Office of Indian Affaire* 
 
 Bulletin 12 (1922). 
 
 Ttg^jERiaAN jDXAN AND GOVERNMENT 
 INDIAN AD?:'INISTRATIOm" " ' 
 
 By Eagar B v Meritt, Assistant Indian Commissioner 
 
 de ~i V rlu^s V + lA ? 4bef or d the Maryland Federation of Women’s 
 uiuos at Baltimore, Md., November 1, 1922.) 
 
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 i q - J, 1 r86 J e J tha * G^issioner Burke, could not be with you today. He 
 
 jA ' ' y a amed in the West where he has been inspecting Indian res- 
 
 requested me to fill his engagement to 
 speak to the Maryland Federation of Women’s clubs. 
 
 . , , 1 , here ha£ been so much misinformation and misrepresentation 
 printed and spoken about the American Indian and the administration by the 
 United States Government of Indian Affairs that I believe, it desirable and 
 timely to make a statement regarding Indian matters, the accuracy of which 
 can be substantiated by the official.records of the Government, the Statutes 
 ol Congress, and the decisions of our courts. 
 
 I have been connected with the Federal Government twenty-eight 
 yeart and nearly seventeen years of that time has been devoted to a careful 
 soudy of every phase of the Indian problem. I have visited and personally 
 inspected Indian schools and reservations in every part of the United States, 
 a3 ? d _ have had official conferences with Indian delegations from a large number 
 of Indian reservations. I therefore believe that I speak with some knowledge 
 of the American Indian and the problems of Indian administration by our Govern¬ 
 ment . 
 
 HISTORICAL. 
 
 The Indian Bureau was established March 11, 1824; the office of 
 Commissioner of Indian Affairs was created in 1832, and in 1649 the Depart¬ 
 ment of the Interior was established by act of. Congress and the Bureau of 
 Indian Affairs transferred to that Department from the War Department, where 
 it has since remained. 
 
 President Jefferson, in one of his messages to Congress, correctly 
 forecasted the right policy for the Indians of this country in the. following 
 language; H In truth, the ultimate point of rest and happiness for them (the 
 Indians) is to let our settlements and theirs meet and blerjd .together, to 
 intermix and become one people. Incorporating themselves with us .as citizens 
 of the United States is what the natural progress of things will bring on; 
 it is better to promote than retard it. It is better for them to. be identi- 
 f ‘ a with us and preserved in the occupation of their lands than to be 
 to the dangers of being a separate people* M 
 
IMPORTANT INDIAN LAWS AND COURT DECISIONS* 
 
 Under constitutional; authority and since the foundation of our 
 Government the Indians have'been treated as wards of the Government and the 
 United States has acted as the guardian of all restricted Indians, 
 
 Section 441 of the F.evised Statutes provides that "The Secretary of 
 the Interior is charged with the supervision of public business relating to 
 •**-*--*•the Indians," 
 
 Section 463 of the Revised Statutes reads: "The Commissioner of 
 Indian Affairs shall, Under the direction of the Secretary of the Interior and 
 agreeable to such regulations as the President may prescribe, have the manage¬ 
 ment of all Indian affairs, and of all matters arising out of Indian relations." 
 
 The power of Congress to control and administer the affairs of re¬ 
 stricted Indians has been recognized since the inception of our Government* The 
 Secretary of the Interior and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs are charged 
 by lav; with the duty of acting as the guardians of the property of the Indians 
 and as the protectors of their rights* (West v. Hitchcock, 205 U.S.,85.) 
 
 The Supreme Court of the United States has repeatedly held that Con¬ 
 gress has the .right to determine when the guardianship over the Indians shall 
 cease and that Congress has at all times the right to enact legislation in the 
 interests of the’Indians as a dependent people. (Tiger v. Western Improvement 
 Cb*j 221 U.S., 316*) 
 
 Non-citizen Indians may hunt and fish on restricted property within 
 their own reservations, notwithstanding State laws, *-hen the gam© or fish is 
 for their own use (in re Blackbird, 109 Fed„Rep.,139), but on coded and other 
 lands tribal Indians are subject to the laws, of the State applicable to hunting 
 and fishing. (Kennedy v* Becker, 241 U.S., 556.) 
 
