Evening star., 1939-12-05


DISCUSSES STATUS OF IND
Affairs John Collier, who spoke
Forum.
present . small part Is not . chap
ter from some distant point in time
and space. Rather, 1t Is = compare
lively recent event In the history Of
the American Indian problem.
There is no need now to elaborate
on this particular event or on the
many others that preceded it. Suf-
flcent to say that as late as 1890, in
South Dakota, q regiment Of United
States soldiers, for reasons not yet
fully and formally established,
massacred great number Of Sioux
Indians who had gathered for pur-
poses essentially peaceable. I men,
ton the matter because I want to
make clear that we Americans have
not always handled with wisdom
and with restraint the responsibility
placed upon us by the 300 odd
treaties our Government has nego-
tiated with Indian tribes. If we
had done 50, the present task would
be far simpler than 1t is today. But,
though we have made many mis-
takes, we have come a very long
way indeed from that day not yet
so years old, when the last Indian
engagement was fought at Wounded
Knee Greek in South Dakota.
Very often the question is raised
as to why the Indian is placed in
special category, why he is ward
of the Government, why he Is main
tanned in q status different from
the people of white or other races.
I think it can be answered simply
in this way:
European colonizers and their de-
scendants brought to America ideas
Of land ownership. morality, gov
ernment and religion which were
meaningless to the native American.
He had his own values, his own
property systems. governments and
views Of the world. In time these
European ideas became dominant
to the exclusion Of Indian habits Of
thought. Since we were a humane
Nation and were not bent on de-
stroying the Indians, we assumed
the responsibility of showing them
how our white-man ideas operated.
We wanted the Indians to learn our
ways. We tried to force them.
Meantime, through our breaking Of
hundreds Of solemn treaties with
the tribes. We destroyed in many
Indian minds their faith in us and
their faith in their own future.
Trust Barriers Necessary.
We took away from the Indian
all but tiny fraction of his wealth
in land. water and other resources.
and even his food supply, insofar as
that consisted of game and wild
products; and by doing so we
charged ourselves with the RESPONSE
bility Of keeping the Indian from
starvation. Furthermore, since the
Indians understanding of property
differed from ours, 1t was obvious
that he would not long retain the
little property left him If he was
not protected. That made it nee
essary to erect trust t-barriers around
him which would prevent predatory
men from making of with the
means by which the Indian was to
be taught = new way Of existing.
BY placing trust-barriers around
Indian property, we exempted his
land from State and local taxation.
In taking this action we were sub
jecting the Indian to possible dis
elimination on the part Of the
States which would have resulted
in leaving him without health care,
education. roads, or any of the
services which a State renders its
people. State and local commune
ties cannot furnish services with
out revenue. Once again, then, it
became necessary for the Federal
Government to assume an obliga-
ton toward the Indian tribes whose
property it was seeking to protect.
How many Indians are there in
the United States today as COM
pared to the number at the time
Columbus landed? And what ex-
actly has caused the number to
diminish? These are questions that
come to us day after day from all
parts of the country and from
many foreign countries.
Best available data indicate that
at the time Columbus arrived there
lived in what is now the United
States, 846, 900 Indians. Today there
are 351 1000, exclusive Of Alaskan
Indians and Eskimos. Until about
the year 1928, the death rate
equaled or exceeded the birth rate
among Indians. Then the trend
changed, and today Indians are
the fastest growing population group
In the United States.
These facts and figures probe
the very heart Of Americas Indian
history. Across the years Of white
expansion we read the record not
only Of earlier errors but also Of
the honest reparation We are max
ing.
Another duery that comes to us
with especial frequency and variety
is the present geographical loca-
.nnEy .Y.Xy3