Omaha daily bee., 1908-07-20
WOMAN STUDENT OF INDIANS
Miss Fletcher's Next Book to Treat Of
the omahas.
WORK OF SYMPATHETIC WRITER
h Has Lived Among Them for
Years and Has Done Much
TO Save Them Their
Lands.

~ -
volume written by a remarkable woman.
The book concerns life today and in the
past among the Omaha tribes of Indians.
and It's author Is Miss Alice Cunningham
Fletcher OF Cambridge. who has lived for
months at q time among the Omahss and
has succeeded wonderfully In overcoming
the aboriginal reserve and IL arriving at an
understanding Of the poetical and musical
ideals of this people.
For the last seventeen years Miss Fletcher
has been the holder of the Thaw fellowship
from the Peabody museum. Cambridge,
and this enables her 70 live in Washington
and devote her entire time to the work.
Previous to her Washington residence she
lived for many years among the Indians
themselves. lodging in their camps, learn
ing their language. and studying their Gus
toms, music. traditions and philosophy.
She says that she has never received any
Insult or even rudeness from an Indian.
yet 1 found the shadow Of fear of re-
moval lurking at every campfire. When l
went first among the Omahas," she con-
fessed to the present writer, "the memory
Of the enforced transportation OF their rela-
tives, the Ponca tribe, from their homes on
the Niobrara river TO the then Indian
Territory, was very fresh in the memory
of the people, and 20 many Poncas had
died from the change of climate that no
one with a touch of humanity could fail to
feel that there were just grounds for their
anxiety. So l temporarily closed my scier-
tific note books and set myself to work TO
help"
They Call Her Mother.
How successful Miss Fletcher performed
her s~elf-imposed duty may be gathered
from the fact that more than 300 young
Indians today affectionately call her
mother" 1t was not readily though that
Washington needed her plea that the peo-
pie might own their lands and homes in
dlvidually. Her petition, with its carefully
compiled statistics to show the need of re-
form, was sent away in 1881. but after long
waiting no reply came back. Then Miss
Fletcher set out in person for Washington,
sure that II the facts were understood the
cry of the Indian people for their homes
would he answered.
1T Is "a long story she says, land 1t
covers months Of effort and what seemed
to be endless speaking before the commit
tee Of congress and before influential peo-
pie in the parlors Of friends and in the
vestries Of churches. At length, however.
l secured the passage of a bill. that became
a law in 1882, by which the Omanas re-
ccived their land in severalty. Next came
my plan for small loans to help build
homes on that land. These homes Sc
cured. l was able to pursue my researches
with an undivided mind"
The interesting thing, however. is that
Miss Fletcher conducted much of her in
vestigation OF the Omahas while perform
ing the very difficult task of allotting the
lands which had been granted to them.
President Cleveland appointed her a ''spe-
pia1 auppt't To Carry ont tho pypyiqinpa NJ
the act. and she performed the duties in
a way to make It clear that some women
at least possess the judicial quality men
are disposed to deny them.
Indian and Woman Question.
81 may as well say observed Miss
Fletcher when reference was made to the
capacity-or lack OF it-among women for
such work as she has done, that l feel
the talk about sex in work to be nonsense,
II you can do a certain thing you can dc
1t whether you are a man or q woman.
THE Indians have no lack Of respect for
women; only with them It is not a ques-
tion of sex, only OF ability. You see,' she
twinkled. they have been without the
story of the Garden Of Eden and its i'm.
piled slur upon women. When they hear
1t told they laugh as they remark. White
mans book says that all the trouble came
from a woman.
AS Miss Fletcher talks to them the In
dams become a charming people OF whom
most persons are very ignorant. THE
totem,' she explains, rs an example OF
that ignorance. 1t is simply the sign Of a
clan, like h-raldry, not n mark at all that
the Indians believe themselves descended
from animals, as people generally think
What ignorant Indians may feel about such
things proves nothing; in every tribe there
are instructed people who bring down the
wisdom n the race, and it is to them tina
we must look for our interpretations Of the
totem as we'll as of all the traditions ana
religion.
"of course there are great difficulties ir
getting at the real thought OF the Indians
in regard to their customs ard ceremonies
l suppose it is because l first won Their
confidence that l succeeded az well as
did. They have TO trust one implicitly ant
there is much that they feel to be toe
sacred to be spoken at all. One has, there
fore, not only to get into their point o.
view and think their thoughts in order t.
understand their moRAing. but one has ais,
TO al with all diligence and patience tn,
gaps that they leave. Even beyond thi
lies the difficulty Of expressing ~adequatel!
what one has found out.
Take the matter of the Indian music
which has been one OF the most interesting
branches OF my work. When l met Dvoral
some years ago aud listened TO one Of hi
compositions In which he had caught tn,
melody OF the negro song, and another Il
which the scenery Of Iowa is reflected,
pointed out that he hadn't the Indian musi
at all. He replied that hs would go ou
and hear the Indians. But he couldn'
have done that. The IAdian's real must
belongs to his religious feeling and is no
on exhibition for the chance conner.
ReIiRion of the Red Man.
The Indians religion. by the way, hs
been about as little understood as his us
of the totem pole, He believes, as we dc
In a great overruling power. This power
however, cannot he feels, come near ma
save 60 give him breath But there AZ
lesser powers, like the wind and the thur
der. and these as well have other inter
medlaries. The nearest approach 10 tn
Indians idea of God is to be found in ths
highest conception Of the Christian religio
OF the immineRse OF God. In the powe
OF evil the Indian has not much belief.
is man. I'm his idea. who works mischief.
Besides her forthcoming work on u