The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1915-09-10
B|RCHBARK CANOES
SHOWN BY INDIANS
AT STA7F FAIR
Walter F. Dickens, supel. ~ + Of
Red Lake Reservation, in =. et,
of Large Exhibit.
READWORK, BLANKETS AND
OTHER CHIPPEWA INDUSTRY
Minnesota Indians Obtain Between
$4,000 and 100000 Year by
Sale of Articles.

St. Paul, Mimi. Sept. 1O.-Chip
pewa Indian handiwork, useful AM
ornamental, comprising the larges
collection ever assembled in the north
west, are displayed in three booths
in the Agricultural building at tn
state fair under the direct patronag'
of the United States Indian depart
ment. 1t is an official exhibit as Wal
ter F. Dickens, superintendent of the
Red Lake reservation, is at the fair
under direct orders Of his official
chief.
Largest Exhibit.
Here are found birchbark canoes
without a bit of metal in them, rab-
bitskin blankets woven from strips
of the hide, all manner of buckskin
articles from hides tanned in Indian
camps, and beadwork in plenty. Mr..
Dickens believes the beadwork to be
the largest display of it's kind that
has ever been brought together
The Minnesota Indians, it is esti-
mated, obtain between $4,000 and
100000 year by sale of beadwork,
and on that account the government
encourages the red women to do the
work and the white women to pur-
chase their products. Most Of the
articles also are useful The collec-
tion includes rush mats, cedar bark
mats and bags, sweet grass baskets
and bags.
Canoe Construction Puzzles.
The construction of a birchbark
canoe, always a puzzle to a white
man, is plainly revealed by having
the finished boat and the raw mater
ials displayed side by side. White
cedar splints, light but tough, form
the framework, ribs and all; large
sheets of birchbark, wholly imper-
vious to water, composes the outer
covering. 1. .Eh e5l.with the tough ropy
roots of the balsam to bind the frame
and to attach the cover to the frame
and pitch from the spruce for the
seams the Chippewa fashions a light,
servicable boat equally useful in a
grassy lake, a forest stream or Lake
Superior.
One booth is devoted to the Indian
schools, Of which there are several,
notably at Red Lake, Leech Lake and
White Earth. The boys are taught
farming, carpentry, tailoring, har-
nessmaking and blacksmithing in a
way that makes them practical work.
men. The girls are taught weaving,
basketry, sewing and other domestic
arts and all are taught penmanship
and drawing.
IS Per Cent Industrious.
Indians can be taught to work
and become selfsupporting," declared
Superintendent Dickens today. "This
does not mean that a man of 80 who
has spent his life in the woods and
has learned to subsist by hunting and
fishing, will become a modern pro-
gressive farmer, but if we can get the
boys and girls young enough and
keep them until they are skilled in
various occupations, we find that 95
per cent of them can be counted up
on to engage in these occupations and
remain indnstriO,1s citizanS
1--WE have at Red Lake full
bloOded Chippewa who draws 500 a
month as a forester. Another full
blood, who never has been off the
reservation, is in charge of the steam
plant. Other Indians are sawyers in
the agency sawmill and some are
farmers.
"Then there are many who are
farming for themselves and doing sc
intelligently. They are clearing theil
lands, plowing and handling the sol
properly, purchasing stock and are
wholly independent.
1.-THE patience of the Indian women
in their beadwork ought to be con
vincing as to their industry. A patch
work quilt, made by Elizabeth Wells
a fullblood, contains 4,3S9 pieces, al
beautifully stitched. All that i:
needed is to give them fair star
and fair chance"