Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1913-11-29
The White Mans Shame

The White Mans Shame
If there is such a condition as a nations being
guilty Of the sin of omission, then the United States
government has this sin charged to it through its
woeful neglect Of the Indians, d%epriving them OF
almost every right they ever had, taking from them
their property, and then leaving them to starve and
to freeze on the barren reservations. Such is the
case on Standing Rock reservation, near this city, and
SO fierce are the conditions that they have attracted
the attention of the charitable and kind.hearted peo-
pie of this city, and a movement is on foot for relief.
Owing to the fact that there was a failure of crops
on the reservation, hundreds Of Indians are left with
out anything to eat or the means with which to buy
food or clothing. The government does not seem to
realize that many are now suffering and that it is
necessary that something be done at once in order
to prevent many deaths from hunger and cold.
Anyone familiar with history cannot deny that the
white man is directly responsible for the helpless
condition of the red man today; and the fact that
this government, after reducing a simple people to
abject servitude, neglects them, especially at this
time of year, and allows them to starve and freeze,
is a downright shame, a national sin. True these
Indians have been allotted lands, but the government
will not allow them to sell or lease the land, and,
while many are worth thousands of dollars, yet they
are helpless, penniless and on the verge of starvation
and %perishing from the severity of the elements.
Nature has not endowed the Indian with the abil-
ity to look out for himself, and he is not to blame if
he is unable, under his forced conditions, to provide
the necessities Of life under discouraging conditions.
There are few white men who could make a living on
the reservation, and the proposition that an Indian
must do this, with his lack OF ingenuity and thrift, is
preposterous.
The most pitiable conditions exist on the reserva-
ton. There are old men, practically blind and help
less; there are little children, hanging onto their
mothers, hungry and cold, and while these scenes are
pitiful, yet the one which breaks the heart is the
poor, half-starved mother with a nursing child, and
the sfamished condition of herself is such that there
is no nourishment in her breast for the little papoose
in her arms, crying of hunger. The last two men,
toned instances will undoubtedly result in murder
and suicide unless there is immediate relief, for the
mother cannot long see her starving child wane anc
freeze long, until she will kill it and end her own
life. @
The responsibility Of the white man in this case
is far more than many have realized. We have robbed
the Indian of his lands, of his hunting grounds. We
have driven him to a small confne of territory, where
none can make a living, and put police over him to
see that he does not leave the premises. We have
given him barren ground, with nothing to do with,
and now that the winter is here. we allow him to
starve.
But, thanks to the kinder people of this vicinity
and especially to Father A. McGaffey Beede Of the
reservation, a movement has been started for the
protection of these primitive beings and for safe
guarding them this winter against the awful ravages
Of the starvation wolf and the elements.
Too much cannot be said and done in the matter
for the people of this locality have a large job on
hand to see to this duty.
President Wilson has been implored by the people
Of this city and vicinity to take immediate action,
and how we'll he will look to the protection of these
miserable subjects of the nation remains to be seen.
This is the white mans shame, that's all.