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These Indians speak six different languages and are scattered, a family here and there, in the open valleys all over the reserve. They are generally self-supporting, obtaining revenues from leases, working on their own or white people's land, or lumbering. No rain had fallen since spring up to the time of my arrival August 11. The grain fields I saw which were in good condition were all under ditch. A good deal of hay has been cut and stacked at various points. About $20,000 per annum is received from grazing leases after taking care of 15,000 horses and cattle. Only 385 sheep are owned by the Indians. Of the 46,960 acres reported as susceptible of irrigation about 43,000 acres are included in plans for irrigation and nearly 2,000 acres are now within the service of ditches. All the timberland is reserved and 10 townships of the surplus land are exempt from homestead entry for Indian grazing purposes.

"The opening of a large portion of the reserve to white homesteaders is a cause of dissatisfaction among the Indians, who declare it has permitted white men to enter homesteads and receive patents to land at a price below their real value and that it requires payment only after a long period of time. Legislation has been obtained so the surplus lands of the Crow and Blackfeet Indians can all be allotted and there seems to be no sound reason why the Colville Indians should be treated differently by not being allotted similar land on their own reservation. The only other cause of discontent I encountered among the Colvilles was that, although there is plenty of land for the purpose, children born since the allotment roll was closed in 1906 have not been given any allotments. It is recommended that all children born since the closing of the allotments receive land at once and that legislation be secured to divide up pro rata all the remaining land thereafter. If additional legislation should be secured permitting the sale of certain heirship lands a troublesome situation would be relieved. This has been brought to the attention of the department, but relief has not been secured. "There are 738 children between the ages of 5 and 18. Of these there are in Government day schools, 31; nonreservation schools, 8; mission schools, 55; in 35 public schools in four counties, 585; not in school, sick, married, etc., 48; unexcused, 11; total, 738, which is an average enrollment of 98.5 per cent. Formerly there were a number of Government day schools here, but with the coming in of white settlers, homesteaders, and lessees, and additional land made taxable by the issuance of patents in fee, Government schools have either been abandoned or consolidated until there is now only one left. The health of the people on the reservation is generally good. The estimated prevalence of tuberculosis is 5 per cent and of trachoma 7 per cent.

"The Colville Agency headquarters has plenty of water for all purposes and the buildings are modern and adequate. An electric light plant is needed and should be provided not only as a comfort and convenience to the employees far from many of the advantages of civilization but as insurance against fire. The upkeep of such a plant could be paid for by the saving on kerosene.

"I was much impressed by the earnestness of the superintendent, Mr. O. C. Upchurch. He has the confidence of his Ind ans, whose interest he is fearless in protecting, and he has the tact to do this while maintaining at the same time friendly relations with the white population. He has secured the cooperation of the authorities bordering on the western half of the reservation in the punishment of crime. On the eastern side of the reserve there is a different condition to contend with, however, as shown by the recent indictment of a county official for conspiracy in bootlegging operations. In this section it has been too difficult to procure punishment for bootlegging and to preserve proper respect for other laws. These Indians are on the whole getting along well. Their reservation is well administered and is generally a credit to the department." In the statistical portion of the report Commissioner Scott gives the following data: The reservation contains about 3,500,000 acres, of which 1,342,375 constitute the south half, where most of the Indians live. The country is generally mountainous; 136,009 acres are agricultural, 1,114,225 grazing, 800,000 timbered land. The older Indians all have been allotted; the value of the timber is placed at $2,000,000.

TULALIP INDIAN AGENCY, WASHINGTON. Commissioner Scott in August, 1922, visited the Tulalip Indian Agency, which has its headquarters on an arm of Puget Sound in northwestern Washington. He reported the general condition of the Indians as being good. Most of them

were away from their homes at the time fishing and lumbering, but those he saw seemed to be satisfied and happy. This jurisdiction, embracing five reservations, totaling 53,185 acres, with a population of 2,103 Indians, extends from Tacoma on the south to within a short distance of the Canadian line in the north. The Indians live on or near Puget Sound. The tribes or bands are the Tulalip, numbering 373, on the Tulalip or Snohomish Reservation; the Suquamish, population 210, on the Fort Madison Reserve; the Swinomish, 219, on the Swinomish Reservation; the Muckleshoot, 182, on the Muckleshoot Reservation; the Lummi, 477, on the Lummi Reservation; the Nooksack, 195, living on the public domain; the Clallams, 281, and the Suiattle and Skagit Indians, 175, have no reservations. The greater proportion of the reservation Indians are allotted.

