No. 92—Second Series—4,000 m Indian Rights Association, 995 Drexel Building, Philadelphia, Pa., January 28, 1914. THE “CITIZENSHIP EXPEDITION.” A recent Washington newspaper despatch announced that Senator Penrose had intro¬ duced a resolution calling for an investigation of Indian affairs, in accordance with a sug¬ gestion of the Rodman Wanamaker Indian expedition. The resolution proposes that the commission of seven, to be appointed, shall act in conjunction with Dr. J. K. Dixon, the leader of the Wanamaker party, and it also “recites the accomplishments of the expedition.” Senator Penrose and those for whom he is acting have evidently not kept in very close touch with current events; for they do not seem to know that a joint Congressional Com¬ mission, composed of three Senators and three Representatives, was created by the Act of June 30, 1913, for the same purpose. That Commission, of which Senator J. T. Robinson is chairman, has been, and is now, conducting its work, as directed by the law, with a view to “recommending such changes in the administration of Indian affairs as would promote the betterment of the service and the well-being of Indians. ” It is therefore hardly likely that the Penrose resolution will receive favorable action by the Committee on Indian affairs. It has, however, been the means of giving added publicity to the claims of Dr. Dixon in regard to the alleged “accomplishments” of the “Citizenship expedition.” So long as the Dixon report was being used for advertising purposes, its absurd and extrava¬ gant claims of “accurate and extensive” information could be regarded as humorous and harmless; but when its author seeks to have Congress give the document serious con¬ sideration, it is in order to analyze its statements. Mr. Rodman Wanamaker’s desire to perpetuate certain noble characteristics of the red man, and to arouse a stronger public sentiment to secure just treatment for him, is to be commended. The expedition sent out by Mr. Wanamaker could have performed, under proper management, a service of real value; but to those who have even an ordinary knowledge of Indian affairs, the Dixon report of “achievements” is very unsatisfactory on account of serious inaccuracy of statement and apparent ignorance of the essential truth in many cases. It is regretable that a philanthropist of such high ideals as Mr. Wanamaker should be exploited in this fashion by such an agent. During the past summer and autumn I visited fifteen Indian reservations in the South¬ west; our Washington Agent visited a number in the Northwest, and I also met many of the Indian Service field-men, in the East and West, with whom I talked on this subject. From every point the testimony was the same; Dr. Dixon was always in a hurry, and his 2 stay at the Agencies was usually limited to a few hours. The Mescalero reservation, in New Mexico, for instance, is a tract of land almost the size of Connecticut. The nearest railroad point is Tularosa, eighteen miles from the Agency. The Dixon party arrived there one morning, went to the Mescalero Agency by automobile, had the flag-raising ceremony in a perfunctory manner, took a short whirl over a portion of the reservation, and left the same evening for other parts of the country. Such methods are hardly calcu¬ lated to enable any one, no matter how expert, to secure “accurate and extensive” first¬ hand information of conditions, or to gather “full details of all phases of Indian and reserva¬ tion life.” It must be a great satisfaction to the Mescalero Apache, and all the other tribes, to feel “now that his life story, both primitive and present, is to be accurately given to the country, ” by such a “careful” authority. From the reports of the Western people I learn that this was a typical case. I wonder if Dr. Dixon ever heard of the thorough work being done by Edward S. Curtis to record, by pen and photograph, the history of all the Indian tribes? Mr. Curtis is spending years to acquire his data, but Dr. Dixon would have us believe, from his method, that only a few hours at each point are necessary for such a task. To illustrate Dr. Dixon’s ignorance, or misrepresentation, a few instances are cited: The report, in referring to the ceremonies in New York Harbor on February 22, 1913, says that “these grizzled warriors” assembled there “never owned a flag and knew nothing about the flag. ” The first of the “ Rules for the Indian School Service, ” in force for years, provides that “There shall be a flag-staff at each school, and in suitable weather the flag of the United States shall be hoisted each morning and taken down at sunset. ” There are 327 Indian schools, and it is the custom to assemble the pupils each morning and evening to salute the flag as it is being raised or lowered. The Department rule that I have quoted also refers to Agencies. I have never been on a reservation where I did not see the American flag flying. The one case that Dr. Dixon refers to—conveying the impression that it was typical—on the Havasupai reservation, Arizona, is an exception; but a few years ago there was a heavy flood in that canon that destroyed nearly all the government property, and ruined the agricultural land of those Indians. Referring to the New York Harbor ceremonies, Dr. Dixon says: “A new ideal was imposed, ” namely, that of citizenship. This “expert evidence” is sadly at fault. In 1879 the “new ideal” took definite shape, and the Boston Indian Citizenship Committee was organized, which, in conjunction with the Indian Rights Association and the late Senator Dawes, helped to secure the General Allotment Act of February 8, 1887. Under its terms, when an Indian received an individual allotment of land, he became a citizen of the United States. If Dr. Dixon had taken the trouble to investigate this subject, he would have found that there are over 185,000 Indians who are citizens, and that his “new ideal” is an old story. His “expedition of citizenship” is thirty-five years behind the times. One of the purposes of the expedition was “to secure the signature, by pen and thumb- mark, of every Indian tribe to the Declaration of Allegiance.” The absurdity of this is apparent when it is understood that any treaty or agreement made by the Government with the Indians, if it was to be valid, had to be signed by a three-fourths majority of the male adults of the tribe concerned. Consequently, the few signatures secured by Dr. Dixon of individual members of any tribe to the “Declaration of Allegiance” are abso¬ lutely valueless. 