 The first treaty between the United States and an Indian tribe was 
 made with the. Delaware Indians on September 17, 1778 (7 Stats., 13), 
 
 No treaties have been made with Indian tribes since the pasaage of 
 the act of March 3, 1871 (16 Stats,,556), which provideo in part— 
 
 That hereafter no Indian nation or tribe within the territory 
 of the United States shall be acknowledged or recognized as an 
 independent nation, tribe, or power with whom the United States 
 may contract by treaty: Provided further, That nothing herein con¬ 
 tained shall be construed to invalidate or impair the obligation of 
 any treaty heretofore lawfully made and ratified with any such 
 Indian nation or tribe* 
 
 The reason for this legislation is based on the theory that the Federal 
 Government can not recognize an independent nation or sovereignty existing withir 
 the borders of its own territory. Since the passage of this legislation prohibi 
 in ^treaties with Indian tribes their affairs have been dealt with through con- 
 a percerixeig- *v,*r.tment. 
 
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is v* The Supreme Court has held in substance that a treaty with Indians 
 
 Wolf v n °w g + e ^ ter i ° r effect than an of congress, in the case of Lone 
 
 Wolf v„. Hitchcock (187 U.S.,566), the Court held that- 
 
 The power exists to abrogate the provisions of an Indian treaty, 
 though presumably such power will be exercised only when circum¬ 
 stances arise which will not only justify the Government in disre¬ 
 garding the stipulations of the treaty, but may demand, in the inter¬ 
 est of the country and the Indians themselves, that it should do so. 
 When, therefore, treaties were entered into between the United States 
 and a tribe of Indians it was never doubted that the pov/er to abro¬ 
 gate existed in Congress, and that in a contingency such'power might 
 be availed of from considerations of governmental policy, particularly 
 if consistent with perfect good faith towards the Indians. 
 
 There are now on the statute books about 370 Indian treaties and 
 2,000 laws relating to Indian affairs,- 
 
 . INDIAN CITIZENSHIP. 
 
 Two-thirds of the Indians of the'United States are now citizens* The 
 Indians allotted under the General Allotment Act of February 8, 1887 (24 Stats*, 
 388), as amended, were made citizens* Because of the decision of the Supreme 
 Court of the United States in the Heff Case (197 U*S*,488), Congress thought 
 it wise to defer citizenship until after the expiration of the trust period, 
 or until an Indian should receive a patent in fee* This resulted in the act of 
 May 8, 190S (34 Stat*, 182), known as the Burke Act* An Indian child born in 
 the United States of citizen parents is born to citizenship, Indian women who 
 marry citizens of the United States become citizens, in pursuance of the act 
 of August 9, 1888 (25 Stat s», 392), Congress, in the act of November 6, 1919 
 (41 Stats.,350), provided that Indian soldiers and sailors who served in the 
 recent World War and who had been honorably discharged c.ould be granted citi¬ 
 zenship by courts of competent jurisdiction* All Indians of the Five Civilized 
 Tribes of Oklahoma were made citizens by the act of March.3, 1901 (31 Stats,, 
 1447), and under the act of March 3, 1921 (41 Stats,,1250), Congress extended 
 citizenship to all Osage"Indians in Oklahoma* The Supreme Court of the United 
 States v, Nice (241 U*S.,598), that "Citizenship is not incompatible with 
 tribal existence or continued guardianship, and so may be conferred without 
 completely emancipating the Indians or placing them beyond the reach of con¬ 
 gressional regulations adopted for their protection-" Any Indian in the 
 United States can, by his own act, become a citizen under section 6 of the 
 General Allotment Act of February 8, 1887, as amended, by separating himself 
 from tribal relationship and taking up the habits of civilized life* 
 
 While two-thirds of the Indians are already citizens, the doors to 
 citizenship are wide open to any Indian v/ho cares to comply with existing law 
 herein cited* 
 
 INDIAN POPULATION. 
 
