Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1893-05-20

y
ton of the Stockbridge Indians in Wis
cOusiu, including such as have adhered
10 their tribal relations, have taken
steps to test the consuutionality of an
act passed by the late congress for
their relief
A prominent law firm of Warrington
has been secured to conduct the pro
ceedings, which viii take the form of
an application for al injunction re-
suaining the secretary of the interior
from executing the provisions of the
act above mentioned
There are some very interesting
points involved, some of which are
quite new to the legal fraternity, and
as the sum Of $4,000 in cash and IL
500 acres Of land in Shawano county
are involved, tRr proceedings win ar
tract considerable attention There viii
also be disclosed The manner in which
the passage of the act referred to was
secured, which, to say the least, was
extraordinary.
The Indians who nave thus volum-
tarily taken this matter into court do
lands viii remain after they get through
this contest They are determined to
fight it out, and would rather the law
yerS would get il than have any pOr-
ton Of the fund or the land given to
persons who are not entitled to either,
which is, according to their theory,
just what is proposed to be done UNI
q. f1,n nj "a,
papers are now being prepared and
VIII be served in a few days upon
Secretary Holie Smith.
For something like fifty years con
gress has been legisIating, or trying to
legslate, for the relief of the Stock
bridge and Munsee tribes Of Indians
in the state of Wisconsin. There have
been contentious between the Indian
party and the citizen party" between
those who continued their tribal rela-
lions and refused to take lands in sew
crafty and those who became citizens
of the United States.
II is between these factions that the
present controversy arises. The tribal
funds on deposit IN the treasury and
the umsold lands ON the reservation in
ShaWanO county are claimed as eX-
elusive property Of the tribe, and that
the citizen members should not share
in the division The Indian party
claims that the citizen party" members
have received their inheritance, and
now by virtue Of the recent act Of
congress seek to share in the undis-
tributed portion of the estate. This
they do not propose to permit, and in
order to protect their interests have
rcsorted to the courts They have
very intelligent representative here
who is furnishing the facts upon which
the restraining order viii rest.
Next in Importance to the question
whether the citizen party has any
right to share in this money or these
lands is the question whether the
United States can by act Of congress
make an Indian out Of a citizen, for
that is practically what is contemplated
or attempted by the recent act of CON
-ress 1t is claimed that congress has
no such power, and has no right to
enact legislation based upon the as
sumption that a natUalized Indian,
who has become a citizen Of the United
States, can for any purpose be restored
by law to his tribal relation.
lit is maintained by those VINO have
caused these proceedings to be insti-
uted That tribes Of Indians are dis
liuct nations, and that membership
therein can be secured only by birth or
adoption: that when an Indian has be-
come a citizen Of the United States,
congress has no more right to make
him an Indian again than it would
have to make him a subject Of Great
Britain.
The manner in which this act was
passed was extraordinary as its pro
visions are The tifty-1lrst congress
PASSED bill which was thought to be
satisfactory to the tribe, and President
Harrison vetoed it, His objections
We're that patents of land granted to
the Indians in seyeralty should not be
issued until a period of five years should
elapse after the allotment This had
been the uniform policy of the Harri-
son administration, and Tho president
would not sign any HT which did not
conform to that idea,
The purpose of this policy was that
die lands should be in the possession
of the Indian long enough for him to
realize their value and long enough
for him to cultivate some civilized pur-
suit Otherwise it would be only
question Of a few weeks or months be-
core The white an would get the land
a#Hy from hin for little or nothing
and strip the timber from it. 1t was
'oo late then to amend the bin in or
-er TO CONFORM to the presidents views
and set it through both houses again.
ON the assembling Of the ffty-second
gross tho question Of dividing this
fund and the allotment Of lands in sew
.-alW again came up. A bin was in
reduced in the house containing the
.tteuslFe provisions before alluded to,
pelng engineered chiefly by the Indian
Rights association. 1t also ignored the
~.uTlIrgr4pvtr LB,soas.9s..,+ II