Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1892-11-17
OUR LAND INTEREST.
Chief Harris Views on this I'm
portant Subject.


Following is the iull text of that
portion of the chiefs message
which relates to lands in severalty
and the public domain:
To the Indians, the holding Of
land in severalty, is new system,
but it is urged upon him as the
one necessary step to his highest
individual prosperity and his civil.
ization as a race. This is the sys-
tenn Of the people Of the United
States, where it has been practiced
for more than a hundred years.
Under this system, their citizens
have entered as homesteads or al
a nominal price. hundreds of mil
lions of acres Of public land and
one might reasonably expect,
among SO thrifty and enterprising
people, an earthly paradise, where
every man, at least every farmer,
enjoyed himself under his own"
vine and fig tree. I" Do we find it
so? Far from it, more than half
Of the people Of the United States
engaged in agricultural pursuits
are landless, and their constant cry
is for more land for the homeless
The source from which the supply,
to meet the constant growing de-
mand, the extinguishment Of the
Indian 5 title, is now exhausted;
and the people of The United States
are now entering the threshold OF
a period, when the aggregation OF
the lands, in the hands Of The rich,
through mortgages will be greatly
accelerated, and the countless
number of the homeless, be en-
ormously increased. In the light
of recent statistics, this system
has proven failure so far as pro
viding homes for the majority OF
the people of the United States
are concerned, and its wisdom is
being seriously questioned by
some OF the best thinkers of the
times The people of the United
States have no year of Jubilee to
look forward to, when there will
be a redistribution Of the lands,
but when the lands shall be ac
cumulated in the hands Of the rich,
when the rentals shall be increas-
ed, until the laborer can exc out
only a miserable existence, and
when the grievous burden can DO
borne no longer, the system will
be wiped out in revolution
The Cherokee system breeds no
no land syndicatea,
no mortgage sharks. Land is not
to the level Of specula-
tion. Every citizen, however poor
or humble, with little energy,
and by a lItlle physical labor, can
have home Of his own TO shelter
wife and children. lie is not ever
looking for place To rest and to
exist, 1t is to be deplorcd that
some Of our people. deluded by
-heir fear of change in our gov
ernment, or actuated oy their
greed, wish TO change our land
tenure and adopt that OF lands in
severalty. This experiment is
now on trial among the Indians to
the west Of US, ia the new territory
Of oklahoma, where one Indian is
sandwiched on a quarter section,
between two white men, and he is
10 be civilized into a brother and
citizen by contact The result is
easily toreseenj his white neigh
Dors will eventually own his lands,
and his children will be out.casts,
IN the country their fathers once
owned. Prudence dictates that
we await the trial Of this expert
nent and profit by their expert
enee.
Some complain that we are dis
proportionately to wealth, taxed |
n our invested funds, but to my
mind. the wisest provisions made
by our fathers, for their poslerity,
was the dedication of the use only
)f the lands and the interest on
he invested funds, to each sue
;eeding generation. They were
lot set apart for our benefit only,
Dut have been given to US, in trust,
o use and enjoy, and TO transmit |
lnimpaired to those who may
,ome after us. The ownership of /
1ur lands in common, is the foun-
lation upon which our National I
existence rests; destroy this COM
non ownership, and the bond that /
holds US together as a Nation is
destroyed. The fee simple title, /
n the Nation, based upon an Act 1
If Congress, as il is, has proven /
he bulwark of the National cita-
tel, and has successfully withstood I
he assaults OF our enemies with /
n and without. IL rests upon the
iame basis, as does the private
ands of citizens, every where in
he United States, and cannot be
destroyed by legislation in Con-
yress, without doing violence to
rested rights, and unsettling the
enure by which private lands
very where in the States are held.
1t is also complained that our
ands are being monopolized by
greedy citizens. The fra
ners of our constitution knew the
power of greed in individuals, and
wisely provided a remedy in the
fundamental law, to prevent the
monopoly OF improvements, with
he view to speculation. You al
Ways have the power. peacably,
q redress any wrong by the few to
he rights of the many, and | cam
'stly invite your attention to the
extensive evil that is growing into
/ monopoly of the public domaiH.
through abuse Of the present per-
nit law. This is especially the
Delaware and Cooweescoowee dis
riot, and | urgently recommend
kuf Iba or,sY "a t..ainf - sI.t. 1.Ia.- !