Evening star., 1932-09-15
CAPITAL SCIENTIST
. STUDIES INDIANS
Finds Crees of James Bay
Country Believe in Car
ing for NeighbOrs.

Rev. DR.. John M Cooper, anthro-
biologist and ethnographist, member
81 the faculty of Catholic University of
America, has returned to civilization.
He spent his Summer deep in the
James Bay country and in Western
Labrador, studying two Of the most
primitive peoples in the world-the
Crees and Montagnais Indians.
One of his special interests was that
of blocking out the problems Of land
ownership in the neighborhood OF the
Bay, question of the most vital social
significance.
The territory is no mans land in
appearance" DR.. Cooper explained yes
terday. There are no markers. The
stranger is puzzled to know where the
boundary lines are. But the Cree and
Montagnais Indians. whose territory it
is. know we'll enough. The land is the
property of individual family heads os
of kinship groups. But the traditional
land-holding system is breaking down.
One reason for this is the fact that the
game resources of the country are being
depleted. Down along the coast and
we'll back inland the beaver, which IS
the key fur bearing animal OF that sec
ton of Labrador, is rapidly disap-
pearing.
Demands for Fur Grow.
THE destruction of the game came
about in the beginning partly because
of exceptional demand from outside.
The Indians, responding to the pres
sure, began to disregard the old prop
erty rights. One group trespassed on
the land of another. The latter, be-
coming aware of the invasion, protected
its property by killing off all the beaver
to be found. Here and there white
trappers have come in and slaughtered
right and left, with utter disregard for
the rights of the legitimate owners
Last year one party of these strangers
used poison in their greedy work. and
at last two of the party were caught
red-handed by the mounties.
"A vicious circle of demand and sup
ply. supply and demand. was formed.
with the result that the game was
killed off faster than it could be re-
placed. In the old days the Indians
never took all the beavers of any lodge.
They left some to breed. Recently,
however, they have begun to take all
they can find. Then, too, it was the
traditional custom for the Indian to
hunt one part of his land one year.
another part the next, in order to con-
serve the game. This practice, also, Is
being abandoned.
Old System Collapses.
so the old system of conservation,
followed by the Indians for centuries,
has in no small part collapsed. Star
vation consequently threatens some OF
the people. especially those who have
to spend the long Winter isolated 200
or 800 miles up in the interior, far out
of reach of emergency help from whites
or other Indians.
1T is tragic situation. Ii effect, 1t
is an approximation Of what political
economists and sociologiSts call COM
munism. Every one abuses the oppor-
tunity to take what he wants. OF
course the Indians do not like it. They
are the victims of the experiment. 1t
is impoverishing and demoralizing
them"
DR.. Cooper described a conference
with number of the leaders at one
of the Indian camps. These men came
to him for advice. telling him that he
was lone of themselves" and asking
his help toward the solution Of their
problem.
I'VE sat talking the matter over for