Warren sheaf. [volume] (Warren, Marshall County, Minn.) 1880-current, 1920-12-08

SETTLE INDIAN
BLOOD STATUS
The Fergus Falls Journal gives the
facts in regard to the final settlement
K the question of the blood status Of
xle Indians on White Earth reserva-
IN: ).
Judge Morris approved the White
SIS nth Indian blood status rolls late Fri
y afternoon definitely fixing the legal
tus Of 5000 Indians, and bringing
IN end the Indian land litigation
has been before the United States
81. It's for the past ten years.
tae rolls had been prepared by
mission composed Of, R. J. Powell
r.. c. Bell with Judge Morris act
Yin sense as a third member or
SIS, tlrator.
hen the commission began prepar-
the roll, it took the testimony of
Indians themselves relative to their
te or Indian blood. It soon dis
red that this testimony was totally
eliable The French traders who
tied the Northwest century or two
/. including such men as Duluth,
lisson and many Of lesser fame, were
the habit Of taking Indian wives
they generally changed wives as
e en- as they changed locations. The
omission also found that, while there
: re some Indians who lived lifetime
y it'll one squaw, the great majority
: aid little attention to marital rela-
ons; state of virtual free love ex-
! ed among them. This had been es-
gially true in the past century or
9, since whiskey was introduced by
i. traders. Even today Indians
u lnge husbands or wives without any
ious court formalities.
The commission found that the In
ms not only colored their testimony
suit themselves relative to their an
estr@ but that they did not know their
own fathers. And\when parents came
before it and testified that their child
rensweren full bloods, and the. children
showed red hair and blue eyes, the
commissioners decided that Indian tes-
tim0ny was worthless and sought other
means Of determining the blood status
IT was finally agreed to bring Alec
Hrdlicka, curator of the division of
physical anthropOlogy of the national
museum at Washington, to the north
west and to make up roll based on
physical characteristics, and not on
Indian testimony. Prof Hrdlicka is a
Bohemian by birth, and is probably the
worlds leading anthr0p0logist. He has
spent twenty-five years studying Indian
characteristics and structural forma-
on, and it was agreed that his find
gs should govern in preparing the
Il il. Each Indian was judged by his
. aysical characteristics and not OH an
sstral testimony.
On this basis, it was found that there
ere only about three hundred full
lple ION the reservation.
The determination Of the legal status
the Indians will make further litiga-
s. IN relative to land titles unnecessary.
,tigation has been pending for ten
.ars, and it was stated in court today
lat up to 1916, before anything was
ally accomplished, the land litiga ton
d cost the government three hundred
ousand dollars. Since then, virtual
!. all of the 1900 suits brought to set
de titles on the ground that those
ing them were full bloods have been
tied, and the approval of the roll
Il prevent further disputes as to the
hi hit to sell or not to sell.
So Some of the Evidence
MI Ehe hearing OH the White Earth In
ii rolls come on before Judge Morris
= Federal court in this city today.
= number objecting to the confrma-
b Of the roll had dwindled from three
= ndred to tWenty-seven. The Objec-
- S filed stipulations in number OF
..e' cases, and proposed to call fol-
)" illnesses in others.
IL There were about dozen Indians in
,e5'court room, nearly all very old
! Y: q and women. The first to testify
+ " a wrinkled squaw, who said he1
u ne was Nay-tab-wah-cumig-W and