The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1899-11-25
INDIAN AFFAIRS.
Commissf ~ner Jones, I'm His Annual
Report, Tells OF Education of
the Nations Wards.

Washington, Nov. 2O.-The annual report
OF the commissioner OF Indian affairs, VIII
liam A. Jones, besides reviewing the prog
ress of affairs In all branches OF the serv-
Ice, urges more schools, more systematic
methods, study of individual traits and
consideration of subsequent environment
in outlining studies in the Indian schools.
The entire educational system of the In
dian office, he says. is predicated upon the
final adjustment of the anomalous Indian
reservation system. There are now 20, 522
boys and girls in attendance on the va
rious Indian schools out of an enrolment
OF over $4,000. The Indian population from
which these are taken being $4,000.
While the population has remained station
ary there has been such a steady Increase
In the number OF the Indians being educat-
ed ms to warrant the opinion that the next
quarter century will witness not a diminu-
ton of the Indian population, but an ex-
tirguishment of Indian tribes. One dis
cpuraging factor, however, is disclosed by
the unsatisfactory results of the past nine
years trial of coeducation of the Indians
with the whites in the public schools. The
report says the results of this coeducation
are not commensurate with the expendi-
ture; that the idea theoretically is an adj
mirable eXpedient for breaking down preju-
dices and civilizing the Indian, but the fig
ures show II is not an unqualified success
The full blood who needs such contact
work, at least, of Indian education must
be laid under the government auspices and
control.
Stronger measures for forcing the at
tendance on Indian schools are urged
There are 1852 employees in the Indian serv-
ice and the policy is to employ Indians in
every position to which they are adapted
by nature and education. A thorough and
exhaustive investigation of the Seminoles
in Florida has resulted in the discontinue
ance of the offices of Industrial teacher
and other employees and no school will be
established for them at present, their real
and fancied wrongs having embittered
them against governmental assistance.
The removal of the PERKS school, in south
ern California, and rebuilding IL in more
suitable locality will be recommended TO
congress
Concerning the Indian territory, the re-
port severely arraigns nepotism, lack of
management, demoralized conditions and
"A dep!orable state of affairs generally in
administering the schools and orphan
asylums of the five Indian nations. out
of q boarding schools, not more than four
of the superintendents are reported COM
petent to teach the ordinary English
branches. and financial acknowledgement is
especially complained Of.
Reporting on the Chippewa outbreak OF
last autumn, Commits sioner Jones says:
For many years Chippewas- have been
arrested and taken from their homes to 81.
Paul and other points as witnesses or as
offenders, chiefly in whisky cases. Often
wholesale arrests have been made solely
for the fees which would accrue to the Of
fic!als. Indians have been helped to obtain
whisky by the very ones who arrested them
for using II. In some cases Indians car
ried off to court have been left to get back
home as best they could. The whole mat
ter of arrests by deputy marshals had come
to be farce. a fraud and a hardship to the
Chippewas, and a disgrace TO the com
munity.
'sBut neither does this by itself explain
the outbreak. When a delegation of Chip
pewas visited Washington last winter,
their most bitter complaint was about in
justice in the use of their funds. and frauds
in the disposition of their timber. Without
going into details. II Is sufficient to say that
in 1889 the Chippewas were with difficulty
induced to cede 10 the United States large
tracts of valuable pine lands on the repre-
sentation that the sale of the pine would
bring them in a fund of several million dol
lars. AS is always the case. many Indians
were utterly opposed to the negotiations.
"A commission was appointed to make
al!otments on ceded and reservation landl.
and to secure removals to White Earth
of those who were willing to go there. Es-
timators were appointed to appraise the
Chippewa pine. The expense of both is
charged to the fund of the Indians. The ex-
penSe OF the commission UP 10 uale mas not
been less than 500 0o0. most of It in salaries.
The work of the estimators proved worth
less and second set of estimators was APP
pointed. with no better results, and third
set Of men was assigned to the work. Up
to date about S2S0,0O0 has been charged to
the Indians for estimating. Meantime
large tracts OF pine. which had been esti-
mated at from one-fourth TO one-half their
value, were sold. and that loss also fell
upon the Indians. Again. under authority
to dispose of dead and down timber cor
tractors have cut large quantities of green
standing timber. There are also strong
indications that considerable timber was
fired to bring Il nominally under the head
of dead" timber This was another loss
to the Indians. All these and other minor
influences wrought together to produce
the general feeling of oppression and dis
trust and evaporation which found ex-
preston when the arrests were undertaken
by the aid of military force"