The National tribune., 1908-01-23

| hurried to preserve theti mystical ro-
mances, the music, the fast-vanishing
aboriginal art of the Indian. and he in
structed teachers to have. the children
taught the history of the Indian and
to induce the children to speak their
own language and to not forget a word
of it. He had the children taught art,
and ordered that they be persuaded to
bring out from their imaginations their
ideas of things instead -of following
blind models and methods, of ancients
and moderns, who, because Michael An
| gelo depicted Moses with, horns, go on
| to-day making Moses with horns be-
cause that is the 'accepted' model.
Speaking specifically of this, the Com
missioner says:
Eminent musicians in all parts of
the world express as.onishment that
our people should have left so noble a
field almost unexplored, particularly
in view of the beautiful themes deriv-
able from certain native songs and
dances which are rapidly passing into
oblivion thru the deaths of the old
members of the tribes and the mistaken
zeal of certain teachers to smother
everything distinctively aboriginal in
the young.
las a matter of fact. the last thing
that ought to be done with the youth
of any people whom we are trying to
indoctrinate with notions of self-respect
is to teach them to be ashamed of their
ancestry. AS we CaucaSians take not
only pleasure but pride in reviving the
musical forms in which our fathers
clothed their emotions in religion, war.
love. industry, conviviality, why should
the Indian be discouraged from doing
the same thing? Our German-born fell
low citizen makes no less patriotic an
American because he clings affectionate-
| ly to the songs of his Fatherland; why
should the Indian, who was here with
his music before the white conqueror
set foot upon the soil?
Loves an Indian for His Indinnism.
'"The Indian schools offer us just now
our best opportunity to retrieve past
errors, as far as they can be retrieved,
| on account of the variety of tribal ele-
ments assembled there. The children
should be instructed In the music of
their own race, side by side with ours.
Il like the Indian for what is Indian
| in him. / want to see his splendid in
herited physique kept up, because he
| glories, like his ancestors, in fresh air.
| in freedom, in activity, in feats of
strength. i want him to retain all his
old contempt for h'rger, thirst, cold
and danger when he has anything to
do. I love the spirit of manly inde-
pendence which moved a copper-colored
sage once to beg that 1 would intercede
with the Great Father and throttle
proposal to send rations to his people,
because it would pauperiZe their young
men and make them slaves to the
whites. 1 have no sympathy with the
sentiment which would throw the
squaw's bead bag into he rubbish heap
and set her to making lace. Teach her
lace making, by all means, just as you
would teach her bread r 1!Sing, as an
addition to her stock of profitable ac-
complishments; but don't set down her
beaded moccasins as merely Larbarous.
while holding up her lace handkerchief
as a symbol of advanced civilization"
In support of his theory that the In
dian has excellent ideas, one has but
to look about the Commissioners Office
in the Indian Bureau. It's walls are
covered with Indian art work-war
bonnets, war bags. blankets for horses,
robes, all decorated in the highest kind
of harmonious colOring, with beads
woven with horsehair; bows and ar
rows showing exquisite skill inl design
ing the carved decoration; hammered
silver ornaments, daintily fligreed;
pictures depicting Indian, scenes; on
the floor many wonderful Navajo blan-
kets used as rugs, and the; furniture of
the room in quartered oak with leath-
er seats. all of the strongest and hand
soonest manufacture by hand-by hand,
llllIu you-dlu cSctyLHiuS uOttc Dy III
dian pupils in the reservation schools.
1t is a room to delight the lover of
harmonious colors, of artistic ten
denotes, and it is all the handiwork of
Indians, some of them blanket In
dians, who cannot speak word of any
language but that which is born on
their tongues in the tepees.
Prospects Of the Race.
The Indian population of the coun-
try to-day is about 100000 in round
numbers. The full-bloods are dying off
rapidly, but the mixed bloods are pro-
life, and this keeps the Indian popu-
lation about the same all the time. The
Indian-the full-blood-who has lived
outdoors following the chase for liv-
ing or dwelling in the sunshine among
his flOcks and herds cannot endure
civilization. He fades away with pull
monary diseases as soon as he is housed
up or set at doing things for which he
has no aptitude. simply because it is
the thing to teach him to work"
On this point Commissioner Leupp
is very strenuous, indeed. He thinks it
absurd to say that Indians must plow
and sow and reap, because they are
Outdoor" people. He finds just as
much diversity of desire, Just as many
different kinds of ambitions among the
Indians as he finds among white peo-
pie. Indians do not all take kindly to
farming.
"Why should they?" asks the Com
missioner. Only few of them are
farming Indians from choice. Some
tribes, like the Sioux, are natural cat
tlemen and hOrsemen. The Pueblos,
Hopis, Zunis and kindred Indians take
naturally to raising sheep and goats.
The Navajoes have great herds of splen-
did horses. The Crows take naturally
to breeding of race horses and the
Government is helping to establish a
horse-breeding farm among the Crows,
where remounts for the Army can be
raised. The Chippewas, who are in
the far North, take to numbering and
logging. On the other hand, the Mis-
sion Indians of California are born
farmers and truck gardeners They
have small fruit farms, where they
carry on their own experiments and
follow intensified farming. The Com
missioner thinks that it would be sheer
idiocy to try to make of all Indians
farmers or stOckmen or sheepmen
Those Indians who are artistic should
be given a chance to develop that way
He finds that the music of the Chip
pewas and the Zunis is considered Won
derful by musical artists. He wants
that art developed in their children.
Can BE Led, but Not Driven.
In his association with the Indians
in every phase of their character and
life he has found that the Indian can
be led, but he can't be driven. He is