The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1895-02-04
ABOUT THE INDIAN.
On the Whole He Has Been Cared for
Kindly and Honestly.

Philadelphia Record.
mere are unto this very day many wor-
sentimental phase Of Mrs. Helen Hunt jack
ocean of tears over the mythical wrongs
OF 10. the poor Indian According 10
these Jealous champions of the westward
moving aboriginal, he has been a cheated
and prosecuted victim of a shameless gov
ernment, The fallacy Of this sentimental
but never in such an energetic fashion as
by Major j.. w. Powell, the distinguished
rent. Forum. The authority of this ex-
pert upon the Indian question, to which
in all its phases he has devoted a long
mated, and his defense of the government
is merely an incidental feature OF his plea
for the increased industrial education OF
the Indian wards OF the Nation.
ernment,'' he declares, "to extinguish In
dian titles than to extinguish the titles of
foreign nations, and the cost of Indian
wars has been greater than the cost of for
eign wars. In treating with, foreign GOV
Statesmen; SO, in treating with Indian tribes
We have always employed men of higE
men who have made treaties witt the In
dian tribes we find such men as Jackson,
harrison, Cass and many olners who have
have always been liberal in our bargains.
giving to the tribes moneys in excess. OF
the values of their lands at the time when
tAADF ~ -
confirming to them the title of portions
of their lands as reservations. As the coun-
ansm j e c. viIization these res
ervations have developed in value by, un-
earned Increment, SO that many tribes have
become comparatively wealthy, and nearly
all are we'll to do"
This is a review of the governments pol
icy in a nutshell which every deluded hui
manitarian should frame and. hang in a
conspicuous place on the walls of his or
ner sm5ry. lne ndlan p cr.a lon A.,
the current fiscal year aggregates the sum
of $40, 100, 1876, of which nearly $7,V0U,0U0 Is 10
be paid under treaty obligations. All other
nations have treated their aboriginal saw
United States government has treated the
Indian tribes as sovereign nations. Even
Harvard University was begun as an In
dian school. When the buffalo was killed,
the Western hunting ground plowed. the
fishing grounds navigated and, as Major
Powell expresses it, the indian absolutely
stranded on the shore of civilization, where
he must live under new conditions or die,
the right men again came forward at THIS
critical juncture-Pratt of Carlisle, and
Armstrong;. of Hampton.
The new industrial education has been
a great boon already to the Indian, about
twenty thousand of whom are now under
instruction.; and while, as Major Powell
points out. only a few fully iedged indus
trial schools have as yet been developed,
the promise for the future is, indeed, most
encouraging. Young Sioux exclaims the
Major, who fought Custer now drive
teams at the government agency; Navajo
who fought Kit Carson are now digging
are now husking corn The coming gener-
alton will witness the Indians qualified to
do their own agricultural work ana TO
make most Of their own. artisan necessI-
ties, or the Indian will be pronounced a
failure as a possible candidate for ciyiliza-