Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1908-09-04
INDIAN BECOMES
A USEFUL CITIZEN
Striking Instance of Where Educa.
ton Has Accomplished Beneficial
Results.


lion OF the Indian youth in the United
States Indian Training Schools is not
so much of fallacy and such fool.
ish undertaking as some people be.
lieye. 1t is usually estimated by those
who are not well informed in such af.
fairs that as soon as the average In.
dian boy or girl Is returned to the
reservation or pueblo from which she
or he came, he or she again lapses
into ignorance and into the ancient
habits Of his or her tribe or pueblo
and that years Of education given by
the United States generously and
literally in order to make the Indian
boys and girls self-sustaining and
good citizens, is lost.
This, Of course, is the case still in
many instances, but there are also
many examples in which Indian BOYS
and girls have become self-sustaining.
One case in point occurred at the Uni.
ted States Indian Training School
near this city this week. Superin-
tendent Clinton j. Crandall has re-
ceived letter from Joseph Lujan, a
native of the Taos pueblo, who Is now
III Denver He Is a stationary en-
gineer receiving good wages and has
married a white girl and they have
two children. Lujan requested Su.
perintendent Crandall to take these
two children and educate them at the
u. S. Indian Training School here.
This the New Mexican understands
will be done. The history of this
young man is an instructive lesson
and should be needed, especially by
the students of Indian character.
Some time in 1891 or 1892, the boy
then of tender age, left the Taos pueb-
10 and came to the United States In.
dian Training School here for educa-
tion. He remained there one term
and then went to Albuquerque where
he also spent a major part of year.
After that he returned to his home at
the Taos pueblo on account of illness
where he remained until he fully re-
lowered, thence again taking up his
studies in what was then the United
States Indian Normal School in this
city, where he remained year. There.
after he went to the U. s. Indian
school at Carlisle, Pennsylvania, the
first of its kind in the United States.
This was then under the direction of
Captain r. H. Pratt, of the U. S.
Army, who was the first to start the
present system of Indian education
which has grown to such great pro.
portions. Captain Pratt was superin.
tendent of the Carlisle Indian school
for many years and now lives in Den
yer, retired brigadier general
Luian received very good training
at the Carlisle school and in 1896 re-
turned to this city and again became
La pupil at the United States Indian
Normal School. In April, 1898, when
the Spanish-American war broke out
he enlisted in the New Mexico squad.
ron of the First U. S. Volunteer Cav.
lalry, "The Rough Riders" and went
with his troop to Tampa, Florida. 1t
will be remembered that eight troops
of the regiment saw active service in
Cuba but Lujans troop remained al
Tampa, under the command of the
major of the regiment, H. B. Hersey
lGovernor Curry who was then captain
of Troop !, also remained with the
|squadron in Tampa. Lujan was hon
lorably mustered out with the regi
lment at Montauk Point, Long Island
on October 18th, 1908. Returning
Isouth he went to Mexico where he
worked for awhile railroading. He
lthen came to the United States ant
lsettled in Denver where he is now liv
'|ing as stated above. y
i He is peaceful and orderly maj
! and has assumed all the white mans
ways He reads, writes and speaks
the English language very well ant
in fact, has received good educa
ton. He also learned sobriety an(
: cleanliness during his Indian schoo
II days.
, Superintendent Crandall, whit
! brought the case to the notice Of tht
j New Mexican, thinks that quite mum
iber of cases Of that kind are now tt