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Justice and Fair Dealing for
every Indian who desires to
become a good Citizen.
THE TOMAHAWK.
Official Organ of the Minnesota
Ohippewas.
8. L. FAIRBANKS Owner.
L. L06AU, Editor and Publisher,
Published Weekly at"
White Earth Agency, Minnesota.
Emered at the Poetofflce at White
Earth, Minn., as mail matter of the
econd class.
SUBSCRIPTION: S1.B0 PER TEAK III ADVAMCt
CHIPPEWA AFFAIRS AT
WASHINGTON,
Washington, Dv
January 29, 1920.
Special to THE TOMAHAWK
Chippewa, matters are ,now as
suming tangible form, 'the mem
bers of the Minnesota Delegation
Dow realize that congressional ac
tion is necessary to put an end to a
condition that has existed for 32
years within the limits of the State
of Minnesota that is little short of
a disgrace to its civilization. More
than two million acres of virgin
land within the limits of the State
have been held for 32 years and
are now t-eW held idle and. un
productive during all these years
the Indians have been deprived of
proper public school facilities,
-proper roads over which to trans
port their products to the markets,
some of them of their allotments,
and the State and Counties have
been deprived of taxes, all in vio
lation of tbe express provisions of
the agreement entered into in.
1889. The members of the Min
nesota Delegation have awakened
to tbe real situation and are now
co-operating with the Genera!
Council to correct the existing
abuses and to enforce the agree
ments the Government entered
into with the Indians.
1 During the past week the mem-
bers of the Legislative Committer
bf the General (jouocil "ha^e been
PBWJ otofr \Q
conferences, w^b
the officers qf the Department with
a view of arrivjpg at some aom
plete agreement as to the legist
tiou to be natd. SP1^-
t**-- pro
.wuo una oeen made. Only a few
questions remain undisposed of.
One of these questious is the right
of any Chippewa Indian residing
and belonging on the Bed Lake
Reservation to take his allotment
at this time. The General Council
is insisting that the members of
the Red Lake Band shall be ac
corded this right. The agreement
of 1889 provided that the Red
Lake Indians should be allotted on
the' Red Lake Reservation ""as
soon as practicable". Thirty-two
years have now elasped and not a
single allotment has been made on
the Red Lake Reservation. Forty
per cent of the membership of that
Band in 1889 have since died and
the allotments to which they were
entitled have passed back to the
tribe. Not an Indian living on the
Red Lake Reservation if he should
die tomorrow could pass his land
to his heirs or the persons named
in his will. The land upon which
he has been living, which has been
improved-by him would pass not
to his wife and children, but to
the tribe The. General Council
insists that this is unfair to the
Red Lake Indians, particularly
those who desire to take their
allotments. The Minnesota Dele
gation agree with the General
Council. The General Council
proposes to accord to every Red
Defective Page
Lake Indian the right to take 160
acres of land. By tbe agreement
of 1889 the Red Lake Indians were
only entitled to 80 acres. The
General Council proposes to give
those living today, including the
men, women, and children double
the amount of land the agreement
of 1889 gave to those in being at
that time. The General Council
also proposes that the Red Lake
Indians may take 80 acres of their
allotments out of the forest lands
and that the proceeds received
from the timber cut on each 80
acres shall be paid to the allottee.
Strange as i/t may seem, Peter
Graves who is in Washington
claiming to represent the Red
Lake Indians, and his attorney,
Daniel fe. Henderson, are object
ing to any member of the Red
Lake Band being permitted to take
his allotment now. Peter Graves
proposes to hold the Red Lake
Reservation intact for years to
come, to prevent any person from
taking an allotment and to prevent
any development. As he pretends
to be represnting the Red Lake
Indians, and to 1 looking after
the:r future welfare ac first no one
was aole to understand the reasons
for such a position. After some
inquiry the reason has come to
light Peter Graves is the repre
sentative of a 'self constituted
council on the Rd Lake Reserva
tion. That council is made up'as
follows: There are seven men
wfio claim to be hereditary chiefs.
Each of these seven self styled
hereditary chiefs appoint five
persons as members of the council
The council consists of 35 men
thus appointed by the seven chiefs
and the seven chiefs themselves,
thus consisting of 42 members. If
any member of this self-styled
Council does not obey the instruc
tions of the chief he is promptly
removed by the chief and another
man who will obey the chief ap
pointed in his place. These chiefs
are opposed to anything being done
with the Red Lake Reservation.
