The Portland daily press., 1880-12-13

man bat . "ward," incapable OF making the
simplest contract, of suing or being sued in
the courts. 1t is no wonder that this mass of
sta utory contradictions has been the constant
source Of misunderstanding and continual
war. The whole thing should be blotted from
the statute books and the Indian accorded the
same rights under the laws that we have given
to the negro, the Chinese and every other race
and nationality. This would not be expert
menting with untred theories of government
For hundred and forty years just across the
border, in Canada the Indian has been equal
before the law with the white man, and there
has never been war between the white race
an the Indians In n>Canada, and there never
will be one.
Mr. Tibbles then criticised the administra-
tions of the Indian Office during the last four
years, and said it had been the most inhuman
and brutal In all history, and In support Of It.
described the war with the Banhocks with the
Nez ;Perces, the massacre Of the Cheyennes
and the forced removal of the Poncas. These
had eest the government millions of dollars
and were all perfectly causeless, inhuman and
brutal. None of these things was the army
responsible for. They had suffered, fought
and many died on the field of battle, and had
for their only reward abuse and vilification.
They were brought about by the present
Secretary of the Interior nTwice have his
orders resulted in such unheard of cruelty that
Congress has appointed special committees to
investigate his conduct, and both of these
committees after long and patient investiga-
tion, and after having gone to the Indian
country and examined every witness he de-
sired summoned, have condemned him in the
most unqualified language.
At the close of Mr.. Tibbles' remarks a col
lection was taken up after which Little
Bright Eyes," an animated Indian maiden of
some % years, daughter Of Iron Eye, chief of
the Omahas, who was educated by the mis-
sionaries at Elizabeth, N. j., and has been
teaching school on the reservation, spoke as
follows:
ADDRESS OF BRIGHT EYES.
During the last three years three tribes, the
Nez Perces, the Poncas and the Cheyennes,
have been forcibly removed from their homes
into strange lands, where many had died in
hopeless anguish. W hat did these tribes do in
their defence? You know they would have been
less than men If they had submitted meekly
like slaves to the authority of this one govern
ment official at Washington. The Nez Perces
resisted, and there are now a feeble remnant of
them left in the Indian Territory, to which
they were forced 10 go. Of the Cheyennes
who resisted net man is leftto tellthe tale.
What did the Poncas do? They went intofthe
courts with the writ of habeas corpus in their
hand claiming their liberty like men. This
one government official sent an order to his at.
torney to dismiss the case, that they were not
persons and were not entitled to the writ of
liberty. When the Cheyennes fought to main-
the Poncas claimed the protection of the courts
the great Secretary of the Interior tried to kick
them out. Whether he will succeed or not it is
for you to say. We offer solution to the In
dian problem. This solution will end all wars;
it will end the shedding of blood of innocent
women and children; 1t will stop all these
wrongs which have gone up month after
month, year after year, for hundred years,
The solution of the Indian question, as it is
called. is citizenship. The question, I believe
is, "What shall be done with the Indian?
One part of the American people try to solve
1t by crying "exterminate him." The answer
to such people is that he has Creator who
will lavenge his extermination. The other
TO work and tell him that his lands shall be his
"as long as the grass grows and the waters
run" We all know that "the grass grows
and the waters rum, only as long as the gov
must not pass beyond this line without the
permission of this man, your agent, whom we
place over you," thus effectfully preventing
him from seeing or moving in any civilization
but his own. This, you see. is lesson in free
dom and liberty, their first lesson in the art of
civilization. The government says to the In
dian, "You must trade only with this man
whom we appoint You must buy from him |
only, and sell to him only all the products of |
Your farm" This is the law of spontaneous
production. This third lesson is the lesson of |
industry, manlness and independence. Last |
OF all the 'vernment says, "We have adopted |
this policy in order to civiize you. Now, why |
don't you become civilized?" As the process |
OF civilization is rather slow, it having taken |
the Anglo-Saxon race Thousand years or so to |
become what they are now, and as the In |
dian, being man, objects decidedly to being |
placed in nursery subject to the bidding of |
one man who may be his inferior in moral |
character or intelligence, he is termed rebel |
ious or sullen; and if he rises in evaporation,
as he ofetn does, he is termed savage incapa-
BILE of civilization, and troops are sent to en- |
force the lessons.
After the Indian is prevented from earning ]
his own living, and from takih6 care of him \
self, by this system of nursing and feeding, he |
is reported to be incapable taking care of |
himself and would starve if the government |
let him alone. 1t was because Standing Beer |
was trying to take care of himself, without the |
help OF the government, that this powerful |
government sent out its armed forces to carry |
him back to "a land from which he had fled,
because the terror OF death was on him in that |
land. It sounds like some strange story to |
think OF this powerful government sending |
out its armed forces against miserable little |
band. composed of eight men, Twenty-Five |
women aud children, all of them half starved |
and half of them sick with the malarial |
diseases caught in that strange climate. Why
did the government do this? Because the |
Indian being child, thing or ward, fed rom
that strange land, which meant death to him,
without permission from his master, father or
guardian, whichever you will. When he
WCut lutO COurU 70 nave MS flgQGS tried, the |
great reformer, the Secretary of the Interior,
said he was not person, and therefore could |
not come into court.
But the government feeds them. Was the
government feeding them when it forced
them from their land, carried them TO a
strange, unbroken country, reeking with
malaria, there to live in canvas tents, and
likely to starve because the great govern
ment after having robbed them of their
houses, lands and tools to work with, failed to
FOR fhroo tho0 80
rot solitary instance. but has happened
again and again to many other tribes, and will
happen again and again till this whole system
is abolished. 1t is either determination or
citizenship for the Indian. This system has
been tried for nearly hundred years, and
has only worked ruin on the Indian. 1t has
resulted only in the shedding of blood and
mutual hatred between the two nations. 1t
has resulted in the expenditure OF vast sums
OF money, but all the money is as nothing to
the loss Of single human life. Set aside the
idea that the Indian is a child and must be
taken care of, make him understand tn at he is
to take care of himself, as all other men are |
required to do, give him title to his lands,
make him amenable to it, and the Indian will
take care of himself. Then there will be no
more wars in trying to settle the Indian
problem, for there will be no problem to settle.
The remarks of Little Bright Eyes were
somewhat curtailed by the lateness of the
hour
A committee on resolutions composed of
five leading gentlemen reported the following
resolutions which were adopted.
RESOLUTIONS.
Whereas the wrongs and injustice to which the
Indians are subject ny many of our government
officials under the of law calls for an express
sion of opinion and action on the part of the peo.
pie, therefore be it
Resolved, That we all upon the government for
the i'm mediate restoration of the tribe of Ponca
Indians to their homes from iich they were
driven in violation of solemn treaty made with the
United States
Resolve, That we call upon our Senators and
Representatives in Congress to use their infuence
to secure the passage Of bill granting to all In