31 ’Yv *1* C~ 3 Dr. Dixon asserts that, as a result of his expedition, the Indian “realizes now, for the first time, that he must do something for himself.’’ There are thousands of Indians who realized that long ago. Before the “Citizenship Expedition” was conceived, the Society of American Indians was organized, in Columbus, Ohio, October, 1911, by Indians who are working to advance the interests of Indians. Its active membership is confined exclusively to those of Indian blood, and contains representatives of nearly every tribe. As to the “enthusiasm” of the red man for the expedition, note what is said about it in the Quarterly Journal of the Society of American Indians, the editor of which is an Indian: “The ‘Wanamaker Expedition of Citizenship to the Indian’ has returned to its Phila¬ delphia store. The plan was for a certain Mr. Dixon to give a flag to every reservation in the country, and pledge the Indian to loyalty. This was an assumption that the Indians were not loyal. Newspapers said that the Indian had never seen a flag. This is an ab¬ surdity, and the whole expedition was a flagrant insult to the United States authorities and an insult to the Indian. * * * * But the late Mr. Barnum’s maxim will hold good.” Regarding the recent Navajo “uprising,” Dr. Dixon, in a widely published interview, found fault with Superintendent W. T. Shelton, of the Shiprock Agency, New Mexico, for “interfering with some of their most sacred customs.” It is true that Mr. Shelton did interfere with a “sacred custom,” just as the United States Government interfered with a “sacred custom” of the Mormons some years ago. It should be noted that this “sacred custom” of the Navajos was polygamy, by which the old men took very young girls for plural wives. The Indian Bureau has been endeavoring to stamp out this “sacred custom” not only among the Navajos, but in all the other tribes; and Supt. Shelton was acting in accordance with that policy when he interfered with the Indian law-breakers. I hardly believe that a minister of the Gospel would knowingly favor polygamy, even though it has been a “sacred custom” of the Indians, just as it was in patriarchal times. In another newspaper interview Dr. Dixon is reported to have said of the Jicarilla reservation, New Mexico, that “the tribe cannot raise cattle because the vegetation is insufficient. ” If Dr. Dixon had really investigated the physical condition of that reserva¬ tion, he would hardly have made such a statement. Raising cattle or sheep is exactly what the Jicarilla Indians can do, for they have good summer and winter ranges. The following excerpt from the Chilocco, Oklahoma, Indian School Journal, com¬ menting on a visit of the Expedition to one of the points in that State, is suggestive: “For generations effort has been put forth by those in the Indian field to induce the Indians to put away from them many habits and customs that have always served as sufficient barriers to progress, and to accept and put into practice the best features of our civilization. In fact, there could not be conceived any other right purpose in laboring with them. In the Wanamaker expeditions the taking of pictures with all sorts of cameras seemed the principal interest, and the important subjects were the Indians arrayed in owned and borrowed barbarian finery. Many occupying the center of the stage were original coffee-coolers or their descendants, usually the consistent foes of progress, while the pro¬ gressing Indian in his inconspicuous citizen’s dress formed the fringe of the crowd unnoticed. They were not ‘Chiefs’ because they had outgrown the fiction of chieftainship, but merely bread-winners, and therefore poor subjects for a spectacular exhibit. In this particular the teaching of the expedition was wrong and did not leave a good taste in the mouths of those who work.” UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS — URBANA The Rev. Edward Ashley, D.D., for many years a missionary on the Cheyenne River reservation, South Dakota, reprints the foregoing article in “Anpao, ” a paper published in j the Sioux language, with this additional criticism: “The above item is true also of the action of Dr. Dixon on some of the Sioux reserva- j tions. The writer witnessed the flag-raising on one of the Sioux reserves, and the progressive | Indians, though present, were ignored and only those in warpaint and feathers were recog- | nized and given the impression that they were ‘ it.’ The addresses of President Wilson and J Secretary Lane were ground off without any interpretation. In order that the Sioux i nation may know what they said, we have translated the same, which may be found on -j another page.” After making such a perfunctory and superficial “investigation,” Dr. Dixon has the | effrontery to assert that “for the first time the nation may have the full, unvarnished truth, at first hand, from a neutral authority.”# Let the reader judge whether or not the data presented by Dr. Dixon is such as to inspire confidence as to its value, historically or ethnologically. Dr. Dixon says that “Indian superintendents have declared that the Expedition has tremendously forwarded their work.” Those whom I saw on my trip, for the most part, regarded the affair as a huge joke. However, should the Senate Indian Committee decide to consider the Penrose resolution, it would be well to call on the Indian superintendents for a frank expression as to the value of the expedition. Inspector James McLaughlin was detailed by the Department to accompany the Dixon party. He should also be called upon for a report. M. K. Sniffen, Secretary Indian Rights Association.