Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1891-02-12
Tho RIGHTS IN the Case.

IL tutic 10 any HdllNHi hAHulNu
tongue or people on Gods greer
earth that have an undoubteC
right to the country and all III
benefits, that people certainly ar,
the Cherokees. They have pur
chased those lands with othel
lands and the blood and tears o
their forefathers. When the pal,
faces first came to the shores o
| Georgia they found the Cherokee'
in possession Of the country, where
perhaps they had resided for d
thousand years. Here they had
reared their wigwams, raised their
families and blried their dead; il
was their home. The advent Of
the pale faces was revelation and
the Cherokees longed for the
/ higher civilization which they saw
and began to make improvements;
they began to use domestic ami
mails, build houses, fence fields
and tend them, to cloihe and edu-
cate themselves. They became
civilized and were a happy and
contented people They only
asked to be recognized as human
and be allowed TO become citizens
of the great country that boa sted
of its Justice and freedom But
the people Gustice p looking
through avarieious specs almost
| if not entirely, said "the Indians
have no rights which the white
man is bound to respect, therefore
we want your land +" The Cher0-
KEGS answered, 1--WE have no lands
10 dispose Of; these are our homes
and the graves OF our foreiathers
are here; they are sacred to us;
besides, we have no place to 60 il
we give up our lands. Then the
white man came with the big In
dian Territory (Which was thought
10 be worthless) on the point of a
bayonet and offered them a trade
which, under the circumstances, it
was decided to be the better part
of yalor to accept. Then, the
Cherokees being a little slow to
move. the white men came with
their bayonets and drove the
Chcrokees like sheep TO this then
wild country to begin life and civ
ilization anew. Here, surrounded
by wild and savage men, almost
deprived of commerce and with
greatly limited advantages Of odu.
cation the Cherokees survived and
their present civilization under
the circumstances is to my mind
one of the proudest movements up
on Gods footstool After paying
such a price for the lands the man
who would deprive them Of any OF
them or any Of the benefits to be
derived thereirom, is certainly
more animal than man.
Now let US take another look:
The same avaricious greed that de-
prived the Cherokecs of their
homes has all the time been de-
priving white men of their homes,
and one by one they have been
driven westward, taking up homes
and then being driven onward
again by those who in their turn
shall follow them and this immigra-
ton has made the once uselesslands
of the Cherokees valuable, and the
white man in search Of adventure
or lately in search Of a place where
he may rear and feed his family,
has found his way into this nation.
The white farmer and laborer fells
the forest tree and builds the hand
some dwelling house and the rude
hut, and generally occupies the
latter; he opens up the farm and
tills the soil; is the "hewer OF
wood and the drawer Of water" is
the emphatic wealth producer Of
the land and from this labor there
is a ceaseless stream of wealth in
the shape Of houses and fields and
rent, forever flowing into the
hands of the Cherokees, 1--WE are
not now discussing the proper dis
tribution of this wealth. and the
question naturally arises-have
the white men any rights that the
In dian is bound to respect ? or, to
put the matter in a different shape,
have the white men any rights that
it is policy for the Indian to re-
spect.
Let US see: In their first en-
deavor to compromise with the
white men and become citizens the
Cherokees met with disastrous re-
suits; so when they set up their
empire in the west, by treaty
stipulation ard legal enactment
they endeavored to retain every
right and principle for their own
people, and yet to utilize their do
main and make it profitable, they
find it necessary to introduce
some manner OF wealth producer.
So they have barred up the high
road OF prosperity and endeavored
to run their own people in by a side
door TO a free entertainment,
while the stranger is expected to
60 to the back door to take a kind
of cold "hand-out.n - Now in or
der to protect their side door they
have been compelled TO add law
upon law, and additional red tape.
until the Cherokee finds he s
hardly able to enter the feast until
more than half of them are found
at the back door and the favored