 The records of the Indian Office show that there are 340,917 Indians 
 in the United States, an increase of approximately 13,500 over ten years ago — 
 a percentage of increase in population over a ten-year period of approximately 
 
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4 per cent;* The increase in the population of the Cherokee Indians of North 
 Carolina has been very notable, their population being 7,914 in 1912 and 
 present reports indicate a population of 11,859, 
 
 It will be noted that the Indian race is no longer a ’‘vanishing 
 race.” This condition has been brought about through the efforts of the In¬ 
 dian Bureau to introduce in the homes of the Indians modem sanitary methods 
 of living and by furnishing .increased medical and hospital assistance and 
 teaching the Indians the laws of health and sanitation* 
 
 States containing large Indian populations are Oklahoma with 119,158; 
 Arizona, 43,327; New Mexico, 21,569; South Dakota, 23,448; Minnesota,13,326; 
 California, 16,000; and Montana, 12,648. There are 31,343 Navajo*.}.' in Arizona 
 and New Mexico; 32,885 Sioux in North and South Dakota, Nebraska, and Minne¬ 
 sota; 22,092 Chippewa in Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota, and Wisconsin; 
 10,246 Pueblo*' in New Mexico, and in the Five Civilized Tribes, in Oklahoma, 
 there are approximately 101,500 enrolled members, including 23,405 Freedmen. 
 
 The population of each tribe is as follows; Cherokee, 41,824; Choctaw-,, 26,828; 
 Creekr, 18,761; Chickasaw , 10,9 66; and Seminole:-, 3,127. 
 
 INDIAN ALLOTMENTS * 
 
 About 200,000 Indians have already received allotments totaling ap¬ 
 proximately 40,000,000 acres of land valued at half a billion dollars. There 
 remain to be allotted approximately 125,000 Indians with unallotted lands of 
 about 35,000,000 acres valued at $75,000,000. Allotments are usually made 
 under the General Allotment Act of February 8, 1887, as amended. Under this 
 act an Indian receives a trust patent for his allotment with restrictions 
 upon alienation for a period of twenty-five years. Non-conpetent Indians may 
 sell all or part of their allotments under the act of March 1, 1907 (34 Stats., 
 1018), with the approval of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs and the Secre¬ 
 tary of the Interior. * Under what is known as the Burke Act of May 8, 1906, 
 patents in fee may be issued to Indians where they are competent to handle 
 their own affairs. When a patent in fee is issued the Department no longer 
 retains jurisdiction over the land. Eighty per cent of the Indians of the 
 Five Civilized Tribes in Oklahoma are no longer under the jurisdiction of the 
 Indian Bureau, and about 30,000 Indians outside of the Five Civilized Tribes 
 have received patents in fee and are free to dispose of their lands as they 
 see fit. It will be seen that practically one-third of the Indians of the 
 United States are no longer wards of the Government or under the jurisdiction 
 of the Indian Bureau. Within the next fifteen years the twenty-five year . 
 trust period on a large number of Indian allotments will expire and the juris¬ 
 diction of the Indian Bureau will thereafter cease over those Indians unless 
 by reason of incompetency the trust period is further extended as authorized 
 by the act of June 21, 1906 (34 Stats.,326). 
 
 Indian property is not subject to taxation by local authorities 
 as long as the property is held in trust by the Government for the Indians. 
 (U«S. v* Rickert, 188 U.S., 432.) 
 
•INDIAN INDUSTRIAL- ADV’ANCEMENT* 
 
 The Indians of the United. States ; in recent years have made remark¬ 
 able progress in .agriculture' andstock raising. They ora live stock valued 
 at approximately ^35,000,000, consisting of 265,000 horses, 300,000 cattle, 
 ai } d 1,400,000 shee P* About 43,000 Indians , are faming nearly 900,000 acres 
 of land, as ..compared with 20,000 Indians cultivating 550,000 acres of land 
 ten years ago*. •- ' . . • . 
 
 - ^ Congress has : - 'appropriated . in. recent years'approximately $4,000,000 
 
 of reimbursable funds to aid Indians in. building homes, equipping their fams, 
 and buying stock, of which- amount about ,02,400,000'has been repaid tt.-the 
 United States. Government by the Indians benefited* Indians are allowed six 
 years in which to-pay for live stock, and four years in which to pay for v. 
 other articles. purchased under the,.reimbursable plan, and no interest is charged 
 the Indians by the Government,' These appropriations have been one of the larg¬ 
 est factors in the industrial progress of the Indians and have enabled many 
 of them to become self-supporting who otherwise would have been a''burden upon 
 the- Government, Nearly 40,000. Indians have received' direct benefits through 
 these • reimbursable' appropriations. 
 
