Morning journal and courier., 1882-01-12
Thursday Morning, Jan. 12, 1882.
A NOTABLE PETITION.

A notable petition was presented in the
 United States Senate yesterday. Fifty mem- | bers of the Omaha tribe of Indians pray to be
 given full and clear title to the lands which
 they have cultivated for years, and which,
 according to the terms of the treaty with
 them, made many years ago, they are enti-
 tied to have allotted to them to own in sev-
 crafty. The petition sets forth that the peti- tioners have taken out certificates of allot-
 ment of lands already entered upon claims | within the limits of the Omaha reserve. They
 have worked upon these lands from three to ten years. Many of them have built houses
 on the lands and all of them have endeavored to make permanent homes for themselves and their children. ''We, therefore," say the petitioners, petition your honorable body to grant to each one clear and full title to the land on which he has worked.
 We earnestly pray that this petition may re- ceive your favorable consideration, for we now labor with Encouragement of heart, knowing that our farms are not our own, and that any day we may be forced to leave the lands on which we have worked. We desire to live and work on these farms where we have made homes, that our children may ad- vance in the life we have adopted. To this end, and that we may go forward with hope and confidence in 8 better future for our tribe, we ask for good titles to our lands"
 The amount of land cultivated by each of the signers is from ten to ffty-fve acres There is appended to the petition full state ment of the circumstances of each of the signers, his property, the number whom he supports and the improvements he has made on his farm. The remarks of several of the Indians when they met to sign the petition are also added One of the Indians says
 The road our fathers welked in is gone; the game is all gone; the white people are all about us; there is no use of any Indian thinking of the old ways He must go to work as the white man does. We want titles to our lands. Lands may be secure to our children. We desire the government to give titles to those who ask for them, and in this way set us apart from those who do not want to work, and let us go on and try to become like the white people. We are willing that others should do as they please, but we are not willing that they should keep us from getting titles to our land
 Big Elk says: "We want titles to our lanQS. we are LQLnKlnS or llGbl6 else. NS are afraid of losing our lands. When we se- cure titles to our farms then we shall be treated as men. I beg all men who have good hearts to help us in this request" Jo- seph Lafesche says:
 We Indians see you now and want to take our steps your way. We turn ourselves toward you that you may help us. It seems as though the government pushes us back. It makes us think that the government re- gards unfit to be as white men. For some years we have been trying to get titles, but we have never heard from the govern ment. A little while ago I heard what the President said in his message and it seemed as though he was giving me a cup of cold water when I was very thirsty. The reason you don't look upon us as men is because we have not law because we are not citizens we are strangers in the land where were born. We want the law that we may be re- garded as such.
 The pathetic and justifable prayer of these Indians ought to be heard and granted by those to whom it is addressed. 'Two Crows'' says: ''If this can be done and we can have titles, we will work harder than we have done, for we will not be worried We want l to advance toward law. We look to the fu- ture, and think of our children and what will be best for them"