Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-10-23

church to the specially dependent races
in America having been entirely occupied
with the two papers relating to the work
of the church among the negroes, the work
among the Indians was this morning taken
up before the subject laid down upon the
program.
"a paper was read by Bishop Hare of
South Dakota who has been for many
years especially devoted to this difficult
phase of missionary work.
"A paper on the same subject was read
by Bishop Pinkham of Calgary, whose do
cese contains large numbers of Christian
Indians, and who has been largely engaged
in the successful work of the great English
missionary societies on the behalf of the
Indians of northwest British America.
Resolutions introduced, expressing the
interest of the conference in the work of
Christian missionaries among the Indians,
were referred to a committee, that GER
tain additions suggested might be incorpO-
rated, and a committee was ordered to re-
port at later session.
1.-The order of the day being the general
subject of the obligation of the church to
maintain the Christian family In it's in
tegrty, papers were read upon Divorce
and Unlawful Marriage by Bishop Doane
of Albany and the bishop Of Toronto"
The question of divorce and remarriage
is understood to have brought about an
earnest discussion. The majority of those
who participated are said to have pro-
nOunceQ against
Bishop Hare's Paper.
Bishop Hare's topic was Methods Of the
Churchs Work in Evangelizing the Spe
cially Dependent Races of Men in Ameri-
ca He said:
The circumstances and conditions in
which the Indians find themselves in Cana
da and in the United States are very differ
ent; there less than 10000 Indians, here
there
population Of white people, here 1O,0OOC COO;
there an immigration toward the Indian
country, which, while large, Is quite con.
trollab!e, here an onrushing multitude of
land seekers which is practically irresist-
BILE; there form of government which rec
ognizes, perhaps cultivates, paternal
spirit toward the weak, here a form of gov
ernment which practically says to every
man, Take care of yourself" 1t is well
that we are honored by the presence of
bishop from that part of America and that
you are to hear the views of so competent
a judge
Our sister church on the north of us has
done heroic and effective work, such as has
rarely been eXcelled.
AS for myself, l have had so many times
the privilege which 1 now enjoy-that Of
presenting the Indian work. in one or
other of its phases, before sympathetic
and intelligent audience-that 1 fear that
anything 1 may now say will seem, to some
at least, thrice-told tale. And, more
over. so easy is it to perceive what ought
right method and not to follow it, to know
the right spirit and not to have it, that l
should not be at all surprised If, even
should succeed in pointing out right meth
DDS in evangelizing the Indians, l should
only expose ray own shortcomings and pro-
woke the criticism that l describe and COM
mend just what 1 have failed to be and
to do.
Methods can hardly be separated from
the inner life of which they are the move
ment nor from the spirit which directs
them, and l must be pardoned. therefore,
If l seem to run back and forth from
methods to spirit and life, and from spirit
and life back to methods.
1t will be seen as 1 proceed that I think
that the methods of the church in evan
gelizing che Indians need to be in some
ways peculiar. I shall have to speak Of
the wisdom of keeping Indians as much as
possible by themselves while they are still
novices in Christian thought and life; of
bringing religion to them in their own Ian
guage; Of honOrtng whatever may be good
in their old modes Of thought and action.
All such methods may be called reServa-
tions; but In my opinion. all reservations"
in behalf of the Indians must be considered
as but temporary expedients. Everything
should be looked upon as provisional, as
shifts which, If permanently maintained,
would tend to make Indian life something
separate from the common life of our
country; solid foreign mass. indigestible
by our common civilization. Just because
Indian life has been an indigestible mass,
has our CIVILIZATION Oeen all these years
constantly trying to vomit 1t, and so get
rid of the cause of discomfort Ordinary
laws must have their way. All reserva-
tions, whether the reserving Of Indian land
from the free passage to and fro of the
people generally or from the ordinary laws
of settlement: or the reserving OF the
Indian nationality from absorption into
ours; or the reserving of old tribal super
stitions and notions and habits from the
natural process of decadence: or the reserv-
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