Arizona republican., 1905-11-14
.BlACkFOOT TRIBE
 PRESENT CUSTOMS
Description by H. F. Robinson Late.
 ly from the Reservation.

Mention was made in yesterdays paper of the return of H. F. Robinson from Montana, and his work on government project there for the ben eft of the Biackfoot Indians. During his residence there Mir. Robinson made quite a thorough study of Indian life, both because he couldn't very we'll help it and because he was interested along that line anyway.
 There are about 22C0 Indians on the reservation and about 1900 of them are of mixed blood, half and quarter blood Indians. Those of mixed blood nearly all talk English and many of them are quite well educated. The old squaws teach their children Eng fish though they converse with the older Indians in their native language. The tribe seems to have capitulated entirely to the white mans invasion: that is, they recognize that the white mans civilization is bound to survive and the best thing they can do is to get as much of it as possible and adapt themselves to circumstances. Naturally they cling to many tribal customs, not because they believe them better but from heredity and rever-
 
 eign born Americans do to the ways of the fatherland, or from a romantic and poetic impulse, such as an Ari- zona yankee feels when he longs for the New England mince pie of his childhood days. Because the Indians still cling to many things that are useless to them in these days, says MT. Robinson, does not argue as some people hold, that they are incapable of civilization or worse off for having it. but rather is an illustration O; self pride and independence of character. He says that while the mixed bloods are naturally brighter and better edu- cated, he has never met one who said he was ashamed of his Indian ances- try, and among them there are prob ably no more who are worse off for their learning, than would be found among the same number of whites. They are for the most part faithful workers and were paid the regular reservation wage, s1.25 per day for man or $2.50 for a man and team, working eight hours. During the en- tire summer he found it necessary to discharge but one man and that was because the fellow was headstrong and would not obey instructions, and not because of shiftlessness.
 For the most part the Indians live in tepees or tents in the summertime though in the win:ertime they live in log houses, an innovation adopted from the whites because of the added comfort. But just as soon as spring comes the instinct to he out of doors overcomes them and they move back into their tepees.
 It is pleasing to note too that the Indians celebrate the Fourth of July just as religiouslv as their white brothers. While the older ones have an imperfect understanding or it's meaning they know if is the white mans biggest day and if they gre to become good Americans they ought to help celebrate if. And to lend interest they have dated up their tribal festi- vals to the Fourth of July so as to have personal interest in it. So on that date there is an annual DOW wow participated in by almost the entire population. There are all sorts of games and festivities and they usually congregate in some central place and pitch their tepees for a temporary abiding place. This introduces an in teresting subject in which the native superstition crops out Every family has it's own medicine bag which is hung from q tripod behind the wig wam. And the three poles of the tri- pod are the first things erected in the process of tepee building The Indians medicine is mainly any old token that IS supposed to bring good luck. It might be a lock of hair. a rabbits foot, an herb or any old thing the Individual has learned to put his trust In. These charms, whatever they are. are first suspended in a rawhide sack or box from the tripod, then every thing proceeds under the augury of good luck. Last Fourth of July MT. Robinson noticed that from the tops of many of these little medicine tripods. small American flags floated, tokens or their patriotism. On these gala occasions, more than at any other time, the Indians, even the educated ones, lapse back for the time to tribal customs, lay aside their white mans clothes and put on a blanket. There are others who wear the usual garb of the working man while engaged in their daily toll, who at night lay off their coat and sit around their house or tepee wrapped in a blanket. They Teco@nlze the appropriateness of civ ilized apparel when there is something to do, but in restful moments they love to enjoy life as they were wont to do in other days They cling tenactousIy to these old customs as though fearing that full surrender meant the losing of their identity, which in a measure It does, and which is a repulsive thought to any human being.
 MT. Robinson's foreman during the summers work, was a quarter blood named James B. Welch, but strangely enough he had no connection with the red men of the northwest. He was of Cherokee descent and in many ways an interesting character. When the Cherokee nation was divided, half a century ago, part going to the Indian territory and the other part to the original home of the tribe in North Carolina, the chief selected to rule