Mr. COFFEY. I would like to file a statement of Attorney Shearman, who investigated the situation, for the information of the committee.

The CHAIRMAN. If there is no objection, we will print it.

(The statement referred to is as follows:)

REPORT OF THOMAS G. SHEARMAN IN RE INVESTIGATION OF THE ENROLLMENT OF CERTAIN MIXED-BLOOD CHIPPEWA INDIANS ON THE WHITE EARTH RESERVATION IN MINNESOTA.

Submitted September 11, 1913. Filed January 5, 1914. Court of Claims.

The "bands" referred to in this extract from the said treaty will be seen by reference to the preamble to said treaty quoted from, to article 2 of the treaty of May 7, 1864 (13 Stat., 693), are the Mississippi, Pillager, and Winnibigoshish Bands of Chippewa Indians, and the consideration for the provision of the treaty of 1867, by which 160 acres were to be given for cultivation to members of such bands, was the surrendering of lands in Minnesota to which these respondents just named, being Lake Superior Chippewas, had no interest whatever for the lands surrendered under the treaty line west of the line established by the treaty of September 30, 1854, referred to under VI, page 8. The fact that these specifically named respondents received these allotments or assiguments under the treaty of 1867 in the years 1881 and 1883 as "Chippewa Indians of the Mississippi" is only evidence of the fact that they were such upon the official rolls, which is not to be wondered at, since their parents were likewise enrolled. It does not alter the fact that they were and are, in fact, mixed bloods of the Lake Superior Chippewas, who have never been adopted by the Mississippi Chippewas.

In the instructions given to me in connection with my detail of April 29, 1912, it was directed that my report to you should also contain my "findings" and my 66 recommendations."

FINDINGS.

From the record of the hearings held, as above referred to, and from such other evidence as has been made a part of this record, I find as follows:

1. That the Lake Superior Tribe and the Mississippi Tribe of the Chippewa Indians were at one time a single nation, possessing, in common, lands in what is now the northern portion of Minnesota and Wisconsin.

2. That by the treaty of September 30, 1854, the complete separation of these two tribes was recognized, and the Lake Superior Chippewas ceded to the United States the eastern portion and relinquished to the Mississippi Chippewas the western portion of the lands formerly so possessed in common.

3. That by the said treaty of 1854 certain reservations were set aside for the Lake Superior Chippewas in the said eastern portion ceded to the United States, and of these there were three, the Fond du Lac, the Grand Portage, and the Bois Fort Reservations, located in the territory which afterwards formed the extreme northeasterly portion of Minnesota.

4. That the act of January 14, 1889, providing for an agreement between the United States and certain bands of Chippewa Indians in Minnesota with reference to removals to the White Earth Reservation, contemplated that only Indians belonging to such hands or tribe of Chippewa Indians as had title in and to reservations in Minnesota should enter into the agreement.

5. That the respondents named in the list VI (p. 10) (Sophia Bellefeuille, Benjamin L. Fairbanks, Julia E. Beaulieu, Clement H. Beaulieu, and others) belong to no such band or tribe of Chippewa Indians as was mentioned in the said act of January 14, 1889, neither (a) to the White Earth band where they or their immediate ancestors were residing and improperly drawing annuities as Mississippi Chippewas. While, in fact, they were Lake Superior mixed bloods who had never been made members of the Mississippi tribe either by adoption or intermarriage, nor (b) to the Fond-du-Lac, Grand Portage, or Bois Fort Band, in whose reservations, at the time of said act, they had no title or interest in whatever.

6. That the connection with these respondents (Sophia Bellefeuille, Benjamin L. Fairbanks, Julia E. Beaulieu, Clement H. Beaulieu, and others) with the Mississippi Chippewas at Crow Wing and subsequently at White Earth, through which they were enabled to receive payments or allotments designed for the Mississippi Chippewas, was unauthorized and a fraud upon said Mississippi Chippewas, to whom such money and such property rightfully belonged and still belongs.

