Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-11

| listened to the Indians, to the SUPER
| intendents and to other employees. ]
am not going to relate to you any
thing told US by Indians, unless the
same has been corroborated by white
people Most Of the statements are
from testimony Of white and matters
Of record.
There are approximately 225, 1000 In
dams in the United States under the
domination Of the Indian Bureau, and
the bureau has under its control over
one billion dollars Of Indian property.
Health ConditionS.-The health con-
| ditioris among the Indians are extreme
ly bad. Almost without exception we
found that IS per cent Of the Indians
were affected with tuberculosis. On
| one reservation we were told that SO
per cent Of them were affected. This
| means that, on an average, more than
one person In every family is affected.
The family invariably lived In o one
| room shack. There would be little, If
any, ventilation and little. If any, heat
IN Winter. The large percentage Of
caused by malnutrition and improper
housing conditions
Poor Service Rendered Indians.
Without going into the details, we
found no proper facilities for the treat
ment OF this dread disease on the In
dian reservations and generally no
attempt being made to treat patients
affected with 1t. The doctors on the
reservations are underpaid, and there
are entirely too few of them, and the
service rendered to the Indian Is poor.
There are exceptions to the rule.
Some doctors and nurses. where they
have them, are doing good work, al
though they lack equipment.
TrachomA Is rampant among the In
dams. Some Roadway is being made by
the Indian Bureau in Graduating this
disease.
Social diseases are spreading rap
Idly among them, particularly on those
white settlements. Very little, II any,
thing. Is beng done either to prevent
or to cure conditions.
The superintendent admit health
conditions as I have described them
but claim they are helpless. They claim
that they have appealed to the bureau
in washington, but were told they
could get no help because of lack of
funds.
In any event. 1t is a disgrace to think
that this. the wealthiest of all govern
y
oltlon as this to exist among our wards
The Economic Condition.-Time does
not permit me to tell Of the way Indian
tribal funds have been Squandered by
gross carelesSneSs and ineficiency.
Many OF the reservations look as if they
were being managed by some aged
widow who could not make the sim
plest kind Of repairs and who was too
poor or too parsimonious to hire some
one to make them.
Practically all Of the Indians Of the
Middle West and Northwest are very
poor. They formerly had tribal herds
OF cattle These have been dissipateG,
not through any fault Of the Indians,
put through the gross incompetence of
the white men who have been intrusted
With them. No Indian knows what be-
came OF his tribal herd excepting that
1t was disposed Of by the Government.
He does not know how much the cattle
Drought or whether they were sold at
a proft or los; or how much OF the
money was placed to his credit. Strange
as II may seem, no itenniZed account has
ever been rendered to any Indian tribe,
so Tar as any Indian superintendent
knew or could find out.
Never Were Given Statements
For 10 years or more the Government
mas been handling the monies Of the
Indlan tribes derived from the leases
and the sales of land. from the sale of
valuable timber, oils and other miner
ais, from the sale Of tribal cattle. and
yet this guardian has never given his
wards an itemiZed statement showing
now much he received or how much
was paid out or what for Not only
that, but no itemized statement has
ever been rendered any individual In
dian showing how his account stood. If
there are cases where 1t has been done
no superintendent knew Of the same.
The bureau says they can come to
they want to know. The Indian says,
When we go to the office we can't get
IN or we are told to get out" This is
bureaucracy run mad.
The Indian Is not a farmer and we
have made little progress in teaching
him how TO farm. We have not es-
tablished schools where farming has
been taught in systematic way. On the
contrary we have allotted him land, and
expected him to make a living on 1t
while the best equipped farmers of our
land are unable to do so.
We have in many instances taken
his land in violation Of his treaty rights
One example Of this will sufice. In 1855
the Government entered into q treaty
with the Flathead and other tribes of
Indians. BY the terms Of this treaty
they were to give up all their rights,
title and interest to one of the most
fertile valleys in Montana, known as the
Bitter Root Valley. In return for that
We declared they should have all the
lands embraced in what became known
as the Flsthead Indian Reservation.
that the Government would hold the
title to the same in trust for them.
that we would protect them in their
lands, and that we would establish
schools.
Lost Water Rights.
In the year 1904, by an act Of Con-
gress. this reservation was thrown open
to settlement by the whites. They were
permitted to buy the Indian land at q
small price, not agreed to by the In
dams, but fixed arbitrarily by the Gov