New-York tribune., 1902-12-07
EDUCATING THE INDIAN.
SUCCESS ATTENDANT ON THE WORK OF
THE CARLISLE SCHOO~GRADU-
ATEs DOING GOOD WORK

The federal agent the Ponca and OAKLAND
Indian reservation in Oklahoma, in his recent re-
port to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Sc
verely arraigned the policy of educating the
Indians Among other things he said:
Hardly any OF the young Indans-those who
have graduated from non-reservation schools,
as well as those who have attended for mum
ber Of years-do any work at all 1t can be set
down as a perfectly safe rule that class the
young educated Indians the most worthless
ones in the whole tribe. Nearly all Of the work
dcne by the tribes is performed by the fndtle
aged, able bodied ones who cannot write or
speak English.
The educated Indian coming from the schools
usually gives the excuse that he has nothing
with which to work neither money, implements
nor stock Of any kind. This is true. but notice
that they manage to live on their anhultlts ana
lease money, and buy horses buggies, ETC. on
credit and borrow money from the banks with
very little prospect Of ever being able to pay
their debts. Amy able bo0ied man or woman Is
able to obtain work at fair wages
Many of their people are addicted to drink.
and both men and women are inveterate gam
blers They have practically nothing TO 90.
Their days spent in almost utter idleness'
and vice and debauchery are rampant The
degradation Of these people will continue and
increase until they made to work and hVe
by the result OF their labors
When Superintendent Pratt of the famous
Carlisle School for Indians was asked last week
how far the records of that school would bear
out contravert this report of the Indian agent,
he forwarded to this office the following fig
ures:
Carlisle has 296 living graduates Careful in
formation collected this month shows "a EN-
plOyed by the government, at salaries OF from
$40 to $500 year; 26 attending higher schoois.
colleges, etc; 3.3 married, keeping their own
homes; Al honorabIy employed away from the
reservations, In banks, clerks, as mechanics,
In independent business, etc; l lawyer, IN the
army, 26 farming and stock raising in the west
allotment; 10 at home with parents ) grad
uate nurses, practising in cities; bad ana
worthless, IL no information
When the first party Of Indian children came
to the peaceful Pennsylvania valley of Carlisle
to begin their instruction under the direction Of
the government, there was CONSERVATION among
the quiet farmers. The party consisted Of eighty
untaught boys and girls from the Sioux agencies
at Rosebud and Pine Ridge, in Dakota. They
wore blankets after the fashion of their tribe,
painted their faces and bedecked their bodies
with gaudy beads and other ornaments. Some
of them nearly grown up. and the farmers
had visions Of midnight raids from bowling
bands of scalp-lifting Indians This was twen-
ty-three years ago. and there were few who did
not prophesy the utter failure of the school
To-day Carlisle. with its many unique features
and for the wonderful work which it has done
for the Indians is of the best known insti-
tutions Of education in this country. The scalp
ing parties which the farmers feared never
came the expected outlawry did not materialize,
has there been sign Of treachery.
Instead, there has been steady development
Of the institution, which started with the old
buildings of abandoned army post. The
number of Indian boys and girls has increased
to more than thousand representing seventy
seven different tribes. The presence of these
savage youths has brought about change in
the quiet community, and the farmers have had
far less trouble than those who live in the
vicinity of college university which takes
is students from civilized homes
New-York has come into contact with the
Indian school through two branches of student
activity-the football team and the Indian band
Tho ha nd a success on It's mertS-it PLAYED