Lumbering, fishing, and farming are the chief industries in this country, and many skilled Indians are employed in them. These people have always been self-supporting. Many Indians live in good houses erected with money from the sale of their allotments. Of the income received by the Indians from all sources, over half is obtained from timber and nearly one-quarter from crops raised by themselves. The Indian timberland is valued at nearly a million dollars. There are about 12,000 acres of farming land, of which the Indians cultivate 2,700 acres. Agricultural leases bring in an annual revenue approximating $6,000; over 7,000 acres of the 12,000 acres of grazing land are used by Indian stock.

The jurisdiction has 618 children of school age, of whom 186 are in public schools, 312 in Government schools, 12 in mission schools, leaving 108 not in any school. The boarding school at the agency, with a capacity of 180, has an average attendance of 212. Following are excerpts from Commissioner Scott's report:

"The condition of the Suiattle Band of the Skagit Indians, numbering nearly 200 and living along the Skagit River and its tributaries in the eastern part of Skagit County, is that of a neglected people. They have no land or permanent homes, and the 50 children among them are receiving no education because of their wandering and unsettled life. Although they were represented at the drawing up of the treaty of Point Elliott, they have signed no treaties with the United States. Attempts have been made to allot them lands in this section where they have lived for generations, but without success. Most of the applications for allotments have been rejected on the ground that the land was more valuable for forests than for agriculture. This land, however, now within the Washington National Forest and under the supervision of the Forest Service, has been denied them in the face of the fact that they had settled on small tracts and had performed much labor in clearing from 1 to over 5 acre patches in order to eke out a bare existence by farming and gardening in a small way. Many reports are on file in regard to the condition, but no satisfactory results have been obtained as yet. It is recommended that this matter be taken up and the band be given permanent homes in their own country.

"Years ago 213 acres of land were purchased by the Clallam Indians at Jamestown. They had lost their claims to land under the treaty of Point-noPoint in 1855. Besides gardening and small farming on their own land they engage in fishing and crabbing and working in the lumbering industry of the vicinity. The Government day school at the village has been the most important means by which these people have been introduced into the ways of civilization.

"The agency plant at Tulalip is a monument to Dr. Charles Buchanan, who spent about 25 years with the Indians of this section and gave his life to them, dying in 1920. A tablet has been erected to his memory by grateful Indians. The buildings of the agency are modern. This is a country where it rains almost daily in winter and there should be a gymnasium provided where the children can exercise in inclement weather. Although a herd of cows is maintained, it is reported the children do not get enough milk to drink. One of the most urgent requests made by Dr. Buchanan was that the toilet facilities be removed from the interior of the dormitories. They are of the obsolete type and should be renewed. There is a small hospital connected with the boarding school and there is a doctor on the school staff. There are but few instruments and scant facilities for major operations and no proper place to treat patients drawn from the 2,000 people under this jurisdiction. The school hospital could be enlarged for the sleeping accommodation of tuberculous 63460-23

children at small expense by building porches around the structure. these patients must sleep among the healthy children.

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"Superintendent Dickens happened to be absent, but the chief clerk reported an urgent need for two employees' quarters. Lumber is very cheap in this neighborhood of many sawmills and such buildings can be erected at much less expense. A road ought to be opened north of the agency to encourage the sale of heirship lands by making them more accessible, for which there is now no market whatever."

NEW YORK INDIANS.

In the course of his survey of conditions among the Indians of New York, Commissioner Eliot attended a meeting, at Albany, N. Y., on November 10-11, 1922, of the New York Indian Welfare Association. Representative Indians were present, though not in large numbers, from all the New York reservations. There also were present representatives of the special State Indian commission, the State departments of education and of public health, the Home Mission Council, the Young Womens' Christian Association, and the Indian Rights Association.

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In his report on this conference Commissioner Eliot wrote, in part, as follows: 'My impressions and conclusions are derived not only from the public discussions but also from personal conferences with the visiting Indians and their white neighbors and other friends. The consensus of competent opinion appears to be that conditions on the New York reservations are going from bad to worse. The special State commission appointed to investigate and report upon the condition and needs of the New York Indians has been a complete failure. The so-called report of the commission was apparently written by the chairman without consulting the other members and they have declined to indorse or to sign it. The chairman (Mr. Everett) was not present at the meeting and his associates on the commission who were present severely criticized his action and inaction.

