Omaha daily bee., 1902-02-23
PLEA FOR NEBRASKA INDIANS
Congressman Robinson UrGes that
they BE Given Authority
over Their Lands.
(From a staff Correspondent)

(From STAFF Correspondent)
WASHINGTON. Feb. 22.-Cspecial Tele-
grant, )-Land leasing on the Omaha and
winnebago reservation in Thurston county.
Nebraska, was ventilated during the ses-
sion Of the house Friday by Congressman
Robinson during consideration Of the In
dian appropriation bill. In the course Of
his speech, which attracted much attention,
he said:
Twenty years ago it was the object
Of the law to assign the Indians their
lands to be held in severalty with
the view that after twenty-five years
Of holding the land they would then be
sble to conduct their own affairs and man
age their own business pending
these twenty-five years. The winnebago
Indians, together with the Omaha tribe,
have been given the rights of citizens.
with only Ave years remaining. within
which the Indians of that tribe will be
given all control of their lands, with
right to sell and dispose of and manage
the same, there has grown up a system
which is a disgrace to this government
and its manner Of carrying on its affairs
with the Indians. The Indian Is sent OF
to school. In some instances he receives a
high school education, is brought back to
his tribe and yet, under the system in force
in the Winnebago and Omaha agencies, he
cannot lease one acre Of his land, with all
his education.
"The system which has grown up requires
what are known as middlemen to stand be-
tween the rights OF the Indians and this
government. These middlemen form to-
gether and arrange to lease the Indian
lands in bodies Of from 10000 to $4,000
acres. The Indian cannot bring the white
man to rent his land and take him to the
agent and say: 4 desire this man as my
renter He can do business in no partic-
ular at all, although he is allowed a full
right to vote. The middlemen rent this
land in the first instance and give security
for the payment of the rent, paying from 80
cents to 81 an acre, and during the last
year much Of this land realized to them IS
an acre. The land l speak Of is as good
land as any in the whole state Of Nebraska.
1t lies within fifteen miles of Sioux City, in
the Missouri river bottom, and no fairer
land remains out of doors than this, for
agricultural purposes"
Mr.. Stephens Of Texas asked who rented
this land, to which Mr.. Robinson replied
Every lease must be approved by the In
dian agent. The Indian agent declined to
approve any lease offered by the Indian
himself, claiming that the number OF leases
is so large that he cannot possibly take up
his time in doing that. Therefore he in
sists that the land shall be leased in large
tracts or bodies, so that the Indian Is un>
able to do any business, so far as his own
land is concerned, and he is approaching
the end of his twenty-five years without
anything saved from his land.
That land is worth $50 an acre, and will
bring from SO to IS an acre each year in
rents. The Indian gets a poor pittance of
from so cents to 81 an acre year, while
the middleman who leases them in large
tracts obtains the balance Of benefit"
Mr.. Robinson, in answer to questions,
stated that the -landS had been. allotted to
tie Indians Ind that they were citizens OF
Nebraska
Then Mr.. Stephens asked why It was they
could not control their own individual al
lottments, to which Mr.. Robinson replied
that they were not given the right under
the Indian law.
They are the same as wards of the gov
ernment and they will be in that condition
until the end OF twenty-five years. They
| canot lease or sell their lands as approved
by the Indian agent who is stationed at
| that place"
In reply to the question Of Mr.. Stephens
relative to the Indian agents refusing to
rent land for what 1t will bring, Mr.. Rob-
inson stated that the agent refuses to al
low the Indian to select his own tenant
and that he insists that the land shall be
rented only through these middIemen in
large tracts. "and," he added, "he can use
any kind Of favoritism he desires in re-
gard to the approval of lease, so that the
business is put into the hands Of men who
can handle large bodies of land"
| In concluding he said; II submit that
the Winnebago Indians and Omaha Indians
deserve something better at the hands oi
the government than the treatment ac-
corded them. ! say It should be the duty Of
the Indian bureau to ascertain which oi
these Indians are able to do busines.
among those which we have educated and
drilled and had experience with, and take
| them out from under the control of the
agent. make no accusation against the
indian commissioner, but / say It is his
| duty to allow such Of the Indians as are
able to take care of their own lands tS
make, their own arrangements In referenc,
to them. To do SO II is necessary that tn,
whole leasing question on the Omaha ant
Winnebago reservations will be made (
subject Of official investigation by a com
| mittee on Indian affairs. 1t Is well under.
stood that Secretary Hitchcock is oppose,
to the whole leasing business and he will
lend every assistance to break up the lant
ring which has been operating in ThurstoI
county for number Of years and GROWN,
rich on the Indian lands"