The Tomahawk. [volume] (White Earth, Becker County, Minn.) 1903-192?, 1921-03-03
Hard to Believe.

has hard road to travel IN In
dian matters.
A reservation Indian has no
rights. He IS a ward. His rights
are in the hands of the Indian
Bureau. For over fifty years his
affairs have been left entirely to
Indian agents on reservations and
the Indian Bureau at Washington.
An Indian has his being on
reservation, and moves by the
will of the agent. An Indian
agent, or as he is called now,
superintendent" is usually in.
vested with greater power over
the Indians than the late Gar or
Kaiser over their subjects.
Indian lands are sold and leased
without the consent of the Indians.
Timber on reservations is sold
without the consent of the Indians.
II there is mineral on a reserva-
ton, it is leased without saying
word to the Indians. If there is a
dam site on reservation, the In
dams are usually disregarded, and
the process of constructing the
dam goes on. A pipe line or any
thing else may go through a res
ervation. Today that. old saying
has more truth than ever before:
'When white man wants the
Indians land, the Indian must
move on" In other words, the
guardian thinks more of his friends
than of the Indians.
The Indians on reservations are
hardly regarded as human beings.
In the first place, the Indians were
not considered as human beings
when, by force Of arms, they we're
placed on reservations. 1t is a
dreadful thing to live in fear. No
one knows this better than the In
dams on reservations. One-man
power is dangerous thing. In
dian agents, and their Indian po-
licemen, have not benefited the
Indians on the reservations. They
have beeu hard masters by disre-
gardinq the rights of the Indians.
For more than fifty years the In
dian Bureau has created fear in
the reservation Indians. Indians
are always afraid to do anything
in their own interest On reserva-
tons. The policemen Turk around
to take anyone who has thought
of his own. The Jail is ready to
quench his spirit to bring light of
liberty to his people. If the agent
says 80, there is no redress what
ever on reservation. Every In
dian who has tried to help his
people by telling the reservation
Indians their rights has been
siIenced or put off the reservation.
An Indian agent claims that he is
an undesirable person to have on
a reservation. This may appear
that the agent is guarding we'll
his wards, but we're the truth
known, be is safeguarding the
crookedness of the reservation
system. If everything was carried
on right and for the best interests
of the Indians, there would be no
need of suspicion of anyone who
speaks to the reservation Indians:
But words cannot express the
darkness of the reservation @sys-
tenn to the rights of the Indian
people. Those inspired pictures
of the injustices to the Indians by
Helen Hunt jackson in her
Ramona" and Century of Dis
honor" are divine compared to
the divesting the Indians of all
their properties, their rights, and
and all that is dear to the first
Americans. At the altar of man,
the red men lare being sacrificed,
scathed and punished without a
cause by hearts of stone and pas
sion, for greed that know no mercy
The Indian race is being hurled
into the oblivion Of the archives Of
the dark intrigue mysteries If
mysteries of~man's inhumanity to