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'His report upheld a number of extravagant Indian claims to property in western New York. The suggestion of these claims has naturally brought about a state of unrest and encouraged all kinds of fictitious hopes. Many of the Indians have been led to believe that they have a just claim to vast properties. This affects all their habits of thought and life. They naturally say 'What is the use of study or work or economy, when these great sums of money will soon be in our hands?' These baseless anticipations thus cripple the economic progress and demoralize the educational and industrial life of Indian communities.

"The Indians on the New York reservations have no adequate machinery for enforcing law and order and no revenues to maintain any form of government. Their tribal organization is an inheritance only and naturally falls into the hands of a few more or less self-constituted leaders.

"It is intolerable that microscopic foreign nations, not accountable to the State or Federal authorities, should be permitted or encouraged to persist in the midst of an American civilization. It is every day increasingly obvious that if the reservations are to be anything but sources of physical and moral contamination they must promptly be brought under the jurisdiction of the State.

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Congress should again be importuned to pass the necessary legislation transferring all authority which may appear to belong to the Federal Government to the State of New York. Until this is done the present conditions of idleness and lawlessness will continue to prevail and the efforts of the progressive Indians will be unavailing.

"It should be remembered that the State of New York has always maintained the schools on the reservations, built and cared for the roads and bridges, and provided some measure of health administration. There is very little encouragement for the continuance of these activities so long as the present uncertainty exists.

"The resolutions passed by the conference indicate the moderation and good sense of the leaders of this organization. Their recommendations should have

the attention and indorsement of the board. "

The resolutions referred to read in part as follows: "Resolved, That we urge upon the several tribes of the Six Nations people the duty of internal reform and civic improvement, especially recommending

that the councils pass adequate laws governing health, agriculture, education (including compulsory education and school attendance), highways, suppression of the liquor traffic and the conservation of natural resources, to the end that efficient tribal government and law enforcement may bring about a more liveable reservation environment.

"In view of the fact that the Federal Government has not taken active measures to reinforce the tribal laws covering the matters in the foregoing resolution, and to better the civic, social, and moral conditions of our reservations, and yet insists that its jurisdiction is paramount over the State of New York, be it resolved that we request Congress to convey to the State of New York authority to deal with the several New York tribes in all matters requiring the enforcement of law and order and in other matters of jurisdiction not expressly forbidden by the Constitution of the United States or by treaty, reserving to the Federal Government, the right of appeal and intervention.

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Resolved, That we urge the Legislature of New York State to grant the State department of health additional appropriation for extending the nursing service to all reservations of the State and at the same time amend the public health act in such manner as to secure an adequate program for sanitation and nursing for the Indians of the State as a permanent feature of said act.

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The fourth and last resolution related to the failure of the State's special Indian commission to submit a report as required by State legislation enacted in 1919.

BLACKFEET INDIANS, MONTANA.

Commissioner Hugh L. Scott visited the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, Mont., in August, 1922; he had previously inspected this superintendency in 1919 and 1920, at which times a protracted season of drought, followed by hard winters, had caused much loss of stock and crop failures, with consequent suffering and much discouragement. Reporting on his last inspection he said, in part: "I was much pleased to find a complete reversal of the bad conditions which were encountered there two and three years ago. Superintendent F. C. Campbell, who was transferred there since my last visit, has awakened the spirit of the Blackfeet people. The Indians are enthusiastic over the prospects for this year's crop and everywhere they showed a spirit of cooperation and a feeling of respect and affection for the superintendent. He goes personally to every holding on that large reservation encouraging and instructing each Indian.

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"Each community has been organized into a chapter or club, with the most influential man selected as president. The chapter officers stimulate a spirit of competitive effort within their organization and also competition between the chapters so as to determine the awarding of prizes for the best crops. constant comparison of results, urged on by the superintendent, is proving to be very successful in creating a real interest in farming and a stimulation of individual effort.

"A very large proportion of full bloods at all able to work have from 3 to 6 acres of wheat and the same acreage of oats. Some have a few acres of barley and most raise from 2 to 5 acres of potatoes, besides other garden vegetables. The Indians are greatly encouraged by having their wheat ground at their own mill where they can see the work being done.

