The Tomahawk. [volume] (White Earth, Becker County, Minn.) 1903-192?, 1926-10-07
THE T0MAHAWk.
\ Official Organ of the Minnesota
Chippewas.
En'ered at the Postotice at White
Earth, Minn.. as mail matter OF the
second class.
!, ~ raa n
Chippewa Matters
at Washington

A question of vita. import
ance to the Chippewa people has
arisen in the Department. 1t re-
lates to the future distribution
of the funds arising under sec
tion z of the Act of January Ia,
1889, and the persons who are,
entitled to participate therein.
From 1889 down to about 1907
the uniform custom was to enroll
children born to those persons
enrolled and allotted as members.
of the triheIby the Commission
appointed under the Act of 1889
as ratified by the Indians. When
aEchild was born to an enrolled
member evidence in the form
of a birth or doctors certificate
and supporting affidavits was
filed with the Agent and the
name of the new born child
placed on the money payment
roll. The same practice obtained
with reference to their grand
children and great-grandchild-
rem. In 1917 the then Agent of
the White Earth Agency dis
covered an old regulation of the
Indian Office promulgated in
1904 relating to the distribution
Of tribal Indian property gener-
ally. Under this regulation the
following prerequisites were
necessary to participate in the
distribution of tribal funds:
Z 1. The woman must be recog-.
nized by the Tribe as belonging
thereto.
2. The child must be recog-
.nized by the tribe as belonging
thereto.
3. The family so found must
be identified and affiliated with
the tribe of which the mother is
IA recognized member"
The Agent undertook to apply
this regulation to the money
payment roll of the Chippewas.
He did not realize that by the
agreements of 1889 all of the diff
ferent bands or tribes of Chippe-
wa Indians were consolidated
and were given equal rights I'M
the consolidation common prop
erty. He did not realize that af-i
ter 1889 there was no tribal COY
ernment. Since 1889 there has
never been any chief of all the
Chippewas in Minnesota nor any
form of tribal government, and
therefore no way by which any
person born since 1889 could be
recognized by the tribe COM
posed of all the Chippewas in
Minnesota or could be identified
with such a tribe. This Agent
issued citations upon the enrolled
parents of a large number OF
children who had been enrolled
upon the money payment roll TO
show cause why the names Of
their children should not be
stricken from the roll on the
stated ground that they had not
been recognized by the tribe and
had not. been Identified and affll-
lated with the tribe, two impos-
sible conditions. The Situation
became so grave that the Gener-
al Council, a purely voluntary
organization, instructed Web
ster Ballinger, it's then attorney,
to intervene on behalf of the
Chippewa people for the protec-
tion of the rights of their child
gren and grandchildren. Mr.. Ball
niger did so with the result that
on February IL, 1919, the then
Solicitor for the Departmentren 4
Idered an opinion holding in sub
I stance that the children, grand
| children, great grandchildren,
! etc, of the original enrollees, en-
rolled pursuant to the agree
! ments entered into under the
I Act Of January IA, 1889, were
! Ientitled to share in the funds
arising under section Z of the
\ Act Of January IA, 1889; that
they took distributive shares in