The Hartford herald. [volume] (Hartford, Ky.) 1875-1926, 1913-05-28
Says a Dainty Squaw In
Uncle Sans Employ.
PHILOSOPHERS ON THE CASE
She Longs For Happy Days of
the Past When Indians
ROamed Plains.
Is NOT ASHAMED OF ANCESTRY

Denver, Col, May 24.-Tn the
employ of the Indian service of the
United States Government, in this
city, is full-blooded Oneida Indian
girl, Leila Somers, who attends to
the stenographic work of the De-
partment.
Dainty and petite of form, with
exquisitely shaped hands and feet,
dressed in clothing adopted by her
paleface sisters selected with good
taste, there is but little, if any out
ward signs to cause one to suspect
that she is the daughter of squaw.
But | am not ashamed of my
people," says this pretty Indian
maiden, land wish l had been
born in the olden times when the
prairie presented an uninterrupted
sweep and the free tribes travelled
from one camping ground to\ an
other. That was a life worth liv-
ing. | hate the shut-in places.
was born some years too late"
Miss Leila Somers does not wish
to forget for a moment that her
father, Wah-ta-nis in the tongue of
his tribe, was an Indian. Although
at the age of seven ishe left her
fathers wigwam in Wisconsin to
attend the Haskell Institution in
Lawrence, Kan, she remembered
every syllable of the Oneida Ian
guage.
She is not particularly proud of
the fact that she speaks the Eng
lish language we'll, in a low and
musical voice, with just hint of
accept. She loves her race, its ira
ditions, it's former history, it's mode
of life, with a deep passion that is
almost fetish.
Il do not think the Government
carries the education of the Indian
to as high point as it might" says
Miss Somers. "At the institute we
finish only the eighth grade. l
wish they would establish a high
school course and let us pay for our
own books. | love to study, and
am going to save my money and go
through high school if | can, and
possibly college. | am paying my
sisters way through a high school
now. The negro is given greater
educational privileges than the
American Indian.
mo, don't know so very much
about woman suffrage, or equal
rights, but | do know that the first
law of human nature is for the
braves of our tribes to protect their
wigwams, their squaws and their
papooses. Equal rights, such as
the paleface women advocate,
would rob the women of the privi-
lege of admiring their husband or
lover. If man is not lord of his
or hsi wigwam. he has
nothing to be proud of. Equal suf-
frage makes of him a squawman.
81 think the women of the world
should be educated, but it would
seem to me that the politics might |
be bettered through the suggestions |
of the women-touching the finer |
and higher sense of honor and NOR
Atty of the mcmillan by seeing
the women go into politics as q
profession"
Miss Somers has a marked gift /
Tor music, and not only plays we'll.
but composes music-in fact, her
are so marvellous
hat professional musicians have
a regret that she did not
begin earlier in life. predicting a
brilliant musical career for her,
mad she been trained when a child
n the rudiments of music. !
my mother, who still resides on
he Oneida reservation in Wiscon-
lin, is not an educated woman. but
he has a greater insight and high
n ideals than many white people,"
he said.
Miss Somers does not believe
hat the civilization of the paleface
las benefited her race. A lack of
ndurance has come in civilizations
wake. she says. as well as deceit
nd trickery.