 In connection with the agricultural and stock-raising activities of 
 the Indians, we encourage fairs to be held on the various reservations in order 
 to create rivalry among the Indians, We also encourage the Indians to have 
 exhibits at the white fairs so as to bring them in competition with their white 
 neighbors-. A number of Indians each year receive prizes at these fairs because 
 of their splendid exhibits of Stock and- farm’products. 
 
 We .have recently decided to adopt an educational, industrial, and 
 health five-year program for each Indian reservation, with the view of bring¬ 
 ing about a still more rapid advancement of the Indians., 
 
 Indian-women are - making a splendid showing in lace-making, bead.work, 
 pottery, and weaving of blankets. A large number of Indian women are making a 
 good living -by. their own efforts,' in'addition to looking after the welfare, of 
 their families. No mother is more devoted to her children than - the Indian 
 mother. 
 
 INDIAN FUNDS. 
 
 The Indians have in the Treasury of the United States at this time 
 approximately $25,000,000 of tribal funds, and they have on deposit in about 
 1,000 banks throughout the country'nearly $35,000,000 of individual Indian 
 funds. .These banks are bonded and‘pay interest at. rates ranging from 4-|-to 
 6 per cent. Tribal funds may be distributed to the individual members of the . 
 tribe under the act of May 25, 1918 (40 Stats., 591). The total Indian prop¬ 
 erty of all kinds is valued at nearly one billion dollars. 
 
 INDIAN SCHOOLS . 
 
 The Indian Bureau is conducting one of the most efficient school 
 systems among the Indians to be found anywhere in the United States or the 
 civilized world. Dr..Samuel A. .Eliota member of,the Board of Indian Com¬ 
 missioners, an advisory board created by Congress and appointed by the 
 
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President, and in no way connected with the Indian Bureau, in speaking of 
 our Indian school system-stated.that *1 wish I might send my children to an 
 Indian school* There are no finer in the country, public or private. That 
 may be too broad a statement as to instruction, but in educational theory and, 
 m the larger,schools, - in equipment, none surpasses and few equal them." 
 
 The Continental-..Congress on July 12, ‘1775, appropriated £500 for 
 the education, of Indian youth at Dartmouth College, Now Hampshire- Similar 
 appxopriations were made from time to time, but the first general appropria¬ 
 tion for Indian education was made by the act of March 3, 1819 (3 Stats.,516), 
 Early appropriations for Indian education were used to assist individuals and 
 societies who were disposed to give their time and resources to the education 
 and ciyilization of the Indians. Appropriations were made annually by Con¬ 
 gress, until 1849 in the sum of $10,000 for Indian educational purposes. As 
 various Indian treaties were made appropriations for Indian education were 
 provided, and in many of these treaties tribal funds were made available for 
 the education of Indian children. . . 
 
 In 187,8 the. Indian department at Hampton Institute, Hampton, Vir¬ 
 ginia, was started, and the fo.XTowing year, 1879, the training school at 
 Carlisle, Pennsylvania, was established—the first strictly Government Indian 
 boarding school. From that time on reservation and non-reservation boarding 
 scjh.oo.ls. have been established, as well as day schools. Latest reports indicate 
 that there.are.85,689 Indian children eligible for school attendance, 20,746 
 of whmp.are not in school. There are in non-reservation boarding schools 
 9,240 ..pupils; reservation boarding schools, 9,404' pupils; day schools, 5,548 
 pupils.; mission boarding schools, 5,322 pupils*, mission day schools, 1,098 
 pupils; and in the public, schools, 34,301 pupils j making a total of 64,943 
 Indian children in all schools. There are 6,279 Indian children of school age 
 ineligible for attendance on account'of physical disabilities and premature 
 marriages-. 
 
