The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-05-13

Washington. Although her neaQQu dI-
tiers are ostensibly at the national capt
tal Miss Reels real headquarters are +
mostly where General Pope said his F
pere-"in the saddle" 1t is nothing for f
the fndefatigable superintendent Of In
aian training to ride forty to fifty miles
q dav over mountain and desert !
among her copper skinned youths and
their parents. far away from railway or
even stage track. She aims to visit
ever. one Of the 800 government Indian
schools once a year. In one year she
Travelled 24.oo0 miles.
What woman can do for genuine high
sr education when she is not diserlml-
mated AGAINST by medieval sex preju-
dice Miss Reel proves For almost the
drst time in the history of government
dealings with the Indian there IS now
serious attempt made to foster IN the
wild red soul the instinct for fixed /
home, a home that the male indian
must maintain by his own labor, While
the female Indian keeps the house and
makes the home When you can make
q Young Indian feel that he must sup
port his family or do without one,
you've got him for civilization.
To this end the main part of Miss
Reefs efforts are directed Soon after
taking charge of Indian schools she
prepared a course of instruction con-
sisting of thirty-one branches These
embrace, first Of all a knowledge for
both boys and girls OF elementary
branches Then this clear seeing wo-
man would have all the Indian girls
learn to cook. sew and keep house in
clean. decent fashion and make home
AS yet the girl bachelor is not fea-
ture among Indian maidens. There
fore. says Estelle Reel. they must learn
the family business properly.
At the same time the superintendent
captures the youthful brave and makes
him learn a trade or occupation OF some
sort whereby he may take care Of his
squaw and her interesting progeny.
Agriculture and stock raising are thus
far the vocations among our coming
Indo-American citizens. Miss Reel
was one of the first to note the folly
Of taking young bucks from the reser-
vs.tiens. conveying them east and Civ
Ing them a fair school education. then
simply turning them loose and letting
them go back to the reserva ton and be-
come idlers The noblest, most neces-
Hary education of all, industrial and
moral training had been ignored in the
mad haste to turn out so many Indian
youth who knew how to read ana write
The result was deplorable.
The national superintendent's plan is
to teach the red children to work with
their hands FIRST last and all the times
to train into them that habit of regular
labor which lies at the basis of all civil
nzation. At the same time she would
not restrict them. For those who show
capacity for the requirement OF liter
airy. scientific and professional knowl-
edge or for the trades requiring more
delicate manipulation there is provided
knowledge II political mutations do
not whirl her out of office ere she works
out her scheme. the present and the
Immediate future will stand as the Pc
riod in which the Indian at last ceased
20 be either a problem or a government
ward and became a man. standing upon
his own feet a civilized human being.
No man superintendent of Indian
schools could have done what Miss Reel
is doing. Her strongest hold is to go
into the wigwams of the Indian women,
gain their confidence and liking and
make them see how much better it is
TO trust their children to the training of
civilization. Among the widest, most
degraded peoples it is still the mother
who has the say concerning the chill
dren and the lower in the scale Of in
telligence the woman is the more surely
she will trust a woman rather than a
man OF any KIM IL mas renamed Tor
civilized woman to turn from her own
sex and declare she would trust a man
before a woman.
At any rate these wild women trust
Miss Reel utterly when she goes into
their wigwams and tells them that
their children will have power to cope
with the white man and get their own
back again If they learn to use the
white mans own weapons. AS woman
TO woman she appeals to them. and
they listen and acquiesce.
One department of Miss Reels edu-
rational scheme deserves special men
tion on account of its artistic value In
the largest cities Of the Union are EN-
poriums for the display and sale of
hand wrought Indian goods If YOU
have ever stepped into one of these
places. you have been amazed at the
beautiful workmanship shown in Nav
ajo blankets. Eskimo fur garments
leather robes of state baskets. totems
arrows. headdresses. boats. pottery
Stone hatchets and many other objects
Not even the oriental rugs and fancy
articles that bring such high prices are
rs artistic and solidly useful as many
bf these Indian Industrial products. II
Is the intention of the national super
tntendent to foster by all possible
means the old time artistic and in
Eenious hand work among our native
Indian races. From New Mexico to
Alaska, from Maine to California. there
are red people who can make quaint and
useful articles, each set Of a style Pc
culiar to its own district which are
exquisite from the artistic standpoint
A revival of ancient Indian arts and
handicrafts is an undertaking very nov
RI and attractive and useful 1t may
be made TO contribute considera bly, to
the maintenance Of the civilized Indian
families
Estelle Reels personal history is as
Interesting as her work Fate was kind
TO her in the start and placed the the
alter of her tasks in the west. where wa
men are not ruled out on account of sew
Had she started as teacher in. saw
New York city she might to this dav
have been presiding over a primary
school supporting a mother and helm