The Owosso times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1897-1926, 1903-02-06
Woman's Club.


Perhaps no general meeting OF more
interest to all was ever held by che
Womans Club than the one OF Satur.
dry afternoon at the home Of Mrs. j.
]. Davis. Upon entering the house II
was very evident that the "red man.
with his original war paint and feath.
ers would be the theme of the after.
noon. Navajo blankets, Indian bas
kets and Indian pictures were Seen on
all sides. In the library was great
profusion OF Indian relics and curios,
showing that the Indian In his native
haunts, with no copybook but that OF
nature, is truly an artist.
Mrs. A. NJ. Hume introduced the
subject by taking up 1.-The Present In.
dustries of the Indians "These In.
dustries are a continual proof Of the
fact that the disposition and heredita.
ry instincts of the old and conservative
Indian are hard to change, and so 1t
becomes the duty Of the government
to train the next generation OF these
people so they may become stronger
mentally, morally and physically"
1t is for this purpose that the young
Indian child is taken from his home to
the boarding school where the moral
and industrial influences of white civ.
ilization and culture may be thrown
around him and the love of the civiliz-
ed home be instilled into his heart that
1t may bear fruit In the coming years.
1t these schools the course Of study is
about the same as taught in the COM
mon schools OF the country. Shoe and
harness making, tailoring, blacksmith.
ing, masonry, plastering, brick max
Ing and laying are taught. All the
industries that once occupied the
working hours OF the red man are now
INDUCED in only for diversion.
The speaker having visited the In
dian school at Hampton, Va, as well
as having a cousin there as instructor,
was able to give much valuable infor-
nation concerning the Indian children
and their present school training.
Miss Frances Jones told of the vari.
Gus societies formed for the purpose of
helping the Indian: The Woman s
National Indian Association, The In
dian Rights Association, and the In
dian Industrial League. She said the
fact that Indian pictures had been so
common of late all over the country is
probably the result OF the agitation of
the Indian question by these societies
and is Indicative Of the sympathy
aroused. The missionaries are work.
ing to uplift the Indian from the spir.
itual side, the government intellectu.
ally through schools, and the Indus
trial League through the physical by
developing industries to make him self
supporting and self respecting.
1t has been found that education of
the head without manual training is
positively bad. The most chrnistia
thing we can do for them just, now is
to give them the ability to earn liv-
ing with their hands.
Miss Jones then read a paper writ
ten by Mrs. f. n. Doubleday, who is
perhaps the best authority in the coun-
try on Indian industries.
Mrs. Doubleday's solution OF the
Indian problem Of today is to preserve
the arts and industries of the red man.
Before the white man came to this
country, the Indian was self support
ing, while today he is put of on reser-
vations not yet coveted by the white
man, and he is idle and not self sup
porting. Indians excel in basketry,
yet we send to Japan for baskets for
use; they are the best authority for
curing hides and dressing furs, yet we
send hides and furs to foreign country
to be prepared for market.
The Indians instinctively made
canoes better than any other people,
but we send to Canada for all such
boats. The squaw is still the best
authority on bead work and here again
this country sends to France and Japan
for things not so we'll done. Some
tribes make pottery far superior to
that which has q prominent place In
our stores OF today. The solution of
the problem therefore seems to be to
let the Indian make those things
which come natural to him instead of
teaching him farming and such things
distasteful to him. Buying the Indian
ware instead of that from foreign
countries ia the ONLY wav To encourage