7. That the respondents named in said list (Sophia Bellefeuille, Banjamin L. Fairbanks, Julia E. Beaulieu, Clement H. Beaulieu, and others) under VI above (p. 10) are mixed bloods belonging to the Chippewas of Lake Superior; that they are intruders upon the White Earth Reservation; and that they are and always have been without any right to share in the benefits and advantages incident to membership in the Chippewa Indian bands belonging to the said reservation.

RECOMMENDATIONS.

In view of the foregoing I have the honor to make the following recommendations:

1. That the persons named in the list VI above (p. 10) (Sophia Bellefeuille, Benjamin, L. Fairbanks, Julia E. Beaulieu, Clement H. Beaulieu, and others) be at once stricken from the rolls at the Indian agency at White Earth and be held to have no further interest or right to share in the Chippewa tribal funds or in any of the benefits and advantages incident to membership in the White Earth Reservation.

3. That the persons so named be required to remove from said reservation within such period of time as you shall deem to be reasonable.

Formerly Assistant Attorney, Department of the Interior.

Mr. COFFEY. Mr. Shearman investigated the matter and found a number of Indians had no right to be on the rolls and recommended their names be stricken from the rolls. The fact is these people were removed from office because of their attempts to defraud, and had introduced bills.

The CHAIRMAN. I do not want to be arbitrary, but you time has expired and we have other witnesses.

Mr. JEFFERIS. Who were removed from office?

Mr. COFFEY. Those men we are contending against, those interlopers. We had elected them to office, and after they had attempted to defraud us they called a general council if the Chippewa Indians. They were asked to be there and they refused to come. They would not come.

The CHAIRMAN. All of this conversation that he has given here now will be found in the testimony before this committee on the Chippewa matter in this committee print dated January 21 to March 22, 1920, Sixty-sixth Congress, second session, entitled "Chippewas of Minnesota."

Now, Mr. Ballinger ought to have a few moments to say something in rebuttal of testimony that has been given here. If there is no objection he may have 20 minutes.

ADDITIONAL STATEMENT OF MR. WEBSTER BALLINGER.

Mr. BALLINGER. Mr. Chairman, it is physically impossible, in view of the stuff that has been injected into this record, to conclude in 20 minutes.

The CHAIRMAN. You have had already a great deal of time, and I think you ought to hit the high spots.

Mr. BALLINGER. There is so much that has gone into the record here that reflects upon work that I have done that I would like to have an opportunity to deal with it in detail. If I do not present a clean bill of health to this committee I do not want one penny. I only ask the privilege of presenting it, and I will show as rapidly as I can the true situation with reference to the matters that have been dragged in here, and I intend to speak from the official records, not from hearsay.

The CHAIRMAN. Have you made a memorandum as we went along from time to time so that you could take up the matters in sequence to some extent? Mr. BALLINGER. Yes, sir; I have. I want now to present a certified copy of the constitution and by-laws of the General Council of the Chippewa Indians of Minnesota to go into the record:

CONSTITUTION OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF ALL THE CHIPPEWAS IN MINNESOTA,

We, the members of the several bands of the Chippewa Indian tribes of the State of Minnesota, in general council assembled, in order to form a more perfect union and have a central body which shall be the means of securing for

ourselves and our posterity the fullest measure of justice, do ordain and establish the following constitution:

ARTICLE 1. The name of this organization shall be the General Council of all the Chippewas of Minnesota, and its principal place of business shall be Cass Lake, Minn.

ART. 2. The officers of this organization shall be the president, a vice president, a secretary, a treasurer, an interpreter and an assistant interpreter, and an executive committee. Said executive committee shall consist of one member of each reservation or ceded reservation of the Chippewas in Minnesota, and the president of the organization shall be a member of the said committee ex officio. These officers shall be elected at this general council meeting and hereafter at the annual general council in such manner as the general council shall direct, and shall hold their respective positions until the next annual meeting of such general council, except that the president shall be elected for a term of two years, commencing with the election of the year 1917. Vacancies between such annual meetings may be filled by the executive committee for the unexpired term. That only one position shall be held in this council by a member thereof commencing with the year 1917.