 There are in the Indian Service 18 non-reservation.boarding schools; 
 
 8 tribal boarding schools;- 55 reservation boarding schools and 170 day schools. 
 In addition to these -schools we have contracts for the education, of Indian 
 pupils in 18 mission boarding schools. Indians are also receiving education 
 in 38 non-contract mis-sion boarding schools and 25 mission, day schools- We 
 are attempting to procure from Congress additional appropriations so that 
 we can provide school facilities for every eligible Indian child. It is our 
 aim to accomplish this within the next few years* We have approximately 
 7,000 Navajo children in Arizona and New Mexico put of school, and the Govern¬ 
 ment is under treaty obligations' to : see that these Indians receive an educa¬ 
 tion. Only recently Secretary•Fall and Commissioner - Burke were successful 
 in having transferred to the Interior Department from the War Department the 
 Fort Apache military post in,Arizona and the Fort Wingate military post in 
 New Mexico, which, if we can procure’appropriations from Congress to support, 
 these institutions as non-reservation Indian schools, will provide for the 
 education of approximately 1,000 Indian children of the Navajo tribe now 
 without school facilities. 
 
 Under the act of June 7, 1897 (30 Stats.,79), the Indian Bureau 
 is not now permitted to use gratuity appropriations *‘f or the payment of tuition 
 of Indian children in sectarian schools, but under the decision of the Su¬ 
 preme Court in the case of Quickbear v* Leupp (210 U.S., 50), the Indian Bureau 
 can, under certain conditions, use Indian treaty and trust funds to educate 
 
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Indian children in mission schools. Out of the annual appropriations, amounting 
 to about 012,000,000, there is expended in round numbers §5,000,000 for. the 
 education of Indian children. We educate Indian children in public and Indian 
 day schools at a cost of between 060 and §70 per annum per pupil and in our 
 reservation and non-reservation boarding schools at a cost of approximately 
 0225. Prior to the passage of the act of May 25, 1918 (40 Stats.,565), the per 
 capita cost of these boarding schools was limited by the provisions of the act 
 of April 30, 1908 (35 Stats.,72), to 0167. Some of our non-reservation board¬ 
 ing schools will compare favorably, with the smaller colleges of the country and 
 we are conducting these Indian schools at about one-half the cost per capita 
 as compared with these colleges, according to figures furnished by the United 
 States Bureau of Education* 
 
 In our Indian boarding schools there is furnished food, clothing, 
 transportation, medical attendance, and dental service, together with voca¬ 
 tional training* The Indian boys are taught and furnished practical experience 
 in trades, agriculture, and stock raising, and the Indian girls are given edu¬ 
 cation along practical lines, including domestic science, and are given an 
 opportunity to learn, by doing, the things they will be required to do in their 
 own homes* In our Indian day schools a mid-day meal is furnished without cost 
 to the children* Our Indian schools were among the first in this country to 
 furnish medical and dental service and require the weighing of children at 
 stated periods, as well as giving each child careful physical examination with 
 the view of taking preventive measures to avoid disease. The Government is 
 doing a wonderful work in educating the 65,000 Indian children now in school 
 and at a remarkably low cost. 
 
 The Indians are showing a keen appreciation of the educational advan¬ 
 tages furnished by the Government Indian schools. You will be interested to know 
 that only recently restricted Indians in the Five Civilized Tribes have, with 
 the approval of Commissioner Burk-fe and Secretary Fall, contributed nearly one- 
 half million dollars of their individual funds toward the endowment of institu¬ 
 tions for the education of children of the Indian race. 
 
 INDIAN MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE. 
 
 We are endeavoring to have Indians comply with the marriage and divorce 
 laws of the country the same as white citizens, .but there are still a few non- 
 citizenslndians who are married and divorced according to the old Indian custom- 
 This number is being ddcreased each year. 
 
 INDIAN •PRORATE WORK. 
 
 Since the passage of the act of June 25, 1910 (36 $tats.,858), giving 
 the Secretary of the Interior and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs authority 
 to determine the heirs of deceased Indians and to approve or disapprove Indian 
 walls, the Indian Bureau has determined the heirs in approximately 35,000 cases 
 involving lands worth about §50,000,000. These determinations have been accom¬ 
 plished at a very low eost to the Indians, the average cost per case being ap¬ 
 proximately §30, les3 than one-fourth of what it -would cost the Indians if their 
 estates had been probated in local courts, as well as a saving to them of large 
 attorneys’ fees. 
 
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INDIAN HOSPITALS AND MEDICAL SERVICE. 
 
