St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-12-08
VOICE OF TIE PEOPLE.
The White Earth Reservation.

The White Earth Reservation.
To the Editor Of the Globe:
The Pioneer Press takes issue against the
people residing in Northwestern Minnesota
ON the question of the removal of the In
dams from the Leech Lake, Winnebago-
Ssh and other reservations to the White
Earth reservation. The memorial adopted
by the convention of the counties contiguous
to the White Earth reservation states the
sentiment of the farming and business COM
munities, and further, the memorial states
facts and is not biased on low plane of
argument and narrow platform of facts"
The people in the counties adjoining the
White Earth reservation are acquainted
with the situation and know well that the
placing of any more Indians on the White
Earth reservation will be source of trouble
to the neighboring whites. 10 put a
large number of wild Indians on the
White Earth reservation is impracticable
and unjust. 1t is plain that the scheme for
the removal of the Indians is headed by the
pine land men. The Pioneer Press ought
not to be against the people. The citizens
and residents of northwestern Minnesota
Go not ask that the Indians on the White
Earth reservation be removed or that their
lands be taken from them. The Pioneer
Press did not receive correct report OF the
proceedings of the convention. The memo
rial to congress was reported correctly but
the remarks of the speakers were somewhat
perverted, unintentionally no doubt, by the
reporter. No person in the convention
recommended that ''all the reservations be
opened up for settlement" The writer
said that the chiefs and head men on the
White Earth reservation were willing to
sell large part of their reservation to the
government for the purpose of opening it
up to settlement; that the White Earth In
dams had at least 100000 acres of land,
mostly agricultural, which they do
not need that the Indians had the right of
occupancy, right which they could not be
deprived of without their consent, and that
such consent was obtained by ian agree
ment entered into between the chiefs and
head-men of the Indians and agents OF COM
missioners appointed by the secretary of the
interior" with or without the authority of
congress for that purpose; such agreement
has to be submitted to congress for accept
ance and ratification, and provides for the
REIMBURSEMENT for valuable consideration
of part or the whole of the lands claimed
by the Indians, either under treaty stipula-
tions OF otherwise. That since March 3.
1871. no Indian nation or tribe within the
United States can be acknowledged or rec
ognized as an independent nation, tribe or
power with whom the United States may
contract by treaty, hence since that time
agreements have to be entered into subject
to ratification by congress and the presi-
dent.
The convention was unanimous for the
r;o al with "a ovopn+ior IF daIa-
gate, Mr.. P. S. Olson. There were fifty
two delegates voting. The following is the
memorial:
Memorial to Congress: Your memorialists.
the people residing IN the counties OF Polk,
Norman, Becker and Hubbard, each county
Joining the White Earth Indian reservation,
by their delegates, assembled at Ada, Norman
county, Mimi, on Dec. l, 1885. do hereby re-
specially represent that there are now 6,598
Chippewa Indians ON the Leech Lake, Mile
Laos, Red Lake. Winnebagoshish and the
White Earth reservations in Minnesota; that
the area of the Leech Lake reservation proper
contains 1,091, 523 acres, mostly the best agri-
cultural lands in the state OF Minnesota; that
the area of the Leech Lake reservation is
"a, 400 acres; that the area of the Mile Laos
reservation is 81 OLA acres; that the area OF
the Red Lake reservation is 5000, 900 acres
that the area Of the WinnebagoShlsh reserva-
ton is 100000 acres; that the lands in the
said Leech Lake, Mile Laos, Red Lake and
Winnebagoshish reservations are mostly I'M
fit for agriculture and valuable only for the
pine that grows thereon, and that not more
than 1,200 of said Chippewa Indians live on
the said White Earth reservation, and that
4,92S of the said Chippewa Indians are living
a wild life in bands on the other named reser-
vations under different chiefs, and although
called Chippewas they are, in fact, foreign
to each other, and might properly be
called Leech Lake, Mile Lac, Red
Lake and Winnebagoshish Indians: that
the Indians on the White Earth res
ervatiou are cultivating net more than
three townships out of the vast amount of
agricultural land contained in the said reser-
walton, and they are willing to sell a great
part of the said reservation to- the United
States to be opened for settlement; that a
scheme is on foot to take the Indians from
the Leech Lake, Mile Laos, Red Lake and
Winnebagoshish reservations; that the said
scheme is impracticable and unjust, not only
to the citizens of the United States but also
to the Indians living on the White Earth res
ervation, for it will place vast quantity of
rich agricultural land virtually forever out OF
market, and Indians who live on the said
Leech Lake, Mile Laos, Red Lake and Winnie
bagoshish will never submit to settle down
and resign their trapping and hunting, which
is their principal occupation where they are
now, but on the contrary they will be source
of trouble to not only the Indians now in the
White Earth reservation, but they will prey
upon and make trouble with the citizens liv-
ing in the counties adjacent and bordering
on the White Earth reservation in case of
such removal; that the citizens of Northern
and Western Minnesota are against the plac-
ing of any more Indians on the said White
Earth reservation. Your memorialists there
fore most earnestly appeal to your honorable
body to prevent any removal of the said In
dians and request that measures be taken by
the government to purchase such lands of the
White Earth Indians as are good for agricul-
ture, which the said Indians do not need for
their welfare. JOHN NJ. MARTIN.
Ada, Mimi, Dec. 5.