Newspaper Page Text
Vol. XVI. Justice and Fair Dealing for every Indian who desires to become a good Citizen. THE TOMAHAWK. Official Organ of the Minnesota Chippewas. BUS H. BEAULIEU, Founder. Edited 5! THE TOMAHAWK PUB. GO, White Earth Agency. Minnesota. Entered at the Postofflce at White Earth, Minn., as mail matter ot the second class. SUBSCRIPTION: $1.60 PER TEAR I I ADVARCl ROLL of HONOR. f~\ WP-Z 6,000 SIX THOUSAND 6,000 Native Americans, Indians if you please, in the Military Service, of the United States, and this does not include a large number in theing. Navy. August 1st, 1918. Early steps should be taken to compile a record of the organiza tion of every auxiliary branch of the Red Crot-s service in the county as well as the personnel of the several Liberty Loan Drives Y. M. 0. A. and other commendable war organization with results ob tained and amounts contributed in cash and industrial contributions, etc. Such records to be printed in book fcrm and which would add much historically!to the library of every Becker county household. It is probable that other counties would follow a like precedent, now is the time to get busy. Quit Nursing. Some time ago Representative P. D.. Norton, speaking on the so called "Indian Problem," said: "The Indian, then should be placed on his own resources. Con gress never should go back to giving the Indians gratuities. It would be best for them, and best for the states and communities in which they live, and would bring about a condition that every friend of the Indian should seek it would make them citizens of tbi3 country in the truest sense of the word, charged with all the responsibilities of citizenship. 'If we could relinquish our wardship now, in ten years the Indians of Minnesota, the Dakotas and Montana would reach a plane of civilization equal to the whites. The trouble has been that the Inwife, dian, bureau without being un friendly, is endeavoring to keep its control of affairs, and even has advocated a restoration of the system of federal support in theworry older communities like Mississippi and North Carolina, where they have been living in highly civil ized communities for 50 or 100of jears. It is a wrong policy, and the-sooner it is ended the belter it will be for the Indians." Amen! The great difficulty which stands in the way of the Indian and his entire freedom, liberty, from the demoralizing segregation policy of the Indian bureau is the coveted annual re sults which are reaped from their tribal funds by greedy political manipulators, commercially, po litically and otherwise, and from which the average Indian derives absolutely no material benefits whatever. Abolish the Indian bureau and its 7,000 employees and THE TOMAHAWK ventures the assertion that if this is done it will be found that the average Indian will be found better able to take care of himself than the majority of them who are now fostered on his bounty for existence. It high time that a large number of these political parasites should be weaned from the Indian nursing The Dignity of the Indian Woman. (From Minneapolis Journal) There apneared in recent issues of the Journal articles entitled "MarriageHow to weather It," by Helen Rowland. One number, devoted to "The Squaw Wife," had this: "Are you a squaw wife? You don't understand? Well, the In dian lady does the planting, sow ing, harvesting and wood gather Then she pirouetts back to the little tepee and does the grind ing, cooking ana nursing while her ornamental husband sits by the door and does the grunting." First, I wish to impress upon the readers of The Journal that the word "squaw" is not an Inin dian word, but one manufactured by the English speaking people who came to our New England shores. We bave always resented this word, which carries with it a sense of derision and insult. The intelligent and educated Indian Woman of today feels this indig nity, even in greater measure than did her grandmothers of yester day. There are women of my race in the twin cities occupying positions in a dozen different pro fessions and occupations. We plead for the relegation to No Man's Land of this objectionable word. The division of labor among the Indians between the sexes was toin the satisfaction of both. The care of the tepee home, with its duties, fell to the lot of the woman. In additiou to these duties the tanning of the skins of the animals, the quilling and sewing of the moc casins, the weaving of baskets, the dyeing of these articles, etc., were performed by her. She was strong, healthy and vigorous, al^ ways willing to play her part. In looking after these responsibilities she was not a drudge nor a slave, but a wife, a companion, doing her acknowledged share of the life of her people, just as she and her ancestors had been accustomed to do for ages past. Naturally there was the absence of "the mollusk the spoiled butterfly, flitting from tea to dinner, and to dance, with no job at all except to keep properly manicured and either bore her husband to death or and work him to death with her extravagance and indiscre tions." The tilling of the small patches' beans, pumpkins and other food stuffs, the chase and war, with its many accompanying hardships of peril and exposure, and the carv ing of the wooden bowls, the shap ing of the spoons of wood, bone, horn and shell, fell to the lot of the husband. The life of the hunt er and warrior was not an easy one, and at times he felt as though he had aright to "grunt." but he never did. Take for instance the chase. It may mean several days and nights of wandering in deep snow or the exposure to severe weather conditions, for no Dakota Indian hunter returns to camp until he has secured the game he seeks, and no delay is made for meals in the morning before start ing. This was the best possible adjustment of the available means of the family to secure the largest,on a warehouse for rations. J- OFFICIAL ORGAN OF TH* 'Truth before THE AHAWK measure of welfare and to protect is and perpetuate the little commun ity. It was a "50-50'' affair. The life of the Indian woman was the foundation of the redday bottle and taught the manly art of man's dignity and honor. Con "earning bread by ihe sweat of sequently a virtuous life was the their brow." highest ideal of Indian woman hood. The young girls trained themselves along that line of thought. Women had the stu pendous responsibility of cultiva ting the spiritual nature and dewhich velopment of the child, and even long before its birth she perform ed her duty by thinking pure, high and ennobliug thoughts. And this custom produced a highly developed manhood and woman hood, socially, morally and physi cally. Woman among the Indians was accorded a high position of honor in