Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-10-22
BETTER SCHOOLS
URGED FOR INDIANS
Education One Of Subjects
Under Discussion at Lake
Mohonk Conference.
GUARDIANS NOT NEEDED
BY CIVILIZED TRIBES
Argument Advanced That They
Should Be Allowed to Shift
for Themselves.

MOHONK LAKE, n. Y, October %
Divergent views of the capabilities of the
American Indian started a debate here
today that In one form or another will
reach the national Congress. 1t was the
opening of the annual conference of the
friends of the Indians and other depend
ent peoples.
Some of the delegates believed that the
Indian was still o child and that the
federal government had grossly neglect
ed him. Others. apparently a minority.
declared that some of the Indian tribes
should be released altogether from gov
eminent supervision, left to take the re-
sponsiotlity OF their own welfare and pay
the price If they tailed. There was eX-
pressed also an urgent demand for taking
indian aIa.rs out of politics and pultine
them in the care OF Il non-parti COM
MISSION.
1he five so-calied civilized tribes of
OnlanOnd were. the Indians NANNY dis
cusSed today.
Schools the Greatest Need.
The American Indians need schools
more than any other form OF government,
aid, sad Jonn Il. Brown OF Musnogee,
Okla. Mr. brown is a supervisor QI the
United States Indian service, IN charge OF
indian scnoois among the nve ''clyIlIeu
tribes
t1is address was u plea for larger
government appropriation and de-
scriptIon of has work. AT the outset he
asserted tnat all members OF the i've
TRIBES under his supervision are civil
,zed. the average INDIAN, he SAID, is
no more savage. even in his native
state; and the word savage is gem
orally misused in its reiallon to IN
dams.
"Tnere are twelve boarding schools
In the five tribes" SAID Mr. brown,
with total Capacity or ABOUT 1,I0u
pupils. We nave contracts witn MISSION
one small school III the Cherokee ma
ton, with capacity of sixty-five
pupils.
Teaching of Land Values.
Special stress has been laid in our
schoolrooms on the teaching of land
values and uses, Inquiries were made
of all older pupils as to the acrea ge,
location, value, adaptability and pres
ent use OF their allotmen,s. The in
formation at first was almost MI. the
ignorance or the puplis beng startling
1hls led to systematic inquiry and
some astonishing disclosures. Instruc-
ton on these lines followed. instruc-
assistance being given our schools by
the field officers of Union agency The
lighting of land grafters and dishonest
guardians is not the work of the
schools, yet the schools In seeking to
teach pupils as to their lands have I'M
earthed many cases so pitiful that the
inn nj
them over to the agency officials. and
strive to forget them in order to con-
tinue the work of preparing the chill
dren to resist future onslaughts
Guardianship Not Needed.
'The demand to be released from
government supervision by very
large proportion of the enrolled MEM
bers Of the five tribes is a just de-
mand. Their money is being used for
school and other purposes against their
wishes, and that held in trust draws
rate of interest which could be dou-
bled in Oklahoma. They are as COM
petent to manage their business as we
are, or. If not, are willing to take the
responsibility and pay the price if they
fail They will not become charge
against the government, so let them be
LUG, cNcH lHouSu we InuSI De II little
crude in arriving at the amount due
them.
II have been speaking of the COM
petent members of the several nations,
but am thinking at the same time of
the restricted members with whom the
work of government officials properly
is concerned. Our schools must now be
opened on equal terms to all children
of enrolled Indians. The ones who need
the schools most are the restricted
MEMBERSHIP full bloods-yet these are
the last to request the enrolment of
their children of their own initiative.
Remove the pressure for places In our
Indian schools by eliminating the COM
petents and we get at our real educa-
tional problem. We get to the boys
and girls who need u.s."
Defrauded Of Their Lands.
Dana III. Kelsey. superintendent of
the Union Indian agency at Muskogee,
described how these Indians were de-
frauded of their valuable lands. He
urged that physicians be stationed in
at 70 che RI