ART. 3. The proceedings of the general council shall be conducted in the English language, but all proceedings shall be interpreted in Chippewa, and vice versa, as the occasion requires, by such interpreters as the general council shall select.

ART. 4. The president shall preside at all meetings of the general council during his term of office, as well as all the meetings of the executive committee, and shall perform such other duties as he may be directed to perform by the general council or the executive committee.

SEC. 2. The vice president shall perform the duties of the president in his absence.

SEC. 3. The secretary shall keep a full and accurate account of all proceedings of the general council or the executive committee in a suitable book to be provided for that purpose. He shall also conduct such correspondence as he may be directed to conduct by the general council or the executive committee or such other duties as they may direct him to perform.

SEC. 4. The treasurer shall receive and credit for all funds of the association and keep an accurate account of the same and pay them out only on the order of the president and secretary, who in turn shall not issue any orders upon the treasury except when directed to do so by the general council or the executive committee. He shall provide a suitable bond, to be approved by the executive committee, before assuming the duties of the office.

SEC. 5. The executive committee shall meet on the call of the president, or three members thereof, and transact such business of the association as may require attention between meetings of the general council. They may, by the majority vote, call special meetings of the general council.

ART. 5. Hereafter there shall be an annual meeting of the general council held at such place as the previous general council shall direct, on the second Tuesday of July of each year, beginning in the year 1914 A. D. In the event that the general council fails to designate the place for the next annual meeting the executive committee shall do so.

ART. 6. The basis of representation to the councils of this organization shall be one delegate for each 100 members or fraction thereof of the White Earth and Red Lake Reservations and reservations ceded under the provisions of the act of Congress of January 14, 1889 (25 U. S. Stats., 642). Such delegates shall be elected on the first Tuesday in June of each year by the local councils of the said reservations or ceded reservations, by posting notices consisting of not less than 20 days, specifying the time and place of the election of such delegates. Such notices shall be posted and given by the proper officers of the said local councils and said notice shall be given and potsed in each and every settlement and burg within said reservation or ceded reservation.

ART. 7. The executive committee of this organization shall provide for the organizations of the local councils among the Indians of the reservations and ceded reservations where such councils have not been organized.

ART. 8. By-laws may be provided for by any regular or special session of the general council by majority vote.

SEC. 2. Amendments to this constitution may be proposed and adopted at any annual meeting of the general council. No amendment to this constitution shall be made unless it receives a two-thirds vote of the general council.

JAMES I. COFFEY (chairman),
PAUL H. BEAULIEU (secretary),
HENRY W. WARREN,

JOHN ZIMMERMAN,

GUS. H. BEAULIEU,

JOHN W. CARL,

Committee on Constitution.

Adopted by the General Council of the Chippewas of Minnesota this 8th day of May, 1913, and as amended by the general council at its fourth annual meeting held at Bemidji, Minn., July 11, 1916.

BY-LAWS OF THE GENERAL COUNCIL OF ALL THE CHIPPEWAS IN MINNESOTA.

ARTICLE 1.

SECTION 1. All nominations of officers shall be made from the floor, and the elections shall be had as the general council may direct. The officers so elected shall hold their respective positions until the next annual meeting of such general council and until their successors have been duly elected and qualified.

ARTICLE 2.

SECTION 1. The duties of the officers of the general council shall be such as usually appertain to their office, and they shall have such other duties as are hereinafter set forth.

SEC. 2. They shall report at the annual meetings, and at such other meetings and times as they may be requested to do so by the executive committee.

ARTICLE 3.

SECTION 1. Officers: The president, in addition to his general duties shall be chairman of the executive committee and ex officio member of every other committee.

