The Washington herald., 1914-06-30
The American Indian.
Ry EDwARD .. CURTIS.

i Ry EDWARD o. CURTIS.
Mr.. Charles Dawson, in discovering the suisse,
man" and accompanying Aints aroused the whole civ
lized world and with the skull restored scientists
the world ever began to make their deductions Ever
with their learned conclusions before US, however,
is tax upon the imagination to form picture Of
the Sussex man" he lived the hypothetical 10000
years ago.
With concentration gaze upon the skull, touch
the iints ard try to force our minds back into the
hazy dawn of life expressed only in geological terms
I-miocene, pliocene and piestocene We try but with
little success to form picture of the Sussex man.
of his mate his children his home-a literal picture
of the people and of the environment where they
wandered contemporary with the strange animals of
those remote geological periods.
What Is true of man in his earlier types applies
TO all anthropoiogical records We value the skull
the skeleton, the artifacts the clothing but beyond
these want the documentary picture of the people
and their home and-a picture that will show the
soul o. the people. In the study of primitive man
the interest is more in his psychology than in his
economics in his songs and prayers than in his
implements. In fact we study his implements that
we may get light upon his mental processes.
l desire to add my plea to that of others for
prompt work by all of those who would gather first
hand knowledge from the North American Indian
Many take issue with the thought that the Indian
a vanishing race" AS far as the ethnologist is
concerned this is not only vanishing but has
almost vanished. We are now working late in the
afternoon of the last day. Each month some old
patriarch dies and with him goes store of knowl-
edge and there is nothing to take its place. Each
year the change in the life is more noticeable and the
Of material r1nre di1ir,,lt ;s he
done in the field far as original research is con-
cerned must be done in the next few years
In gathering the lore of the Indian one hears only
Of yesterday His thoughts are no longer of the
present, for today is but living death and the hope
lessnesS of tomorrow permeates his very being III
the narrator is nearing the end of his days he lives
over and over again the life when his tribe as a
tribe fourshed-the time when his people were truly
If he is young and a true Indian
he is living regret that he is not of the time of
the supremacy of his peope-when to be an Indian
was to be man.
We have all heard voiced many times that the !!
greatest blot upon the history of the United States
is our treatment of the Indian Having spent good
part of my working lifetime around the camp and
council fire, can only say like the Indian, AYE
Aye" to this.
Yet our strong sympathy for the Indian must not
blind US to the fact that the change that has has
'een necessated by the expansion OF the white popu
alton, and for at least natures laws have been
he cause of grievous wrong.
No one will deny however that the inevitable
Transformation of the Indians life has been made in
lnitely harder by the white mans cupdity Not only
lave we been unfair to the Indian; but as nation
lightly and proudly giving considerable study to man.
We have also neglected very great opportunity
Much has been done it is true-etfnological re-
earch of importance has been conducted during re-
ent years-yet a vast amount remains TO be done
The American Indians possess many noble traits which
we're no doubt not common to the average primitive
nan of the same state OF development. By some
TRANCE chance the precursors OF this branch of the
uman race were held for ages in the grip OF dark
ess, perhaps due isolation, perhaps an instance
retrogression. Possibly time will throw light upon
he cause
This, however, is certain: the American Indian has
forded advanced science in an age of civilization an
xcellent opportunity to study primitive man al a
lost interesting period Geologcay speaking. that
erod is the Immediately following the acquisition
T imPlements-the period when he was yet awkward
the use of such tools as his sIuggishIy inventive
rain had evolved. and before the inventive faculty
ad yet fully awakened to the fact that successful
ristence depended upon reason more than upon in
inct
Again the students OF the world are searching and
1alyzing the earliest OF the known scriptures the
Vedas," for insight into primitive religious thought
elef and practice, and here in the United States we
i've living "Neda" great people possessing prim-
i've beliefs and practices
As nation we have not given even a small frac- h
On of the attention to this subject which it deserves
lnancia support has been lacking. Also men with y
e ability to do justice to the task have turned their
tenton in other directions II is not however. al Il
gether too late. Let trust that there will come
awakening and that the utmost will be made of n
c last of this opportunity Il
q
tc
Contrariness