They know that when the? Indians
take their allotments, and the
property ceases to be held in
common, that they will' automata'
call.y, pass out of exigence. 'J
*r**
Vol. XVIII. White Earth, Becker County, Minnesota, Thursday, February 3, 1921.
Th'ey
want to preserve 'thpjr' positions
and power and in order to do, thfc
they must /keep the reservation
intact. Ijike the seven old heredi
tary chiefs, the W
reN*"*- *n Bureau
~~o tuat if allotments are per
mitted it will only be a very few
years until the Red Lake Reserva
tion will pass out of existence and
with it the agency and the agency's
employees. Congress is now in
the act of passing a law that will
dismember the Indian Bureau, and
the Bureau is fighting to hold on
to all the offices and positions it
now has. These are the true
reasons why the, General Council
is having such a hard fight to pro
tect the property rights of the
members of the Red Lake Band.
If allotments are not provided for
at this time and are made in the
future the members of the Red
Lake Band then living under the
agreement of 1889 will receive but
80 acres each. They will then be
compelled to take stump or swamp
land worth only a* fractional part
of the Value of the allotment the
General Council is now seeking to
confer upon them. The Red Lake
Indians should understand the
situation as should also the other
members of the Chippewa tribe.
Peter Graves and his seven heredi
tary chiefs are selling the inherit
ance of every member of the Red
Lake Band Tor the sole purpose of
perpetuating the control of Red
Lake Reservation affairs by these
seven old chiefs, and the Red Lake
Indians dd not seem to be able to
realize the enorcaity of the crime
THE TOMAHAWK
Indians Still Press Land
Claims.
The rich lands of the Bad River
Indian reservation near Ashland,
Wis lung a bone of contention
between 2,266 claimants to title,
have again stirred up action, 'in
which congress is being- asked to
take action on behalf of 700 claim
ants for land. The 124,333 acres
of land on tbe reservation were
set aside as tbe property of the
Bad River Ohippewas by the
famous treaty of 1854.
Coming from other reservations,
from reservations where tbe lands
had been exhausted, and, from
other states, outside claimants 'at-
tempted to ring in on these' valu
able lands, hence a controversy ffi
eighteen yetirs stan^'g. sphere is
a lotfty in*' Washington at the
pr.egent' #me working for eoo
gre\opa| aetio on behalf of thest
ouMders, mi those '*u-
in their
B--:^f'iJMfe'fi*!is ZZM
M|BS*W^**J|PIVSJS*JBP
OFFICIAL ORGAN O THE MINNESOTA CHIPPEWASI
Truth before Favor."
these old chiefs are perpetrating.
The Indian Appropriation 6ill
will be reported to the Senate
next week. The Legislative Com
mittee has every assurance that all
necessary appropriations will be
carried in the bill.
The Steenerson Drainage Bill
passed the House last week and is
now pending before the Senate
Committee on Commerce. The
Indian Bureau has had the 'matter
held up and is preparing to sub
mit amendments in line with the
recommendations made by the
General Council that will protect
the Indians and provide drainage
for the lands of the settlers and
tbe Indians.
Mr. B. L. Fairbanks, President
John Morrison and other mem
bers of tbe delegation are prepar
ing to leave for home at an early
day.
It is possible that at this session
of Congress the bill to wind up
the-affairs of the Chippewa Indians
may become a law. Had the
members of the State Delegation
understood Chippewa matters a
yc-ir ago as thf-y understand them
today the bill would today be a
law.
"W
ou
lo8
-niis for a share in res
ervation lands. Such action is
being resisted by those who claim
to be the legitimate residents.
Prior to 1903 1,021 Indians had
received allotments of eighty acj-es
each. There remained about 1,200
claimants. Three attempts were
made to consider the claims of
these 1,200 people, many of whom
it was freely acknowledged, had
legrtmate claims.
Three separate attempts have
Citation iorj Hearing on Petition for
Administration.
(Feb. 324)
State of Minnesota, Cdunty of
Becker. In Probate Court.
In the Matterof the Estate of Say
git-oonce, Decedent.
The State of Minnesota to Ped-
way-way-gah-bow-eafc, heirs of Te-
bish-co-yaush-eake and heirs of Kah-
ge-gay-gah-bow and all persons inter
ested in the granting of administra
tion of the estate of said decedent:
The petition of Ped-way-way-gah-
bow-eak having: been filed in this
court, representing that Say-git
oonce. then a resident of the County
of Becker State of Minnesota, died
intestate in July 1902: and praying
that letters of administration of his
estate be granted to Henry Selkirk,
and the court having Hxed the time
and place for hearing said petition:
THEREFORE, You, and Each of
You, are hereby cited and required
to show cause, if any you have, before
this court at the Probate Court
Rooms in the Court House, in the
city of Detroit in the County of
Becker, State of Minnesota, on the
28th day of February, 1921, at ten
o'clock A. M., why said petition
should not be granted.
