Now, Mr. Chairman, I shall start with the treaty of 1854, and Mr. Meritt's refusal to accept that treaty as the basis of title will necessitate a reference to that treaty and to all subsequent treaties, agreements, and laws of Congress bearing upon the question of title. With the permission of the committee I shall state the substance of each treaty agreement and law of Congress and insert in my remarks the exact provisions, but if anybody in this room, with the permission of 'the committee, questions any statement that I make with reference to any treaty, agreement, or law of Congress, if he will rise and make known his exception I will read the text from the book. In that way I may be able to shorten the time, and I will take it that if there is silence they then assent. The CHAIRMAN. That sounds like a challenge. Mr. KELLY. That is assuming that they know accurately in their minds the substance of the treaties without reference to a book. I do not think you ought to make a statement of that kind. They may remain silent simply because they have no contrary notion in their minds. Mr. MERITT. I want it understood that by silence we do not admit anything. The CHAIRMAN. I think we ought to go along in an orderly way, and let Mr. Ballinger go ahead with his remarks. When the time comes for these statements we will take it up then. Mr. BALLINGER. Prior to September 30, 1854, the then Chippewa Nation of Indians occupied a large tract of land situated in the then State of Wisconsin and the then Territory of Minnesota. By the treaty of September 30, 1854 (11 Stat., 599), the Chippewa Nation divided, a part remaining in Wisconsin and a part removing to Minnesota. Those remaining in Wisconsin were thereafter known as the Chippewa Indians of Lake Superior, and those who removed to Minnesota were thereafter known as the Chippewa Indians of the Mississippi. The Chippewa Indians of the Mississippi thereafter became commonly known as the Chippewa Indians of Minnesota. By that treaty the Chippewa Indians of Lake Superior ceded and relinquished to the Chippewa Indians of the Mississippi all their right, title, and interest in and to the lands in Minnesota (See sec. 1), which was thereafter held in common by the Chippewas of the Mississippi. This is found in article 1, paragraph 2, in these words: The Chippewas of the Mississippi hereby assent and agree to the foregoing cession, and consent that the whole amount of the consideration money for the country ceded above shall be paid to the Chippewas of Lake Superior, and in consideration thereof the Chippewas of Lake Superior hereby relinquish to the Chippewas of the Mississippi all their interest in and claim to the lands heretofore owned by them in common, lying west of the above boundary line. By the above provision of the treaty of 1854 the possessory right to all the lands in the Territory of Minnesota was conveyed to the "Chippewas of the Mississippi. Within the limits of this cession of the Chippewas of the Mississippi were the lands now embraced within the diminished Red Lake Reservation in Minnesota, and the Chippewas of the Mississippi have never surrendered their title to the Red Lake Reservation except by the agreements of 1889, entered into pursuant to the act of January 14, 1889 (25 Stats., 642), and then only upon the terms and conditions stated in said agreements. By the treaty of February 22, 1855 (10 Stats., 1165), the Chippewa Indians of the Mississippi ceded to the United States a large tract of their country, but this cession did not include the present diminished Red Lake Reservation, nor any of the lands that were embraced within the Red Lake Reservation in 1889, the land ceded being specifically described in article 1 of this treaty. Now, gentlemen of the committee, let me make plain that after the treaty of 1854 and after the Mississippi Chippewas removed to the Territory of Minnesota-some of them having lived in the Territory for 50 years prior to the treaty of 1854, and others joining them after the treaty of 1854-settlements were made in different localities. The Indians who settled around Red Lake, for instance, became known as the Red Lake Band. Red Lakes derived their name from the color of their water. The same was true of the Leech Lake Indians, of the White Earth Band, and of all the 13 bands that constituted the Chippewas of the Mississippi. These separate bands constituted the Chippewas of the Mississippi Tribe, and the lands were the common property of all the Indians. The act of May 15, 1886 (24 Stats., 44), authorized the Secretary of the Interior to negotiate with the several tribes and bands of Chippewa Indians in Minnesota for modifications of existing treaties. In the early eighties the necessity for additional land for white settlers in Minnesota became acute. The Chippewa Indians, numbering about 7,000, were then holding about 6,000,000 acres of land. The demands of the white population for the Indian lands were finally crystallized in a provision inserted in the Indian appropriation act of May 15, 1886 (24 Stats., 44), referred to at some length in Executive Document No. 110, first session, Fiftieth Congress, under which the Secretary of the Interior was authorized to negotiate with the several bands of Chippewa Indians in the State of Minnesota for modifications of the then existing treaties. Under this authority two agreements were negotiated, one with the Chippewas of the White Earth, Leech Lake, Cass Lake, Lake Winnebagoshish, and White Oak Point Reservations, and the Gull Lake and the Gull River Bands, and the second with the Indians residing on the Red Lake Reservation. After consideration of these agreements by the Indian Committees of Congress, many objectionable features were found, and in lieu thereof a bill was introduced in the House by the then Congressman Nelson, now the distinguished Senator from Minnesota. The bill was H. R. 7935, and this bill with slight modifications became the act of January 14, 1889. In the report on this bill, submitted by the then Congressman Nelson, House Report No. 789, Fiftieth Congress, first session, the reasons for