The Tomahawk., 1920-08-05

SOFA ana nave since Cueu Oeeu
holding annual council meetings
and opposing the efforts of the
General Council in it's effort to
secure an equitable settlement of
the Chippewa estate. The main
object of this Caswcll--Waketield
aggregation has been to oppose any
mersure that would affect a SETTLE
ment between the Minnesota Chip
pewas and the Government, as its
president, Ben Caswell, and its
treasurer, Louis Caswell have been
Indian Service employees practi.
cally all their lives and are adverse
to any measure that would tend to
discontinue their jobs, on the con-
trary they want the old system in
vogue by the Indian Bureau con-
tinued 50 rs to assure them Iivl-
noJd whether or not it is detri-
mental to great mojority of the
Chippewa people. Louis r. Cas-
we'll is in the employ of the Indian
Bureau as agency blacksmith at
Red Lake agency and his brother,
Ben Caswell, up to a short time
ago was steady employee of the
Indian Service in different capa-
cities.
As regards the fourth paragraph
in the above from the BemidJi
Pioneer which states-''This or.
ganization of the Cbippewas is OPP
posed to the Ellsworth bill and
holds that the Rice treaty should
: govern the disposition of their
lands and property. This treaty,
they say went into effect in 1889
and continues to bold good until
1885," etc. The General Council,
Minnesota Chippewas, has always
maintained that the trust period of
50 years contained in the agree
meut of 1889 has not gone into
effect yet and will not 60 into
effect until all allotnents have
been made, and as no allotments
have as yet been made to the Red
Lake Indians the trust period is
not yet in effect. In so far Us the
contention of the "Chippewa In.
dams of Minnesota, Incorporated"
that the Rice treaty or the agree
ment of 1889 ''should govern the
disposition If their lands and
property, this is just what the
General Council desires only.
owing to the fact that the cover.
ment failed to fulfill their part of
the agreement as regards the land
and pine timber and dispose of 1t
at that. time as the agreement pro-
vided for at $l.25 per acre for the
lands and $500 per thousand for
the standing pine timber, that now,
as 30 years have passed since the
signing of the agreement and the
lands and timber remain unsold,
/ that the Chlppewas should now re-
ccive the market value of this
property, that the lands, including
the swamp lands taken from the
Indians, should be sold at public
sale at the market value, which is
anywhere between $40 aud $50 an
acre, and the timber should be sold
in the same manner, the price OF
standing pine being now from SIS
to $50 per thousand. This is
just contention, as the Chippewas
have lost vast amount of money
in accrued interest bV the failure
of the government to dispose of
this property 80 years ago in &C
cordance with the agreement of
1883.
SO far as this aggregation who
style themselves The Chippewa
Indians Of Minnesota is concern
ed we consider it only u waste of
time and space to pay any atten-
ton to them, as we are we'll &C
quainted with great majority of
the members of this aggregation of
kickers and we are certain that
very few, if any Of them, are
conversant enough with the agree
ment of 1889 to discuss it intelli-