St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1882-09-29
The Indian Question.
/ A paper read before the ST JOhnsbury Lad
Missionary Society.

In deciding the question OF the
Justice of the United States dealings
with the Indians, the first thing to
consider is, What were their original
rights hers Less than four hundred
years ago the red man rOamed over
our whole country unmOlested. Now,
how small a spot on the map of North
America is covered by Indian territory !!
Let us 90 back to the discovery of
America by European powers and
trace the progress of this change. Eng
land, France, Spain and Portugal,
quarreling continually with each other,
each and all recognize the Indians
Fright of occupancy" to the soil.
Every discussion as IT, boundaries from
buying and selling to he subject to the
Indians right of occupancy, and this
right was not alienable from the In
dian, except by purchase OF conquest.
The British crown held her American
colonies subject to this ''lndian right of
occupancy and subject to it they
passed into the possession of the United
States government at the close of the
revolution. The lands which the In
dians have ever occupied, they have
never legally lost except 10y voluntary
sale, or III open war.
In 80 Dy.siI.nt dams suiH in hi
message AT the establishment of
the Federal government, the principle
was adopted of considering the Indians
as foreign and Independent powers and
also rs proprietors of lands. As indie
pendent however we negotiated with
them 10y treaties; Us prOprietOrs of lands
we purchased of them all the land we
could prevail on them to sell as
brethren of the human race, rude and
ignorant, we endcavored to bring them
to the knowledge of religion and let
ters.' Thus it seems our government
started with good intentions towards
the Indians, but neither then nor since
has it ever made any provision for the
possibility of an Indians becoming Il
citizen of the United States.
There are now between 25O,0OO and
3OO, 900 thousand Indians in the United
States, exclusive of Alaska. OF these,
10000 are Self-supporting, receiving
nothing from the government but in
interest on their own money, or an
nuities granted them in consideration
of the cessiOn of their lands to the
United States. There are also about
5000 who never visit an agency but
support themselves by hunting, etc.
About ~ 900 furnish Il large proportion
of their subsistence, while the remain
der Ia small propOrtiOnD are entirely
supported 10y government. These
facts certainly dispose of the accusa-
ton that the Indians will not work.
The Cherokee nation, in Indian ter
ritOry, says Mrs. jackson, "have made
more rapid progress from barbarism to
civilization than any other nation in
the history of the world, having accom-
plished III one hundred years what it
took the Brtons five hundred years to
accomplish" There is not one of the
three hundred bands of Indians which
has not suffered cruelty from the white
settlers and from the treachery and
severity of the government, and the
more feeble and peaceable the tribe the
more it has suffered. Indian history
has been mostly tragedy, and the story
of one tribe has been substantially the
story of all. Whenever and wherever
the white man has wanted to come,
then and thence the Indian has had to
go.
His lands have been taken from him,
sometimes by fair purchase, but often
er by fraud and violence. He has been
driven up and down, hither and thith-
er, ever in search of the place of least
value to the white man, for any tract
of land good enough to support a
white man by agriculture or mining is
soon discovered to be too good for an
Indian reservation When it becomes
of great value the government decides
to "reduce the reservation" which
means simply to steal few thousands
of acres of land from the helpless own
ers of it.
We have had Indian wars, which
have cost the United States $500, 900,
600, and tens of thousands of valuable
lives, but Canada has had no Indian
wars, simply because she has kept
what promises she has made to the In
dams and her treaties are made with
them AS Indian subjects of her maies-
ty. Is it not disgrace to us. that
when an Indian steps over the line
from limited monarchy to free re-
public, he loses even the right to cal
himself a man? Gov. Seymour says
Every human being born upon ouI
continent, or who comes here from any
quarter of the world, whether savage
or civilized, can 20 to our courts fol
protection, except those who belong to
the tribes who once owned the coun.
try. The cannibal from the islands o
the Pacific, the worst criminals from
Europe, Asia or Africa can appeal Il
the law and courts for their rights o
person and property, save our ma
tive Indian, who above all should b,
protected from wrong
President after president has ap
pointed commissions to inquire int,
Indian affairs, and the reports hav,