"The superintendent contemplates starting each family with a small bunch of sheep as fast as they demonstrate a willingness and ability to care for them. Several Navajo families should be hired to live here a short while to show the Blackfeet how to care for the sheep and instruct the women in the weaving of blankets, by which means their wool can be marketed to the best advantage. "These Indians are now full of hope and ripe for their permanent salvation, provided the department and Congress give the superintendent the proper support by allowing him to carry out his plans, which contemplate a well-planned scheme of development during the next five years if sufficient funds are allotted for the purpose.

"It will be in the interest of economy to take advantage of the spirit of aggressiveness and moral uplift now present among these people, for it will be impossible to reawaken them if it is chilled and allowed to die for lack of support."

FORT BELKNAP INDIAN RESERVATION, MONTANA. Commissioner Scott inspected the Fort Belknap Reservation, Mont., in September, 1922. Part of his report, condensed, reads as follows:

"The Fort Belknap Indian Reservation was visited and reported upon by me in September, 1920, as being in a run-down, neglected, and generally disgraceful condition. I have now returned to note if any improvement has occurred during the intervening two years, and am glad to report that the Indian Bureau has made considerable effort for betterment. Poverty, the constant change of officials, and the former neglect of the Indian Bureau have had much to do with making these people very backward in civilization and will cause this agency to be kept in operation for a long time to come. It should, therefore, be put into proper condition at once.

"Some improvements have been made at the agency plant since my inspection of two years ago. A full set of playground equipment has been installed at the school; the buildings have been painted inside and out; the fire trap of a commissary building, at all times a menace to the boys' building, has been removed; milk is being given the children at meals, though not yet in sufficient quantities; a new building is being constructed for the superintendent, whose quarters are being made into a hospital; two doctors have been appointed; one is located at the agency and the other 45 miles southward; food and clothing were provided two years ago for the old and indigent and many other changes then recommended have been attended to; nevertheless there is much remaining to be done to repair the neglect of the 10 previous years. The improvements now under way at the agency headquarters are all very well, but the one most necessary is being left for the future-that is the construction of quarters for the school principal, teachers, and other employees. These employees have been crowded into structures intended for children, compelling 62 of the pupils to be crowded into 52 beds, as reported upon by me two years ago.

"Some of the children were found with sore eyes, many were ragged and almost barefoot. The whole air of the place was discouraging. I was informed that the money allotted to bring about basic improvements had been withdrawn, forcing these crying evils to persist for another year. I joined with the school supervisor for this district, then inspecting the school, in sending a telegram to the department advising against this delay in bringing about improvements at the agency plant. It was recommended in 1920 that the heavy wire screens covering many windows in the girls' dormitory be removed. These were placed on the windows after the position of disciplinary officer, who looked after the boys, had been abolished by the department, and 13 boys were found in the girls' dormitory at one time. The bureau ordered these screens removed in 1920 without replacing the position of disciplinarian ; the screens are still there, a standing menace in case of fire, and the superintendent reports that he is afraid to remove them without an officer to control the boys. This position is needed for many other reasons and the boys show the need of this kind of supervision.

"It was also recommended in 1920 that electric lights be installed, especially as a safeguard against fire. This is a greater danger here than in a warmer climate, because the stoves in use must be kept at their greatest heat during the extreme cold weather of this region. There have been several fires in the past and the use of kerosene for lighting increases the danger. Electricity can be generated to light both school and agency buildings (by near-by water power) at far less than the cost of the kerosene, as well as to furnish considerable power. The cistern between the boys' and girls' buildings, without filter, has not been cleaned for a long period; it is still accessible to the children when thirsty and other water difficult to obtain. At the school a gynasium should be provided. The children are shut indoors three and four days at a time during the frequent storms of winter, and are unable to move about or take much-needed exercise. Such an arrangement is certainly out of place in a Government institution.

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Many of these children are without warm clothing, insufficient in every way for such a climate. It is a cause of amazement that the kind of shoes so often reported against are still being purchased by the Indian Bureau notwithstanding the economy of procuring proper shoes as recommended heretofore. It is reported that four pairs of these flimsy shoes are needed to carry a child through the winter and the child is always improperly shod. An oil tanned shoe of proper shape, giving the great toe its liberty, soaked

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