the rejection of the two agreements are set out at length in the report, and the objects and purposes of the bill (H. R. 7935) are fully explained. The principal objections to the agreements run to the conferring of absolute ownership on the 1,103 Indians residing on the Red Lake Reservation to about 4,000,000 acres of land, to the exclusion of all the other Chippewas, and the retention of about 1,000,000 acres of said land, out of which were to be made allotments to the Indians on the Red Lake Reservation, the residue to be held as communal property in perpetuity, and the preservation and continuation of tribal relations. I am stating this to show what was in the mind of Congress when it passed the act of January 14, 1889, and the legislation carries out 173731-20- -5 in as clear form as it is possible for human language to carry into effect the intent of Congress as expressed in its committee reports. I read now from the Report No. 789, Fiftieth Congress, first session, page 2, which was the report on the bill that became the act of January 14, 1889: To understand the subject matter of said bill and agreements fully, it is necessary to describe in detail the several reservations and Indian lands affected by these measures. All the Indians in Minnesota are members of the great Chippewa family, which has for generations occupied the northern and northeastern half of the State. There are now in all about 7,500 of these Indians, who occupy reservations and unceded lands amounting in the aggregate to about 4,700,000 acres of land. The following table shows in detail the name of each Indian reservation, the acreage thereof, and the number of Indians occupying the same, viz: Red Lake, acreage 3,200,000, population 1,103. White Earth, acreage 796,672, population 1,845. White Oak Point, Čass Lake, and Winibigoshish, acreage 320,000, population 974. Mille Lac, acreage 61,014, population 942. Totals, acreage 4,731,596, population 7,496. The so-called Red Lake Reservation is simply a remnant of unceded Indian Territory occupied at present by the Red Lake Band, but really the common property, so far as the Indian title is concerned, of all the Chippewa Indians in Minnesota. Then, after considering this agreement the Committee says: The Red Lake agreement is also open to serious objection in perpetuating forever the tribal evolution of those 1,100 Red Lake Indians, by giving them in perpetuity a tribal fee title to a cool million acres of agricultural lands, less the individual allotments, which could not well exceed 160,000 acres of land. I may pause and say that this is precisely the position of the department to-day, to keep them in that condition. They are unwilling to make allotments to them. The report continues: This seems the height of prodigality, to first give each of these Indians a farm and then give the whole band, only 1,100 of them, over 800,000 acres in common in fee forever. It is now conceded on all hands that the only safe and practical way to civilize the Indians is by alloting lands in severalty to them-breaking up their tribal relations and ownership in common, and putting them to work as individuals on their several allotments. Not only does the Red Lake agreement do violence to these views, but it seems particularly calculated to build up an Indian land monopoly and obligarchy, more than that which now exists among some of the so-called civilized tribes in Indian Territory. The same objection The CHAIRMAN. In your judgment what could have been the reason for this large amount of land being handed to that band of the tribe at that time? There must have been a reason for that. They must have had some justification for it. Mr. BALLINGER. Mr. Chairman, the Red Lake Indians were the only Indians occupying that section and they set up a claim to what they term the possessory rights of Indians, and, in addition to that, as I stated before, Congress in 1864 and 1865 had, in fact, dealt with them by treaty; but this question becomes immaterial in view of their subsequent agreement under which they relinquished that title. The CHAIRMAN. All right; go ahead. Mr. BALLINGER (continuing reading from the report): The same objection exists as to the White Earth agreement; but as the overplus of land after filling allotments is not apt to be much over 200,000 acres of land, the objection is not so serious and far-reaching in its consequences. Your committee are also opposed to the Red Lake bill above mentioned, for the reasons (1) That it is only a partial dealing with the Indian problem in Minnesota. It nakes provision for only 1,100 Indians, while the residue, over 6,000 in all, are un[rovided for. (2) While all the Chippewas in Minnesota really belong to one family, and this Red Lake Reservation is really a remnant of all that country once occupied by them in common, and thus a sort of common property, yet the bill proposes to give the 1,100 Red Lake Indians the entire proceeds of the 3,200,000 acres reservation, less what may be required to fill allotments, while the other 6,000 Indians are to be limited to about 1,500,000 acres, less allotments; or, to put it more concisely, 1,100 Indians are to receive the exclusive benefit of 3,200,000 acres, while 6,000 Indians receive the benefit of only 1,500,000 acres. Your committee think this method of apportionment is unfair and unwise in every view. All the Indians on the small outlying and scattered reservations should be removed to and colonized upon the White Earth Reservation, where allotments should be made to all of them, except the Red Lake Band, and the Red Lake Band should have their allotments on the Red Lake Reservation; and after ample allotments have been made to all the Indians as aforesaid the rest of the lands should be surveyed and classified into pine and agricultural lands. The pine lands, after being properly appraised, should be sold at public sale to the highest bidder, but at not less than the appraised price. The agricultural lands should be given at $1 per acre to actual settlers only, under the homestead laws. The proceeds of the lands thus disposed of should form