Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-09-19
INDIAN CONGRESS At A. Y. P.
A VISIT TO TULALIP INDIAN
TRAINING SCHOOL.
Interesting Facts About the In
dams and What Education Is
Doing for Them.
Special Correspondence of The Star,

Alaska-Yukon-P Pacific exposition I was
deeply interested in the various sessions
held in the auditorium and In the
building of fine arts. and as l followed
the different programs daily it seemed
incomprehensible that race which
only a few wears back was so totally
devoid of civilization and enlightenment
could arrive at such stage of education
and cultivation as was evidenced at this
congress.
The sessions covered Il space of four
days, and the program each day was
most interesting and instructive. espe-
cially to one who had not been among
the Indians before. The first session
was opened by an Invocation from Bishop
O'Dea of Seattle, followed by speeches
of welcome from the mayor OF Seattle
and the president of the exposition ana
others.
Tualip day was especially attractive In
the program arranged. which included
speeches from the superintendent OF the
different reservations, denoting the ne
cessity of teachers keeping i'll touch with
the advancement i'll educational methods
the Importance of specializing the course
of study to meet the needs OF local con-
ditions etc; preparing the Indians for
Self-Support and demonstration lessons
with classes of Indian children from
Tulalip School.
Seated at one end of the platform were
an Indian woman and a girl about fifteen
years of age. making 'spuh-choh' thard
baskets; they were not dressed as In
dams, but i'll the conventional costumes
of the age, fitting to the occupation; the
girl in u simple black dress and white
apron, with a bow of ribbon about the
hair, and the woman in a shirt waist
suit and hat \ girls orchestra, COM
posed of students from the Salem United
States Indian School at ChemaWa, Ore,
forty-seven miles south of Portland, rem
dered several selections with great credit
to the school and to themselves; they
were gowned in pretty white dresses,
with white ribbon bow on the hair. and
seemed perfectly at ease in their various
roles as violiniSts, etc. Robert Edward
Shelton, q fuli-blood Indian about sixteen
years old, named for the paternal grand
father of DIR. Charles NJ Buchanan, the
superintendent of Tulalip School, rem
dered The Palms as trombone solo,
and was much applauded. DR.. Buchanan
told me he had taught him that solo
himself; he wore the uniform of the col
lege, gray with the usual stripe of red
DR.. Riggs, the physician at Tulalip
School. played several selections on the
clarinet. accompanied by Dr.. Buchanan
at the piano.
Miss Estelle Reel of Washington. D. c.
the superintendent of Indian schools. was
mistress of ceremonies and Mrs Rich
ard Bailinger, wife of Secretary Bal
linger, was present on the platform Mrs.
Balllnger is active and much interested
in the work among the Indians. The
session in the building of fine arts was
presided over by DIR. Buchanan who I
am told, has accomplished wonderful
work among the Indians at Tulalip res
ervation and school. DIR. Buchanan is a
native Of Virginia, though later a resi-
dent of Washington d. c., and is lust
closing a term of fifteen years service
at Iuialip agency-eight years of this
lime In the capacity of superintendent of
Tulalip Indian Training School, and all
of 1T in Intimate relation with the lives
or the Indian wards of the government
Inc Indians at Tulalip are remnants
of dozen different tribes, but I'm told
there never Yer was and is not today a
/. genuine "Tulalip'' tribe of Indians. The
Indian word Duh-hlay-lup (of which Tu-
lalip is an English corruption) refers to
the so-called Tulalip bay and signifies an
almost land-locked bay
The Tulalip Indian agency consists of
five reservations, four of them located
directly upon Puget sound and the fifth
is slightly inland. .'Tulalip'' is centrally
located on the eastern shore of the
sound and across Port Gardner. from
Everett: it is the largest of the five res
ervations and is the headquarters for
the agency aud it's schools
The Lummi reservation is about eight
miles from the town of Bellingham.
Swinomish reservation is on the south
eastern peninsula of FidaIgo Island Port
Madison, on the west shore of the sound.
is eight miles northwest of Seattle. and
is where old Chief Seat-TIuh (after
whom the town of Seattle was namedD
lived. died in 1866 and was buried 4
handsome monument to him is q prorni-
nent object in the little cemetery of the
reservation. His nearest living descend
ants are his grandchildren, and their
children are pupils in TuIalip Indian
school. The Muchleshoot reservation is
twenty-five miles from Seattle and ten
miles from Tacoma; it is located on
<,p
of these five reservations is large. The
Lummi on the north is only about TWEEN
ty-five miles from the Canada line Most
of these Indians are Roman Catholics
the chief missionary work having been
done by the Roman Catholic Church
The Tulalips are. with few exceptions
hsher folk. They would rather pillow the
waters than the land. and they live
almost entirely upon sea food such as
the sound brings to them. They eat SAL
mon, fresh. dried or salted founders,
crabs, CLANS, mussels, etc. They are also
fond OF berries from tho woods, it makes
no difference whether in the fresh or
dried condition. They We're never train
ed to depend upon Mother Earth for s1Ib-
sistence, for the adjacent water rendered
them at one time. before the days of
the white mans fish traps practicable
self-supporting, but those conditions do
not exist to such an extent today.
The Tulalio reservation, created by ex-
eeutive order in December, 1873, has about
farming lands. but unless Indians have
training and intelligence there is little in.
ducement TO become much of a farmer in
the face of obstacles and some of the
land is heavily wooded and costs from
SlGo to $50 per acre TO clear it for Gull
tivaton.
1t has been rule among the Indians
that they devote their time chiefly to fish
ing. and the younger ones TO work at
various duties about the logging camps
These means are fast disappearing and
the ultimate dependence must be upon
the allotment. Nearly all the Indian
women knit wooden socks, and like
Madame de Fargo. wherever they go
there also goes the ubiquitous knitting {"
They own Il few sheep, which run at
large and look out for themselves The
women shear the sheep. wash the wool
card IT. spin into yarn and from this
knit the socks. for which they find ready
sale among loggers and others whose
work demands such foot9eaT: sometimes
the merchants of the towns buy them
ana pay them In trade at about - cents
per pair. OF recent years the women
have been able to add largely to the rev