Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1909-04-25


by a benevolent government
Besides the Flathead reservation,
congress has authorized, during the
past year or two, the opening OF
number of other Indian reservations
to settlement, preliminary work In con-
nection with which Is now being car
ried on in the interior department. Inc
total area of these reservations tnat
are to be opened Is over 100000 acres,
exclu ling the Kiowa, Comanche anu
Apache reservations, Oklahoma, the
areas of which are not known. during
the current year the interior Depart
ment estimates that besides the Flat
head reservation, there will be thrown
open to settlement at least four or nve
Indian reservations containing 672,O0O
acres Other openings viii occur III
1910. N
In each case 1t is expected that TIE
system of drawing from the applica-
lions received will be followed. It is
probable that never again Will there
occur a big land rush such as hap
pened a number OF years ago when the
territory of Oklahoma was set apart
from the old Indian territory, and was
occupied by a horde OF hungry land
seekers. In that case and in the case
of certain Indian reservations in the
past, huge crowds gathered along the
borders of the tract to be opened and
at a certain hour on a certain day and
at a given signal started In race Tor
the best lands. The results of the old
system were not satisfactory to any
but the few persons who got the most
valuable lands There were free-for-
all fights over the question of priority
of claims leading to endless litigation
and other complications.
The opening of an Indian reservation
to settlement does not mean, as may
be popularity supposed, that the In
dams thereon are deprived of their
lands On the contrary, the first step
of the department, when congress au-
thorizes the opening OF reservation.
is to see that each Indian Is given all
the land he can use, including home
stead of 100 acres, or smaller tract OF
irrigable land, and probably some graz
ing and timber lands in addition. The
Indian is allowed to choose his own
land. AS the amount allotted to him
is as much as white settler can OBJ
tain from the government, he Is not
Disseminated against, despite the ideas
of the sentimentalist.
The total approximate area of all In
dian reservations in the United States
is about 100000 acres. The number
of Indians in this country. excepting
Alaska and including persons whose
blood Is mixed with that of the white
and negro races, is 100000. or about
the same number estimated to have
Deen IOunQ mere Dy COluIlDuS IL al
these Indians dwelt on reservations,
each would have $50 acres of land. AS
a matter of fact. probably not more
than so per cent of the Indians live on
reservations, and one-third of the total
number. members of the so-called five
civilized tribes, reside in the present
state of Oklahoma. That Is the largest
Indian population in one state. Kan
sas has the smallest population of In
dams dwelling on reservations, about
1000. The Usage Indians in Oklahoma
are said to be the richest people ON
the face of the earth. considering their
average wealth. Other Indians are
land owners in many states of the
Union. The lands in what was formerly
Indian territory were allotted to indi-
yidual Indians, and consequently
ceased to be reservations some time
ago.
There are Indian reservations in
twenty-five states and territories,
stretching all the way from New York
and North Carolina to the Pacific coast.
and from Michigan and Wisconsin to
Arizona and New Mexico. Some OF
these reservations have never been sur
veyed. and their resources can only be
imagined. Arizona contains the larg-
est area of Indian reservations, aggre-
eating over 100000 acres. and Mon
tana and South Dakota each has 7.000.-
600 acres. AS compared with these
great areas, either of which is equal to
the areas of several New England
states combined. Kansas contains only
/ 922 acres of Indian reservation, Iowa
1865 acres, Michigan over 5000 acres.
North Carolina $1,000 acres, and New
York $1,000 acres.
There are thirty-three Indian reser-
vations in California, twenty-eight of
them being inhabited by mission Indi-
ans. The Indians are adopting the
governments plan of working for liv-
| ing and last year alone they got the
government to sell $5,000,000 worth of
| their land, so that they could enter
other occupations than that or farm-
ing.
The difficulty of dealing with the red
men is increased by the variety of their
| languages, customs and other charac-
| teristics. Recently request was re-
ceived at the interior department for
| translation of "the Indian language"
In reply the department stated that
| there are over 300 recognized different
Indian languages and dialects.
The policy of opening Indian reserv-
atoms to settlement is calculated to
develop the great west. 1t is the pol
icy that has been pursued successfully
for several generations. Everything
from the Atlantic to the Pacific, ex-
cept the thirteen original colonies and
Texas was at one time or another pub
lie land. Out of it twenty-five states
have grown. Although the public land
is being entered at the rate of 20, 200, 900
acres year there is still unappropri-
ated and unreserved about 800, 1000, 900
acres in ALL Assuming all to be agri-
cultural land, 100000 people may yet
obtain homesteads.
Copyright. 1909, by Frederic ]. Haskin.)