a permanent interest-bearing fund for all the Chippewa Indians in common, the income and principal of which should inure to all the Chippewa Indians in Minnesota in common. To carry out these general views your committee have prepared and introduced the accompanying bill (H. R. 7935), entitled "A bill for the relief and civilization of the Chippewa Indians in Minnesota," and recommend the passage of the same. Mr. KELLY. You say that bill afterwards became the law and is the law? Mr. BALLINGER. Yes, sir. Now, I want to consider the text of that law and see whether or not the law as enacted was not equally explicit. Mr. HASTINGS. I did not hear all your argument. Was that act ratified by these various tribes or bands? Mr. BALLINGER. Yes, sir; and it was practically unanimously assented to by the Red Lake Band. Mr. HASTINGS. There is no question about that? Mr. BALLINGER. None whatever. The CHAIRMAN. Except that Mr. Meritt would not admit it. Mr. BALLINGER. Now, gentlemen, I will read section 1 of the act of January 14, 1889, and I will ask you gentlemen to follow me closely to see whether or not this act did not provide for allotments to all of the Indians and the sale and disposition of all residue land and the deposit of the funds in the Treasury of the United States to the credit of all the Indians: That the President of the United States is hereby authorized and directed, within sixty days after the passage of this act, to designate and appoint three commissioners, one of whom shall be a citizen of Minnesota, whose duty it shall be, as soon as practicable after their appointment, to negotiate with all the different bands or tribes of Chippewa Indians in the State of Minnesota for the complete cession and relinquishment in writing of all their title and interest in and to all the reservations of said Indians in the State of Minnesota, except the White Earth and Red Lake Reservations, and to all and so much of these two reservations as in the judgment of said commission is not required to make and fill the allotments required by this and existing acts, and shall not have been reserved by the commissioners for said purposes, for the purposes and upon the terms hereinafter stated; and such cession and relinquishment shall be deemed sufficient as to each of said several reservations, except as to the Red Lake Reservation, if made and assented to in writing by twothirds of the inale adults over eighteen years of age of the band or tribe of Indians occupying and belonging to such reservations, and as to the Red Lake Reservation the cession and relinquishment shall be deemed sufficient if made and assented to in like manner by two-thirds of the male adults of all the Chippewa Indians in Minnesota; and provided that all agreements therefor shall be approved by the President of the United States before taking effect. Gentlemen, that language is as clear and unambiguous as it is possible to have the human hand pen it. Mr. KELLY. Has that law been complied with? Mr. BALLINGER. Only in part. The act did not become effective until ratified by the Indians. It then became an agreement binding alike upon the United States and the Indians. It is the violation of this agreement that the Indians are complaining of to-day. That law provided that except as to the Red Lakes each of the other bands must by two-thirds of their male members give their assent to the law and the cessions, but as to the Red Lake Reservation two-thirds of all the Indians was sufficient. Mr. JOHNSON. I thought that was the alternative, that the Red Lakes might not have to vote two-thirds in favor of it, but if twothirds of all the Red Lakes in Minnesota voted, then the Red Lakes would be bound; is that true? Mr. BALLINGER. Upon the original construction I would say that you are absolutely correct, but that was not the policy which was followed. It was submitted to the Red Lakes, who assented by practically a unanimous vote. The CHAIRMAN. Now, I maintain that Mr. Ballinger should go on. Everybody will be given time to make their objections after he makes his statement. I think the committee wants to hear him through. Mr. BALLINGER. Now, gentlemen, I have the Executive document containing the record of the ratification of that agreement. That law was accepted by the Red Lakes. The acceptance was practically unanimous. Out of 386 male Red Lake adults 325 gave their assent. This appears on page 10 of Executive Document No. 247, Fifty-first Congress, first session, transmitted by President Harrison to Congress with his approval of the agreements. The first place the commission went was to the Red Lake Reservation to negotiate an agreement with the Red Lake Indans, and in the very first column appears the number of male adults and the number giving their assent, as stated by me. Maybe some of you gentlemen would like to examine the original document. Here it is. Now, all the other bands assented to the act of 1889 upon the distinct understanding that out of the lands reserved on the Red Lake Reservation the Indians residing thereon would take their allotments and the remaining land was to be disposed of as the law provided for their common benefit. I will not read the text of the cessions, as the agreements are all set out. I call your attention to the signature rolls, Mississippi Chippewa Indians, White Earth Reservation, Minn., page 35 of the same document. First appears the law in its entirety; then this follows: And after such explanation and understanding have consented and agreed to said act, and have accepted and ratified the same, and do hereby accept and consent to and ratify the said act, and each and all of the provisions thereof, and do hereby grant, cede, relinquish, and convey to the United States all our right, title, and interest in and to all and so much of said White Earth Reservation as is not embraced in the following-described boundaries. Now, that was the reservation held for allotment purposes. And we do also hereby grant, cede, and relinquish to the United States, for the purposes and upon the terms stated in said act, all our right, title, and interest in and |