 About 25,000 Indians are more or less affected with tuberculosis, 
 and approximately 30,000 Indians have trachoma, a dreadful disease ol -the 
 eyes, which, if not given proper treatment, will result m total blindn • 
 
 The general death rate among Indians has been reduced from 3 - P e a , ' 
 in 1913 to 22.33 per thousand in 1920, The first hospital among In 
 established in 1882. In 1500 there were only 5 Indian hospitals:an n -9 .i 
 there were 78 hospitals, including sanatoria,' school, agency, g 
 
 hospitals, in operation in the Indian Service with a total bed capacity of 
 2,400* We gave medical treatment to over 20,000 Indians las y * .. 
 
 special eye, ear, ffose, and throat physicians traveling ro “ , reser- 
 
 to another, in addition to about 150 physician's located on th Physicians 
 
 vations. We also have in the Service about 80 nurses who P , ha 
 
 on the reservations and in the hospitals, and about 70 field matrons vho^re 
 located on the reservations and who endeavor to improve home ™ ng 
 
 the Indians, We have 7 dentists who travel from reservation o 19U 
 
 giving professional dental service to Indians withou cos 0 Bureau has' 
 f40,000 was appropriated for health work among the Indians. ThiB 
 obtained increased appropriations from year to year un i +hp P Tn J ians it 
 we have an appropriation of 5370,000 for health work eumong the Indians^^ ^ 
 is our ambition to continue to get increased appropiiation as a h03 _ 
 
 that eventually we may have an ample number of physician, We have 
 
 pital, at practically every school and agency m the DnitedStates.We 
 nearly 50,000 Indian families living in permanent homes, although there 
 still about 10,000 families living in tents, teepees, an 
 
 INDIAN TIMBER. 
 
 The Indians own eighty million dollars- worth 
 be sold under the act of June 25, 1910 ( *> carmills and we are en~ 
 
 the Indian country approxtotely 30 Gove^ent-own their homes a= wel i 
 
 deavoring in every my possible t g these mills. Large timber 
 
 as their farms by using the lumber produced reservations in 
 
 operations are carried on, under contract, on several 
 the northwest. 
 
 INDIAN IRRIGATION PROJECTS. 
 
 The Indians of the Southwest were the ^h^.irrigationist s^this 
 country. It is of record that ^ey have^been 1 o( 6 g 1(jr irrigati0 n projects 
 
 ir^srss: srs: zs&r « -** — 
 
 progress cultivating these irrigable lan s* 
 
 LIQUOR TRAFFIC AMONG INDIANS, 
 
 Notvdthstanding the Federal prohibition lawsuit ^io 
 
 for Congress to ^^QQ^^appro^nated™or this purpose for the fiscal year 
 “S! Fo^rlyllSoOO annually was appropriated for this work. 
 
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APPROPRIATIONS EY CONGRESS FOR INDIAN SERVICE. 
 
 Out of approximately 012,000,000 appropriated annually by Congress 
 for the Indian Service, jl,000*000 is needed to meet treaty obligations, 
 02,000,000 dror- reimbursable appropriations, 07,000,000 are gratuity appropria¬ 
 tions, and 02,000,000 are authorized from trust.and tribal funds* 
 
 EMPLOYEES,. RESERVATIONS, TRIBES, AND LANGUAGES. 
 
 Ytfe have 2 51 1 employees in the Indian Bureau at Washington and approxi¬ 
 mately 5,000 field employees of- all classes* Of this latter number more than 
 2,000 are Indians who have been educat-ed in Indian schools* ..About one—half of 
 our employees devote their entire time to Indian school work* The salaries in 
 the Indian Service are very low. The average salary paid superintendents is 
 ^1,800 per annum;, physicians $1,200 per annum; and farmers and teachers $1,000 
 per annum, all with the addition of the $240 bonus provided by Congress* We 
 also furnish quarters, heat, and light to field employees. The Indian Service 
 employees must:- have the missionary spirit in order to make a success of their 
 work among the Indians. 
 
 There are 200 Indian reservations with 193 different tribes under 
 130 jurisdictions--schools and agencies. The Indian country covers an area 
 as large as all of the New England States and the State of New York combined* 
 The Indians of this country speak 58 different languages. 
 
 OIL INDUSTRY ON INDIAN RESERVATIONS. 
 
