The independent., 1903-06-18
CIVILIZATION


This Govsrnmsnt's Eternal Palaver Abost
Civiiixins and Educating its Subjects"
Ends In Groans and Savage Yeils
Some time ago gentleman residing
In Boston, Mass, requested the editor
of The Independent to publish one OF
the speeches delivered by Bright Eyes
in that city, in 1879. because most OF
them bore so powerfully upon the
present course of the government in
the Philippines. He said: ''The prin-
ciples upon which Bright Eyes made
her contest for her race are the very
same involved in the holding OF the
FiIipinos as subjects. She won, ana l
only hope that some Filipino may
come to this country who can speak
with the same force and power for
the people of the islands of the south
ern seas that she exhibited in the de-
fense of her race. The foundation OF
all her pleas was law, the constitution
and the Declaration of Independence. .
In searching through one of her
portfolios for an address the follow
ing speech, which was delivered n
fremont Temple, Boston, was az l.
dentally found. It is in her hand
writing. 1t was entitled, "Civiliza-
tion.'
"What is civilization? Is it SO
much the end of life that human be-
ings who have hearts and minds and
souls are to be slaughtered? Is II
civilization to coop them up on re-
serves, place them under the power of
one man, refuse them market TO:
their produce, compel them by law to
buy and sell to only one man and for
bid them intercourse with the outsii4
world? Is it civilizing them to refuse
the protection of the constitution and
the law when they are robbed starved
and murdered and then when they
rebel, exterminate them? The gov
ernment speaks of the Indians as saw
ages. 1t must then follow that the
government is civilized. Is it civili-
zation for powerful government rep
resenting forty millions Of people to
force from their homes at the point
OF the bayenet a tribe of seven hun j.
dred unarmed people? Then I had
rather be savage.
"A government officer says: The
POncas are good Indians. In mental
endowment, moral character, physical
strength and cleanliness of person,
they are superior to any tribe / ever
met Is it the civilization of the
nineteenth century that when the
Cheyennes, cooped up on barren
reservation and were starving, re-
sorted to the rife to maintain Their
right to live as any other human be-
ings, were eXterminated. and when
the Ponca tribe resorted to the courts
and the constitution for justice, they
were told that they could not appear
in court or Lave any one appear fo:
them? -....=.
Because the Indians had intelli
gence enough to cry out and even
fight against system that was MAX
ing slaves of them, Il forgot, | should
have said civilizing them), the cry
has arisen: 'Exterminate them.
The only good Indian is a dead Ind
ian.' For every idle word that men
shall speak they shall give an &C.
count thereof in the day of judgment
"The question has narrowed down
to this alternative. Either extermi-
nate the indian or give him the pro-
lection of the constitution and the
law. Even though we were below the
level of brutes you would have no
right to exterminate us. We have
souls that belong to God our Creator
and you have no right to take our
lives as you have been doing for the
last hundred years. by following the
policy which you say is for the pur,
pose of 'civilizing' us.
You say that the Indian is not in-
telligent or educated enough to have
the law and the constitution places
over him. | should rather say thai
that was the very reason that he
should have the protection of the con
stitution and the law. should thint
that If we have had ability enough to
hold our own against powerful gov
ernment for 100 years, if We have hat
brains enough to learn that your civ
ilizing' system was making slaves o.
our people and to fight against it. L
we had intelligence enough to max;
treaties and we're honorable in keep
ing them, then we certainly have ca
pacity enough to claim our rights un