemed milk, pure water, nnd suitable solid food, and to the necessity of u~aintaining cleanliness of person, cooking utensils, and other articles of rlc~mestic use. . R would be worth while, it would be great, if we could lift the Indian out of his uninformed condition and induce him to see that the natural and beautiful love he has for his children will not keep them alive and well and joyous . . unless supplemented by a rational use of food, clothing, fresh air, and pure . vater. ' If Government aid is necessary to bring health out of disease and squalor, it sb~nld not be withheld, but good results, if obtained, will scarcely continue uniess the Indian parents exchange indolence for industry and are awakened to the he and beauty of personal and environing cleanliness. This eampalgn for better babies, for the rescue of a race, calls for redoubled energy and zealthroughont the service, for it means personal work and tire- ' less patience. It is n well-nigh stupendous task, bnt will be a glorious one if we can make successful headway. I believe that the high aspirations and missionary spirit generally prevailing among qur fleld employees are a gaaranty of substantial and lasting achieve-plents, and I hope and believe we shall have the quickened cooperation of all denominational agencies, religious missionaries, and mission schools having special interest in the Indian's spiritual welfare and whare priceless labors, inminan't with self-sacrifice and religious fervor, have done so much for the red man. We shall all, I am sure, exert an irrestihle union of effort. The educational .propaganda against disease must, of course, be steadily In-creased and strengthened. Our Indian schools, where so many of the rising . . generations are assembled, are well organized and should be a mighty instru-mentality for health and higher ideals of life. In their education of girls I hope to see added emphasis given to such subjects as home nursing, child web fare, and motherhood, the sanitation, arrangement, and management of the home, and that nothing reasonable shall be spared to fit every Indian girl for intelligent housekeeping and for attractive home-making. There is among the Indians a marked and tender affection for their children, but too often the wife, the mother, is regarded and treated as the burden bearer. I wish we might see this habit overcome, for it is distinctly barbaric. -1 want to see developed and prevalent in every Indian school from the least to the largest that modern and truly chivalrous spirit that recognizes and respects the sacredness of womanhood, I should like to have every Indian boy leave school with this lofty and just sentiment fused into his character as the picture in porcelain, because of the deep and exquisite power it will have to bless his , future home with health and happiness. While, therefore, this appeal aims primarily at the safety and health of the child and is intended to enforce the thought that the future of the Indian race may depend vitally upon what we shall be able to accomplish for its new gen-eration, it is also a'message of reenforcement to every utterance and every effort expressed or put forth within the Indian Service in behalf of the adult against tuberculosis, trachoma, and every .other disease; against the liquor . ~ curse and the use of any kind of enervating drug or dope. I look to the schools chiefly to safeguard the boys and girls enrolled there against these deadly scourges, nnd there must be no abatement but rather renewed and continuing energies in this direction. \ In closing. I ask every employee to do his or her part in widening our worE against disease until our Indian reservations become the home of healthy, |