Omaha daily bee., 1910-01-12
OMAHA INDIANS IN REVOLT
Tribe Opposed to Bureaus Plan for
Administering Affairs.
CLAMoR FOR GREATER FREEDOM
Insist that Government Restriction
Puts Them at DisadvantaEe aud
Results I'm Actual Loss
I'm Their Business.

50 many statements ana articles nave hp~
peared recently in reference to the admin
i%strative disagreement on the Omaha res
ervatlon inspired by the advocates Of the
tribe on one side and the expressions from
the Indian office on the side of the admin
istration, that some explanation Of the
facts leading up to the controversy is due
the public.
The writer has discussed the whole sub
ject with the several officials in authority
representing the secretary of the interior
in Washington and on the reservation, and
Will endeavor to set out the exact position
of the government as represented.
Last summer f. II. Abbott, the re-
Gently appointed assistant Indian commits
sioner, visited the Omaha Indian reserva-
ton several days. Just previous to his
visit Mr.. Commons, who had been the su-
perintendent on the reservation for four
years, had been ordered transferred, and
II was generally understood that a certain
amount of reorganization would be applied
to the local Indian office, but no state
ment was made public in reference to the
nature or extent of the change. Seven in
spectors and special United States Indian
agents visited the reservation during the
summer, several remaining over three
months, and It was presumed that the In
dian office in Washington was fully in
formed. Mr.. Common was succeeded by
Mr.. Moses, who remained but q few days.
Later A. G. Pollock was made super
intendent and remained in that position
until January l. 1910, when he was sue
ceeded by Superintendent A. H. Kneale.
who by consolidation was made superln-
tendent Of the Omaha and wlnnebago In
dams, whose reservations are adjoining.
The twenty-five-year trust period under
which the government held the title to the
Indian allotted land expired July 10, 1909,
and the government extended that period
by an order of the president for a period
OF ten years. While the assistant Indian
commissioner was on the reservation and
upon his return to Washington he planned
a number of changes in administrative
policy, which have been announced and
which are being inaugurated, and which
seem to be the basis of tribal objection and
at the bottom of the whole controversy.
Plan of the Indian office.
The plan ~contemplates consolidating the
administrative local supervision Of both
Omaha and Winnebago Indian tribes under
one superintendent, A. H. Kneale, who re-
sides at the Winnebago agency, and main
tanning a separate office and office force
On each reservation, and also to divide
each reservation into three farming dis
tricts and to place centrally in each district
a scientifically trained farmer who is APP
pointed from civil service examination. 1t
has been officially stated that this will be
equivalent to six agencies.
Each scientific farmer will nave charge
of making leases on the land in his district
and arranging the terms with the farmers
and will deliver checks to the Indians own
ing the land for the rent. Any white man
having business with the Indian office will
transact 1t through the farmer of his dis
trct. The Indian having individual money
on deposit with the government will make
his requests through this farmer in his
district and all such requests will be for.
warded through the local office and through
the superintendent to Washington, and
when granted will return through the same
channel to the farmer, who will supervise
the purchase for the Indian and pay fol-
the article purchased.
This farmer will also examine tho farm.
l ing done by white men on leased Indiar
land and refuse leases to incompetent farm.
ers. He will also teach the Indians in his
5 district how to farm.
The plan also proposes the establishment
of a model farm convenient to both reserva.
; Ftions, with a fair ground, and the expert
o mental work on the farm will be open t
! white people and Indians.
1t is also proposed to place over the
5 local Omaha Indian office a chief clerk
l who will be in charge subject to Mr.
Kneale, the superintendent. The number
of employees on the Omaha reservation
originally four, will be increased to eight
The superintendent will spend much of hi,
time visiting the farmers and the tive
agencies.
Indians Oppose the Plan.
The writer has heard a great many In
dams express themselves in regard to tn,
proposed plan and has listened to man,
expressions in a large tribal council OF
January A. at which the plan was ex
plan was explained to the Omaha tribe
-. Thus far every Indian on the reservation
has opposed the plan. An effort has beer
made to collect and classify these objec
: tions and they will be given here, in sub
stance.
The omshas say they object to the plai
chiefly because it c~ontemplates placing
more Restrictions on their individual effort
. and small business transactions, deprivinj
i them Of the experience necessary to thei
development; that they will never be com
petent to control and protect the title L
\ their lands and meet the white man on a
II
equality in commercial exchange unles
they are given more freedom and contro
and independence in selecting tenants, leas
ing their lands, collecting the rents, hand
ling the rentals and other small sums o
money and making their purchases an
paying for them personally, They sa.
supervision over them has been too clos
and very much misguided for some TWEEN
ty-five years, and because of such super
vision they have not progressed as niue
as they otherwise would; that those VIII
were no more competent at first tina
others, but who have broken away fror
government control and leased land di
rectly without supervision and managed a
of their own affairs have in all instance
made the most progress, secured the high
est rentals and are now the most compe
tent Indians because OF the eXperlenc
gained; that those who have been und
closest governmental control and hav
thereby had the least experience in man
agement and expenditure are now the mos
helpless and incompetent; that the delay
In securing authority to purchase neces
stiles and delay In collecting and disburs
ing rental money has been a great hard
ship to them and has greatly increased tn
a II. .....oa. AMONG than