Evening star., 1935-10-20
ia NEW DAY FOR THE INDIAN
Tioshpaiya, Form Of Government Truly Representative
Red Mans Realities, Taken From Him by Uncompre-
hendng Whites, to Be Restored in Modified Form.

no longer. They gave up their old
ways of life and were settled on res
ervations. The attitude of the Gov
ernment was not vindictive. 1t tried
TO do well by its wards. It arranged
the reservations the best 1t knew how.
The houses were grouped for the
greatest convenience Of the greatest
number in accordance with the loca-
ton Of good farming land and the
location Of store, hospital, church and
school.
The practical executives found, TO
their dismay. that things didn't go 50
well with the Indians as it had in
the great circle encampments. There
was constant pickering between neigh
bors where before there had been al
most unbroken peace. They would
start agricultural societies and school
societies. but couldn't get cooperation
among the people Of a neighborhood.
They couldn't get the concensus Of
Indian opinion on anything Nobody
seemed able to talk for anybody else.
Something was wrong. The agents
never found out what it was. They
were too practical. If they ever had
heard Of the tioshpaiya they had dis
missed it as matter of no conse-
quence. They had, in their bundering
way. dispersed the tioshpaiyas, leav-
ing the Sioux no fundamental unit to
cling to. A family of one tioshpaiya
wight ho onfirnlxr hr, flA
homes of members of two or three
other tioshpaiyas while the nearest
members of their own might be 20
miles away. There was simply no basis
for cooperation.
The break came this summer when
Dr.. Scudder Mekeel, authority on
Sioux social organization, was sent to
study the problem by DR.. Strong. DR..
Mekeel knew what the tioshpaiya
had been and he knew Indians. He
found, to his surprise, that the old
social unit still existed. All the ob-
stacles thrown N its way had failed
to destroy it.
ENTIRELY unrecognized by the
whites, it still formed the basic
unit of social relations and self gov
ernment. A neighborhooo did not
constitute a unit. A man remained
far more closely integrated with an
other member of MS own tioshpaiya
miles away than with his lifelong
nearest neighbor so ieet away. Com
mon economic or trade interests did
not result in social units. Neither did
common religion. or CON mon habits Of
thought such as might result in politi-
cal parties.
OF course the Sioux hadn't gotten
along together. The units upon which
all getting along" must be based had
been submerged 1t was about as abb
surd to make the neighborhood the
basis of representative government
among them as it would be. among
the whites. to make electoral units out
| Of men with blue eyes or men 6 feet
tall
So In the new Sioux constitutions,
which must be accepted by the tribes
before they can be put into effect. the
tioshpaiya is revived and representa-
tion is based upon it. Such is the
/ concession being made in the new
| form Of government to the purely
Indian. But representative govern
ment in itself is largely a white idea.
| somewhat alien to the Indian concept
Of things The tioshpaiya representa-
ton is merely the beginning and its
success involves some of the deepest
| problems in political science.
The Indian idea Of the tioshpaiya
and the white idea of government by
delegates must be welded together in
such a way as to conform with the
traditions Of the Indian and yet not
to violate the social and economic
structure Of the white world.
Whatever the outcome, Mr. Collier
believes. this republic of tioshpaiyas
represents the most forward looking
step yet taken to right the wrongs
the Indian has suffered from the
white men over five generations.
The experiment goes much deeper
than the Inauguration Of republic
Of tioShpaiyas to suit the needs Of the
Sioux. Other tribes have other units.
The basic idea is to make the funda.
mental unit of government some abso-
lutte reality to the people governed.
1t is an experiment. in other words.
in bringing government home to the
governed. Everywhere. among red
men and white men alike, it has been
getting farther and farther away
from them.
THE tioshpaiya itself probably will
have to undergo some slight modi-
fications to fit entirely into the new
system. 1t was not evolved as a unit
Of representative government Right
here arise some of the deepest prob
lens that remain to be solved by the
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