The Cordova daily times. [volume] (Cordova, Alaska) 1914-1947, 1918-07-23
INDIANS LOYAL
IN DOING THEIR
BIT FOR NATION

WASHINGTON. July 23.-The deeds
of Indians who have enlisted in larg.
numbers in the military service are
hardly more inspiring than those o
the women and children left behind
This is a partial account of the an
about one-third of the Indian reserva
vatiOns when the Great White
Father" in Washington called to the
tribes and races inhabiting this lane
OF freedom to rise in its defense.
Reports received by Cato Sells. com
missioner Of Indian affairs, from
about Onc-third o the Indian reserva
tions indicate a total Red Cross mem
bership of close to 10000, contribu
lions in money amounting to more
than $4,000. and further donations of
thousands of hospital garments and
knitted garments and knitted articles
That i not a full measure of the red
mans generosity. however for the
reservations do not house many In
dams, including the more wealthy.
whose charitable activities are LISTED
with the general population.
Resortng to methods of the white
men to raise money. the Omaha tribe
recently held an auction for the Red
Cross which netted $4,000. including
$500 for a prize goat.
The boys of school in the North
west gathered 1000 pounds of sphag-
mum moss for surgical absorbent pads.
Some 400 Christmas boxes were re-
ported, which is incomplete, as nearly
all of the 100 boarding schools have
service flags with stars ranging in
number from a few to two hundred.
and the pupils of these schools are
very mindful of their soldier repre-
sentatives One of the larger schools
reported a students friendship war
fund" with $3.50 on hand and twelve
war savings societies. This school in
four weeks bought 900 thrift stamps
and fourteen baby bonds.
On a small reservation far north.
and the Indian must struggle for the
neCessaries of life, more than 81 per
capita for every adult was paid in
cash for the Red Cross and other war
relief purposes. In the Southwest,
returns and sheep-raising is the chief
means of support. many of the In
dams have each promised a fleece of
wool for the Red Cross, and the super
intendent plans the experiment OF
spinning this wool and knitting ii into
socks, sweaters, etc, by the Indian
women.
In a Montana district, where the
Indians are nearly all full-bloods, they
voluntarily held meetings and each
one who has a growing wheat crop
promised to donate one sack of wheat
for war relief work On another res
ervation. where the Indians are very
poor and have little ready money. they
donated an abundance of handsome
bead work and other curios to be
sold for the Red Cross.
One of the smaller schools in Okla
hOma reported a Junior Red Cross
membership of 176. being the total en-
rolment of the school.
The superintendent of one of the
'parding schools for girls OF the five
civilized tribes in Oklahoma declared
the girls are deeply Interested in all
war work, and respond readily to re
quests for additional garments. The.
very small girls knit up the scraps
of yarn into refugee caps, afghan
squares, etc. Also they utilize the
scraps from the hospital garments,
making quilt blocks. Larger scraps
are used for small underskirts for the
refugees. Gun wipers have been cut
by the hundred.
From a northern Minnesota reser-
walton, where it is believed the first
Indian Red Cross auxiliary was
started in the spring of 1917, the pres
ident of the auxiliary writes:
The auxiliary numbers As, and
and this from community of less
than a hundred adults. Some of these
women have walked to the weekly
meeting place across the ice from the
old agency when the temperature was
% degrees below zero They have
scwtd on hospital shirts and socks
a@I ieagnad to KNIT the various gar
monts just as their white sisters Of
the cities have done
cone evening recently an Indian
and his wife, living seventeen miles