 Oil has been discovered on annum be r of reservations, notably in 
 Oklahoma, The richest producing sil-field in the United States is found in 
 the Osage Nation in Oklahoma and belongs to the Osage tribe of Indians..These 
 lands were purchased by the Osages from the Cherokee Indians at a price of 
 $1.25 p€sr acre. The Cherokees, at the time .of this sale in June, 1883, 
 thought they had made a fine bargain with the Osages. The Osages were al¬ 
 lotted the surface of the.lands and the mineral rights were reserved for the 
 benefit of all of the Osage Indians and they share equally in.oil royalties 
 and bonuses* Each enrolled Osage Indian last year received from the Govern¬ 
 ment approximately $10,000. Some families received as high as $80,000 derived 
 largely from oil royalties and bonuses* At a recent sale of Osage leases there 
 were paid in bonuses more than $7,000,000, and the Osage. Indians will receive, 
 in addition to this amount, one-fifth and one-sixth royalties required under 
 the terns of the leases, the royalties depending upon the capacity of the wells 
 There were produced in the Osage Reservation last year 29,000,000 barrels o 
 oil* 
 
 The Indians of the Five Civilized Tribes did not reserve the minerals 
 to the tribes when allotments were made. Therefore some Indians have received 
 tremendous sums in royalties from oil production on their lands, while others 
 only received agricultural lands, ' Some of the Creek Indians in Ok a oma re 
 ceiveias high as 050,000 a year from oil royalties. Jackson Barnett, a Creek 
 Indian, refused to select an allotment and had to be arbitrarily allotted in 
 the creek Nation. His practically worthless farm land proved to be one of the 
 richest oil allotments in the Creek Nation. He is worth approximately *3,000,000 
 and has more than 01,000,000 invested in liberty Bbnds. There were Produced 
 ' last year oh restricted Indian allotments within the Five Civilized Tribes 
 8,200,000 barrels of oil. 
 
 -9- 
 
+ . . ; „°} 1 . has also besn discovered in.the pawnee, Otoe, 'and Kiowa Reserva- 
 
 . ln 0klahoma J the Crow Reservation .in Montana; the. Shoshone-. Reservation 
 
 n yommg, and only recently oil and. gas have.been discovered-in the Navajo 
 Reservation in New Mexico. 
 
 . While a few of the Indians have been exceedingly lucky in drawing 
 + Jt l0 : ments ha Y e tee one wealthy through oil royalties, we should not 
 ge he impression that all Indians are well to*, do. We have, a large number of 
 n lans who are exceedingly poor and need, every assistance possible from the 
 Government. Rations were issued last year to approximately 12,000 Indiana 
 an ere are a large number oil old and. decrepit Indians who will require the 
 continued care of the, Government. 
 
 RELIGIOUS WOPK IN THE INDIAN COUNTRY. 
 
 In the Indian field, we welcome the cooperation of missionaries of 
 all denominations* For, a great many-years a large number of missionaries, of 
 various denominations have been devoting their lives-to religious work among 
 the Indians. There are at this time 400 Protestant and 200“ Catholic mission¬ 
 aries in the Indian field. About 48,000 Indians have affiliated with Protestant 
 churches and 59,000 with Catholic churches. There are a’large number of adult 
 Indians who have not yet professed Christianity. I know of no better oppor¬ 
 tunity for service to humanity than missionary work among the American Indians. 
 
 BRILLIANT WAR RECORD OF INDIANS. 
 
 The Indians,made a wonderful showing during the World War. There 
 were 10,000 Indians'who served in the Army and 2,000 in the Navy. There were 
 approximately 10,000.Indian members of the Red Cross who made over 100,000 
 garments and sent 500 Christmas boxes during the World War* In addition, the 
 Indians of the ' country sub.scribed for $25,000,.000 in Government bonds*. 
 
 Some of the Indians ’."/ho .served in the war made wonderful records and 
 probably no more brilliant instance is recorded than that of Private Joseph 
 Oklahombi, a full-blood.Choctavr of Company D, 141st Infantry, whose home is 
 at Bismarck, Oklahoma, and who received the Croix de Guerre under the order 
 of Marshall petain, Commander in Chief of the French Armies of the East. A 
 translation of the order follows: 
 
 Under a violent barrage,, dashed td the attack of an enemy 
 position, covering about 210 yards through barbed-wire entanglements. 
 
