Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1911-02-28
IS
NEED Of schools
INDIANS EDUCATION IS FAR
AHEAD OF THE AGE.
Children ARE NOT ALL
Youths schoo Ing Is But one Branch
Of MOrk-AssOCiatlOns Are
Urged.

Mobile, Ala, Feb 25.-Much In
. dian education today IS at least one
hundred years ahead OF the age, but
. II f. uuurgun2cd, In the opinion OF
/ Commissioner of Indian Affairs Rob
/ 'rt @, Valentine, who addressed the
annual m c'ng Of the Department Of
| Supcrintcudcnce OF the National Ed
/ ucation Association here The
result Of the present unorganiaed con-
| dition ne declared, was enormous
waste Of effort
Indian education" he said, rs the
education Of not one but many peo-
plc3 The Indians are race only in
/ the loosost sense, and our problem Is
therefore analogous 10 that OF an ed
/ ucatlonal bureau established to edu-
cate the peoples OF Europe"
The education OF the Indians differs
also from other educational problems
In hat II Is the education OF families
as well as OF individuals, OF the faith
CT and mother the old grandfather
or srandmother, and the children.
THE children's school" continued
Mr.. Valentine, 'is only one branch Of
the work, and the problem OF our su-
perlntendence is much more intimately
roncerned with the adu ts than is out
white education, tho ugh not perhaps
more than II ought to be-"
The commissioner pointed to the
need OF well ordered political ground
work. He urged changes In the fed
eral law, and declared there also
was need Of state laws Taking up
the subject OF conscl dated schools
SCHOOLS attended by both whites and
lndians-the commissioner said that
one OF the methods which could be
used TO reach this goa SHOULD be a
wider and better organized govern
mental publicity as TO Indian affaris."
In this connection the commissioner
also urged the organlzation, under
the auspices Of the National Bduca-
tional Association, Of an Indian Asso-
citation In every town Of every group
Of towns near Indians habltatlons.
"lf you do this" ne said, you VIII
know ten yenrs from now that spoke
the truth today, wh+n said that Il
lies I'm your nands to do more than all
the federal government of the United
States Is dong or can do for the In
dlans."
Turning TO the moral side OF Indian
education, which, he said, viii be rec
ognizcd as the great problem OF our
national education generally, tho
commissioner said that II was the be-
lief that the basis of moral education
was Industrial work II is a trulsm
today, no went on, that the moral fiber
that should be developed ls not being
developed In our schools. lie de-
clared that this is even more pathet-
ically true in Indian education, "be-
cause there we have, not only to
nourish and strengthen moral ten
dency already existent, hut also In GER
tln aspects OF Indians moral nfe to
create It almost anew. or modify or
divert II gently from the path of cen
turles,' He emphasized that It was
one Of the basic truths OF education
that II a mans mind is trained ahead
/ OF his moral sense, he and the COM
munity both are harmed.
Bitterly" pleaded the commission
err, IN concluding, "as we may curse
tho greed of the wolf, or the mistaken
charity Of the too kndhcartcd. or the
Ipiecc-meal progress tor which we are
all OF us legislator and administrator
alike responsible We must feel that
we have not some measure OF success
In hand because the timber has been
stolen from the land. the corn from
/ the furrow, the bread from the
mouth or the stamina from the will,
These ARE not moro direful than
many ot the subtle evils which creep
into our homes and into our manhood
and womanhood right under our noses
In communities whore you and think
we live In the very forefront OF the
advance Of education We are headed
right We are even started: what we
need is momentum.
WIN Rc-cntcr Indian Service.