SEC. 2. Vice president: In the absence of the president the vice president shall preside at the annual meeting. In the absence of both the presiding officer shall be chosen from the floor.

SEC. 3. In the prolonged absence or inability of the president to act the executive authority shall be vested in the vice president.

SEC. 4. The secretary, in addition to his general duties, shall give due notice of all meetings of the general council or of the executive committee, of which he shall be ex officio a member. He shall give proper notice to all the officers of the general council and local councils of all votes, orders, and proceedings affecting or appertaining to their duties. He shall distribute all pamphlets, circulars, supplies, and other property as directed by the executive committee. That the secretary shall be the custodian of the seal of the general council, and that upon request for certified copies of any of the proceedings he shall attach his certificate and seal to such copies and shall be entitled to a fee of 25 cents for all proper certifications.

SEC. 5. The treasurer shall collect and receive the funds and securities of the general council. He shall deposit the same to the credit of the General Council of all the Chippewas in Minnesota, and shall draw them thence for the use of the general council as directed by it or by the executive committee upon the order of the president, countersigned by the secretary.

SEC. 6. He shall, if so required by the executive committee, give good and sufficient bond for the safe custody and proper application of the funds and other property of the general council.

ARTICLE 4.

ORDER OF BUSINESS.

SECTION 1. Call to order.

SEC. 2. Appointment of committee on credentials.
SEC. 3. Report of committee on credentials.

SEC. 4. Reading of the minutes of last meeting.

SEC. 5. Reading of the communications.

SEC. 6. Report of officers.

SEC. 7. Report of committees.

SEC. 8. Unfinished business.

SEC. 9. Election of officers.

SEC. 10. Presentation of resolutions.

SEC. 11. New business.

SEC. 12. Appointment of committees.

SEC. 13. Adjournment.

ARTICLE 5.

SECTION 1. Any one delegate shall be limited to 10 minutes' time for discussion of any one subject, under debate, and shall not be allowed to speak more than twice on any one subject.

ARTICLE 6.

SECTION 1. At the annual meeting the newly elected president shall appoint the following committees for the ensuing year, and such other committees as he may deem advisable:

Committee on resolutions.

Committee on finance.

Committee on credentials.

Committee on legislation.

ARTICLE 7.

SECTION 1. The executive committee shall consist of two members from the White Earth Reservation and one member from each other reservation and ceded reservation in the State of Minnesota.

SEC. 2. The members of the executive committee shall be selected by the duly elected delegates from the various reservations and ceded reservations seated in general council assembled, to be ratified by the general council.

SEC. 3. In the event of any reservation or ceded reservation not being represented at the general council meeting in session the president shall be empowered to appoint an executive committeeman to represent such reservation or ceded reservation.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

SEC. 4. The executive committee shall prepare and execute plans for promoting the purposes, objects, and growth of the General Council of all the Chippewas of Minnesota, shall generally superintend its interest, and shall perform such other duties as may be committed to it at any meeting of the general council.

SEC. 5. Shall have power to fill vacancies occurring among the officers of the general council, and any officer so elected shall serve until the next annual election and until his successor shall have been duly elected and installed into office.

SEC. 6. It shall have the authority to make, alter, and amend the by-laws, provided that this shall not be so construed as to repeal or render ineffectual any by-law expressly restricting the power of the executive committee by a twothirds vote.

SEC. 7. The president may call meetings of the executive committee at any time he may deem necessary, and shall call such meeting upon the written request of any three members thereof, provided that no less than five days' notice of the time and place of such meeting shall be given, and any five members thereof shall constitute a quorum to transact business.

ARTICLE 8.

SECTION 1. Local councils shall be organized on the different reservations and ceded reservations, and shall consist of the entire male members of the tribe of the age of 21 and over and regularly enrolled as members of the tribe.

SEC. 2. Local councils shall notify the secretary of the general council of the election or appointment of all officers and delegates.