Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1904-12-20
EDUCATION
OF THE INDIAN
The Work That is Bs'ug Done in
the Various Schools Through.
out the Country.
PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE
Interesting Extracts From the Annual
Report Of U. S. Commissioner Of
Indian Affairs.

The annual report for the year l90
of w "A. Jones, Commissioner of II
dian Affairs, to the Secretary of tn
Interior, has just been published an
a copy of it received by Superintend
ent Clinton J. Crandall, of the Unite'
States Indian Industrial School of thi
city. Extensive and very valuable in
formation in regard to the past ant
present of the red man of this countr!
is set forth in this splendid compila
ton and especially in the report on the
advances made in the education of the
Indians since the government first res
ognized the all-important necessity fol
educating the young in 1882, just u
years ago.
In speaking of the work done in the
various schools throughout the west
the following extracts taken from the
report will be of interest:
While the great majority of the In
dian boys and girls return to their res
ervation or allotment, yet, many who
have learned some trade or art have
broken loose and gone out into the
world to shift for themselves. There
does not appear to be any prejudice
against these workmen because they
are Indians. So long as they are self
respecting and Industrious they will
be honored in any community. These
boys are filling responsible positions
A full-blooded Indian holds the post of
engineer on a Puget Sound steamboat.
Another in the middle west is cashier
of bank. Instances could be multi
piled. Thousands are employed as Ia
bOrers on the railroads of the south.
west, and some have become section
bosses. AS with the white race, the
Indian who Is industrious and "hust-
ling" will get along. AS with the white
race, many are shiftless, drunken and
worthless. The educated Indian labor
er has a better chance than the uned.
ucated, and SO the parallelism contin-
ues.
Hundreds Of Indian boys from Albu-
querque, Santa Fe, Grand Junction and
other schools, were engaged the past
summer in the beet fields and on the
melon farms of Colorado. For several
years they have been thus employed
and as evidence of their satisfactory
work, the number called for each year
has been increased. Superintendent
G. J. Crandall, of the Santa Fe Indian
School, reports that 40 boys from his
school were taken to Rocky Ford, Col
orado, on May 29, 1904, to work in the
sugar-beet fields, returning on August
%. The gross earnings of these boys
during that period was $2,663.32. Their |
expenses were $1,C16.56, leaving net
amount of earnings $1,646.76. In a
few instances, boys worked for farm. |
ers and collected their wages, which |
are not included in the above total.
The net earnings of the boys were re-
quired to be placed on deposit with |
Superintendent Crandall, and they will
be permitted to spend just portion OF
them from time to time under super
vision. and the remainder, If any, will
be set aside as NEST egg" when they |
return to their reservation home. One
boy has already sent money to his
poor parents at the Pima agency, and
many of the boys are looking forward
to going back next spring to work.
Crandall says:
"The real benefit the Indian gets
from this outing is not the amount Of
money he earns or saves, but the ex-
perience, the contact, and the ambi-
tion to be more than common In
dian. There are several pupils under
my charge I know of who make
practice of going out annually to
work."
It would be impossible to trace the
career of hundreds of bright Indian
boys and girls who within the past
decade have gone out of the schools
and slipped silently in their places in
the great world. It is customary to
herald the relapse of educated Indians
to the blanket, while hundreds pursue
as do the white boys, the monotonous
toll Of daily life, working out their des-
tiny: but as no sensation surrounds
such a career, however creditable, the
general public is not informed. The
story Of their moderate successes
caches this office from time to time,
Indicating that SO many milestones in
he progress Of the race from barbar-
SIN to civilization.
Slowly but surely the forces of edu.
,ation have been working through the
past decade. and the Indians destiny
depends on work" not "rations."
When the great corruption fund, tech
,ically called, treaty funds" il divid-
ID up among the educated owners Of
t. then tho hnal lap Of the Indians