OCR Text |
Show 2 REPORT OF THE COMMI8SIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS. individual Indians; and approximately .$10,000,000 are contributed by appropriations annually. The value of the physical plant, includ-ing lands, buildings, reclamation Works, and forests is hundreds of millions. The teachers in this school, of which the commissioner is the principal teacher, form a force of over 5,000 employees, covering all the grades and classes of work which g.o to make a human being a useful citizen of the United States. Whether in the schoolroom or on the irrigation ditch, whether in leasing part of an allotment or in the issuance, of a patent in feeor in theuse of individual or tribal funds, the one test to be brought to the business aspect of the case is, Will doing this and the way of doing it educate the child or the wq&.n or the man for citizenship? , The first division of the Indian Office is therefore naturally called the.Education Division, and the &t function of this division is to formulate general plans response to neids continually arising. The details of this work are handled i n the administration section. Spme of the tasks now before this section are, briefly outlined and rksults given in the following pages; andafter these follom, the work of the other divisions of the service, all together marking out the swpe & the task to which under your direction I am applying this funda-mental idea of education. . . WORK OF THE ADMINISTRATION SECTION. HEALTH. The physical well-being of the Indian in his transition from the life of barbarian athlete. to that of an average laborer, mechanic,or tk&man is an essential consideration in all plans. This has not been sufficiently recognized in the past, and, instead of the schools turning out well-balanced', healthy graduates, many have returned to their reservations improperly equipped for hard work as laborers or tradesmen. I consider the physician appointied to care for the' health of adult Indians and children as next to the superintendent in importance. In 1905, the total cost of physicians and medical supplks for the Indian Service was $122,000; for this fiscal year, $166,810. These -res but indicate the strenuous campaign which has been inau-gurated to improve this branch of the service. Tuberculosis stands at the head of the diseases which afflict the Indian. It is on the increase. We are fighting it by treatment and by prevention. The boarding schools, by changing the pupils from an outdoor to an indoor life, and sometimes by overcrowding in the dormitories, have been charged with its spread and development. On the other hand, the susceptibility of the Indians to pulmonary and scrofulous troubles, the unhygienic conditions in their homes, and changing relations are largely responsible. |