Indian chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1882-1902, 1898-11-03

Indian Territory up to a recent
date has been made public. 1t
urges as the main call Tor govern
ment aid. ."fraught with disastrous
consequences ifdelayed," The need
of some provision by the national
government for educational pur-
poses in the territory. While the
funds and resources of the several
tribes, properly managed, can
probably supply sufficient support
TOR the schools Of the citizen
Indian, yet the white residents can
not share in them, and must look
elsewhere for the means of educat-
ing their children. The meaDsre-
sorted to in all the other territories.
and out of which ample school
funds have been provided, do not
exist in the Indian Territory, in
which the United States has not
an acre of public land or other pro-
perty beyond that of public uses.
If the white residents are
to receive any aid from the
United States it must be from the
outside, and by direct appro-
pHaiion. If they are left without
any such aid it will be harsher
treatment than has been meted
out to the residents of any other
territory and will be attended with
the most disastrous consequences.
There are believed to be between
250,OO and 100000 white resi-
dents in the territory to-day, and
well-nigh $1,000 of them children
of school age. They are there to
stay, making homes for them
selves, and destined to be part
of the body polite of state. While
some of them, living in the towns,
are anxious TO educate their chill
dren and may be able to some
extent to do SO from their private
means, yet is quite different with
the poor pioneers in the country,
who constitute by far the larger
part of this white population.
They, however anxious, can not of
themselves command the means or
the opportunity to educate their
children. Consequently, a large
proportion of these $4,000 children
of school age, increasing in num-
ber every year, are in danger of
growing up in ignorance, to take
upon themselves the responsibili-
les OF citizenship. This is not the
fault, but the misfortune, of these
residents OF the territory. The
evils that will come of the
indifference to this situation can
not be measured Summing up
the results of the years work, the
commission says:
"The Indian laws IN force in the
territory and the Indian courts
which administered them have
given place, with a few un-
important exceptions, to laws cor
responding to those of Arkansas
on the same subject matter, snd
have been made applicable to all
persons in the territory, without
distinction of race. United States
courts are to administer and United
States officers to enforce these
laws. Provision has been made
for the allotment of all tribal lands
OF the territory equally among all
its citizens, attained as to nearly
ali of them upon terms agreed to
by the tribes by popular vote. If
the agreement with the Creeks be
ratified, as is expected, this will
be true of all except the Cherokees,
and as to them it has been pro-
vided by statute. By the agree
ments and the Curtis act, the many
thousands of white residents in the
towns unable heretofore TO obtain
title to the land on which they
have built their homes, and some
times expensive business houses,
can now purchase at fair ap-
praisal these lands. Whatever
rights, civil or political, are en-
ioyed by the citizen resident in
any territory of the United States.
the same rights are now secured
to the citizen Indian and largely
to the white resident also in indian
Territory"
The report refers TO the diff
Guilty of making up citizenship
roll of all the freedmen claiming
rights under the treaties of 1866
with the respective tribes, and of
all their descendants born since
the date of the treaties. Neither
the Choetaws nor Chickasaws have
ever kept roll OF those made
freedmen by that nation, nor kept
any trace of them since emancipa-
tion, the tribes persisten'ly ignor-
ing them.