 He' rushed on machine gun nests, capturing 171 prisoners. He stormed 
 a strongly held position containing more than 50 machine guns, and a 
 number of trench mortars. Turned; the captured guns on the enemy and 
 hell'the position for four days, in spite of constant barrage of large 
 projectiles and of gas shells. Crossed No Man’s Land many times to 
 get information concerning the enemy and to assist his wounded comrades* 
 
 INDIAN BUREAU CRITICS. 
 
 There is considerable propaganda going oh against the Indian Bureau 
 for the purpose of releasing all.Indians from Government supervision* This 
 propaganda is fostered by selfish interests.,: The billion dollar Indian estate 
 looks mighty tempting to the Indian land grafters. They seem to be well organ¬ 
 ized and have some good people deceived by their propaganda. They are using 
 
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the services of some shrewd mixed-blood Indies who are willing to sacrifice 
 the less fortunate of their own race for personal gain and an opportunity 
 to rob them of their patrimony, A western magazine carried a story recently 
 that the Blackfeet Indians of Montana had been for years in a starving con¬ 
 dition. Official records show that the Blackfeet Indians have increased in 
 population since 1912 from 2,816 to 3.066 in the year 1922* That does not look 
 much like starvation for the Blackfeet Indians* Major James McLaughlin, for 
 50 years a worker among Indians and author of the book entitled "My Friend, the 
 Indian," says that out of his long experience of 50 years among the Indians he 
 has never known of a single case of actual starvation of an American Indian- 
 
 Even some of the churches have -been imposedcupon in this organized 
 propaganda by traveling fake Indian chiefs* Recently an alleged Indian organ¬ 
 ization in Chicago passed a resolution to the effect that the American Indian 
 was without a flag and without a country, in face of the fact that two-thirds 
 of the Indians of this country are citizens; that one-third of the Indians, or 
 more than 100*000, have been released absolutely, from any supervision by the 
 Government, that 12,000 Indians served in the recent World War, and that the 
 Indians are the first Americans, and that our flag is their flag* 
 
 REPRESENTATION IN CONGRESS BY INDIANS* 
 
 The Indians are not without representation in Congress, two of the 
 leading Senators being of Indian blood* Senator Robert L* Owen, of Oklahoma, 
 is a member of the Cherokee tribe, and Senator Charles Curtis, of Kansas, is 
 an enrolled member of the Kaw tribe* Another prominent western Senator is 
 married to an enrolled member of the Umatilla tribe* Hdn* Charles D* Carter, 
 a member of Congress from Oklahoma, and formerly Chairman of the Committee 
 on Indian Affairs of the House of Representatives, is an enrolled member of 
 the Chickasaw tribe of Indians, and Hon. T. A* Chandler, another member of 
 Congress from Oklahoma, is an enrolled member of the Cherokee tribe. Hon. 
 
 W. W, Hastings, a member of the Cherokee tribe, was formerly a member of 
 Congress from Oklahoma, and now holds the nomination of his party for Congres 
 at the November elections* It will be seen, therefore, that the Indians are 
 well represented in Congress by members of their own race. 
 
 The two officials '.most directly charged by law with the administra¬ 
 tion of Indian affairs, Hon- Albert B* Fall, Secretary of the Interior, and Hon. 
 Charles H, Burke, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, are sincere fnen so le 
 Indians; have long lived among them and know their needs; have served many years 
 on the Senate and the House. Indian Committees of Congress, respectively, an 
 can be depended upon to guard and promote most faithfully every interest of our 
 Government ward3* 
 
 X know of no dependent people in the history of the world who have 
 made more rapid progress during the last 50 years than the American Indian, and 
 I know of no Government during that time that has been more generous or more 
 faithful to its trust thdn has our Government toward the American Indian. Con¬ 
 gress has approoriated since 1871 for the support, education, end civilization 
 of the Indians 8410,000,000. As a result of this generosity by our Government 
 the Indians “oday are on economic, artistic, and intellectual asset to our 
 national life. The Indians as a rule are kind, generous-hearted, and patriotic, 
 and face the future with hope, courage, and a deiermma.ion to succeed m life. 
 Their progress, education, and civilization have been remarkable indeed, and 
 their future outlook as individuals and as a race is most encouraging. 
 
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