Daily press and Dakotaian. [volume] (Yankton, Dakota Territory [S.D.]) 1875-1880, 1880-03-02
Sas Daily 1ress and Datstatss
xAhk1cN DAKOTA
DAKOTA.
tuesday Evening, March z, 1850.
INDIAN AFFAIRS.
A General B,ii Covering the Indian Qs-s.
tlOn.

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A General n'ii Covering the Indian Qs-s.
tisw.
Washington. Feb. 2s.-The senate com.
mittee GU Indian affairs, nj q long special
meeting TO-DAY, agreed TO report for passage
an original bill designed to coyer the entire
range Of the Indian question BY the enact.
nlent Of various new provisions, based on
the general principle that the United States
should in q great measure abandon the pol.
icy Of treating the Indians a. children and
place them a. speedily ~ possible upon the
footing Of citizens. The main features Of
the plan outlined BY the committee are:
l. The permanent localization of the In.
dams BY sllotting homesteads 10 them in
severalty, with the provision that the lands
30 allotted shall be absolutely i~nalienable
during . period Of twenty-five years.
z. The extension over the Indians of the
general civil and criminal laws of the Unit
ed States. or Of the respective states and ter
ritorles within whose borders they are To-
Gated.
3. The continuation Of a certain degree of
assistance to them by the government in the
line OF progress towards civilization until
they become self sustaining by means of aR-
ricuItural and pastoral occupations.
1t is not supposed by the committee to
transfer the control of the Indians to the
war department, but the bill will LARGELY
divest the interior department of discretion
airy power in regard to the Indians by plac-
ing them individually under control Of the
conntrv's genersllaws. The provisions of the
bill are not to apply to the FIVE civilized
tribes Of the Indian territory. Its details
will be eubjects for Confederation at future
meetings.
Col. Brooks, acting commissioner of In.
dian affairs, said all the tribes except The
Utes and Lemhis are on reservations capa.
BILE oil supporting themselves by means Of
agriculture or stock raising.
The special committee inquiring into the
matter Of the removal of the Poncaa to the
Indian territory, and into the declarations
OF the Poncas that they never signed the
paper asking to be removed into the Indian
territory. were informed BY "Bright Eyes,
that the Poncas, knowing nothing Of the
white mans geography, we're at the time of
signing the document utterly ignorant
OF the location, or even the existence Of
Indian territory; that Morgan. the inter-
prefer, was 40 Omaha Indian equally ieno-
rant on the subject; that neither he nor the
Poncas bad any word in their language
corresponding to the word territory and
could only speak of it in their language
the Indians country" or reservation; that
when Mr.. Morgan asked them as 10 Their
willingness TO remove to the Indians coun.
try or reservation, they understood him TO
mean the reservation of Indians with whom
for years they had been talking of uniting
their ortunes-the Omahae. They. there
fore. signed a document which they sun
posed to be q petition for removal to the
Omaha rese walton. bu. which was really a
petition for their removal to the Indian
territory. Afterwards they made a treaty
with the Sioux and reconsidered that action.
deciding TO remain on their own reserve
and did so until forcibiy removed.