the life of the people, that of equality, by virtue of which she took part in the determination of descent, distribution and retention of property, whether married Or single, participated in councils and elections and sometimes was elected to the office of chief. So far as" I have been able to learn, this was the only government in the world which woman's suffrage was granted, and given a full chance to develop.Mato-Ciquna, Yank ton Sioux Indian. Minneapolis. We do not know who Helen Rowland is and we do not care for that matter, our only purpose in publishing the foregoing magnaan imous criticisms of Mr. Mato Ciquna is to show the clean, un biased nobility and lofty princi ples of true native American man hood and womanhood, likewjse jjtjj superior dominance over the scurrilous vapid mental slush pe culiar to people of degenerate mo tives and impotent judgement. The scurrilous idioms employed by the RowlandWiltsie species their writings and references to the Indians manifests a sentiment egotistic, ungenerous, depravejd and slaternly. The Modern Pocahontas. In a recent issue of the Minne apolis Journal there appeared a picture of the First Lady of the Land together with a brief geneo logical table, and a speculation upon Mrs. Wilson's movements when she reaches England. She is expected to visit the an cestral home of the Rolfs,, from whom she is descended, and to behold with her own eyes a pic ture painted in 1816 of Pocahontas, the North American Indian wife of John Rolfe, an English colonist to Virginia, and who after his marriage returned to England and remained there until the death of Mrs. Pocahontas Rolfe. A son Thomas was born to them and who after the death of his mother was left by his father iu England for education, and a training com mensurate with his social position. Mr. John Rolfe himself return ing to Virginia. In due time Thomas Rolfe re turned to Virginia and married a Miss Poythress Their daughter Jane married a Robert Boiling, a remote ancestor of Mrs. Boiling Wilson who as the wife of Presi dent Wilson is now abroad and receiving the attention of rulers and Htitesmen of our allies, and also the homage of the people of the countries. Since the Indian bureau was not in existence at the time Pocahontas made her visit to England she was able to leave her country without application to a Bureau for certi ficates of competency or an order INNESOTA Favor." White Earth, Becker Cunty, Minnesota, Thursday, December 12, 1918. Read UL50. CHIPPEWAS Mrs. Poeahontas was fortunate in living in a day when the Bureau was only in the womb of time and enjoyed the circumstances of the which brought her honor and respect. But we wonder how the Indian Bureau of today is feeling over the circumstances which defy the Bureau and its petty autocracy. Mr*. Wilson has high social position but under the philosophy guides the Indian Office, there exists because of her trace of Indian blood, a concomitant of incompetency. I We are not assuming that the Office has indicated to Pre ident Wilson and his wife that the lady is leaving her reservation unau thorized, but that since she is leaving to "sail across the main" it, the Office, desires the President to call at the Indian Office first and obtain an agent whose duties will be to see that the twentieth century Pocahontas does not fall overboard from the good ship George Washington, and receives her ship rations papers subject to the countersignature of the agent. We wonder if the obsces ion of parternalism resident in the Office would like to go so fur? As Mrs. Pocahontas Wilson is not of Chippewa ancestry, of course the White Earth Agency force will not be able to hold b&ck an annuity cash payment, brand her as an incompetent, congratulate Mrs. Wilson, nor We THE TOMAHAWK, 52 issue The Week's Food tacts. On December 3after one week in EuropeHerbert Hoover cabled the food administration that the situation did not yet admit of the formulation of a definite program, as negotiations with allied govern ments regarding the shipping, and organization of the food needs were still in progress. Before leaving Mr. Hoover arranged for the purchase and dispatch of 270,- 000 tons of food to meet the most urgent calls. The first of the ships carrying this food had been re ported as having passed Gibraltar carrying supplies to southern Europe. "Liberated territories are daily anc urgently calling upon the U.food S. for food, pending the determin ation of a complete program for distribution," says Mr. Hoover's cable. "The pressing demand for food is obvious. Our point of view has been changed from a war necessity to a humanitarian appeal. The need for voluntary cooper ation, as distinquished from en forced regulationst, therefore becomes increasingly apparent. Which means that in the midst of our plenty of now we must be prepared to meet a call for more definite conservation, if the need becomes an appeal. o Do you realize that in Poland and Serbia hardly a child is left alive? The Hun may be defeated Hunger has followed in his wake. The fields are choked with weeds and thoao who, in time* past tilled them into fertility are scattered When you want the best In Groceries, Dry Goods, Winter Clothing, Footwear, etc., call on us. We're right here every day in the year (except Sunday) to supply you with any and everything you may need in THE BEST AND PUREST GROCERIES IN THE MARKET. TheB.L. Fairbanks Company, White Earth, Hinnesota. Published in behalf of, and to secure the welfare of the Indians of the United States. MINNESOTA HISTORICAL OOOIETV No. 34. mm a- hundred battlefields. Wom en are left alone to care for the aged and the mained. Will you help them? o At this holiday season put anew leaf in the "Common Table." Many of our new guests haven't had a square meal for a long time and never had a square deal. o The need of fats abroad is great. The food administration is asking the American housewife if she wastes fat by serving baked ham with large portions of fat on the edge by throwing away fat trimmed from beef or other fresh meat by using heavy cream by frying food in deep fat by serving large portions of butter by frying when it would be as well or belter to bake or stew it by mak ing pies and other pastries when simpler desserts would be more nourishing? Now is the time subscription. to pay that TO TRAPPERS AND FUR TRADERS. Send us your raw furs this sea son. It will be to your interest to deal with us. have a most ex cellent outlet for furs, which en ables us to pay the very highest price. On shipments of fifty dol lars and over we Will wire valua tion, if .so desired by shipper. Write us for price list and tags. Ingval Redalen & Son The fastest growing fur house in the Northwest- Lanesboro, Minn. Adv.