Witness, the Judge of said Court
and the seal of said Court, this 31st
day of January, 1921,
E. O. HANSON,
(COURT SEAL) Judge of Probate.
F. D. BEAUUEU,
Attorney for Petitioner.
been made to settle these claims,
once by the Indians themselves,
once by the commission.headed by
Maj Dowans, and once by the
Alfen commission. All failed,
having been turned down by the
department at Washington. Then
congress took action and the
Wooster commission was formed.
Congress authorized the appoint
ment of five Indians, William
Obern, John Blackbird, Charles
Armstrong, William Denomie and
JoHJj CondeacoD, to hold hearings
with Dr. Wooster of the Indian
department, and after months of
investigation and numberless hear
ings a celebrated Wooster roll was
made, allotting about fifty-eight
acres of land to each 545 claimants,
which was all the land then avail
ably'. Since then tbe courts have
awarded the swamp lands and the
so-called *'sections 16" to the In
dians, and the residue, about
twenty-two acres to the person on
the average, is now being trans
ferred to these successful claimants
by Agent P. S. Everest.
The Wooster commission turned
down the claims of about 1,200
persons, among the applicants be
ing& number from several other
states. Tbe unsuccessful claimants
agitated successfully and obtained
a rehearing, which was held at
Ashland, Odanah, Bayfield, Su
perior and Washington, D. Q.,
continuing for four months. This
commission, headed by Maj. James
McLaughlin, who has been in the
Indian service 54 years, with At
torney O M. McPherson of the
Indian Office, assisted by the com
mittee of five Indians who figured
ia thfi Wooster hearings, added a
few names to the roll, and took off
i
White Earth,
some names. The rehearing proved
the substantial correctness of the
Wooster roll, but added some new
names.
It would seem that these hear
ings and rehearings, extending
over nearly a quarter of a century,
would have settled the legitimate
claims of ail, but the 700 claimants
who lost out, represented by a
lobby, and with the advice of paid
attorneys, are again in Washing
ton. The allottees, numbering
now about 1,500 or more, say with
some force that the numerous
hearings since 1903 have settled
the claims of all persons, and that
continued agitation is destructive
to harmony, disturbing to business
relations, and altogether without
reason.
Careful of Speech.
"Is the faculty of your college well
oiganized?" "Very. We haven't a
single professor who would dare to
nuke a statement of fact without first
tuning it approved by a trust magnate
a corporation lawyer."Life.
High Standard.
"I hope I can support her In the
style she fs accustomed to." "Get
wise to that''style, though, before you
marry her. I never knew my wife's
people, but to hear her talk you'd think
she was raised in a palace."
Catarrhal Deafness Cannot Be Cured
by local application*, as they cannot reach
tbe diseased portion or the ear. There Is
only one way to cure catarrhal deafnoss,
and that la by a constitutional remedy
Catarrhal Deafness Is caused by an in
flamed condition of the mucous lining of
the Eustachian Tube. When this tubo Is
Inflamed you have a rumbling- sound or im
perfect hearing*, and when it ia entirely
closed, Deafness la the result. Unless the
inflammation can be reduced and this tube
restored to its normal 'condition, hearing
will be destroyed forever Many caees ot
deafness are caused by catarrh, which Is
an Inflamed condition of the mucous sur
faces Hall's Catarrh Medicine acts thru
the blood on the mucous surfaces of the
system
We will five One Hundred Dollars for
any case of Catarrhal Deafness that cannot
be cured by Hairs Catarrh Medicine Cir
culars free. All Druggists. 70c.
rC 3. CHENEY CO., Toledo, O.
the Store of
Quality
Buying Groceries IS like
buying anything elseit
pays to buy the best
Our shelves are always filled with fresh and up-to-date
Groceries, which we offer to our customers at the lowest
possible price.
Our line of Dry Goods, Shoes, etc., is also one of
the best and most complete in the northwest, and our
piiees in this line are always right.
Hardware, Feed, etc.
a full line always on hand.
If you don't see what you want, ask for it.
The B. L. FAIRBANKS
COMPANY.
i
SffS-t""
Published in behalf of, and
to secure the welfare of the
Indians of the United States.
A
No. 4 I
The Society
Of.
A MERICAN INDIANS.
A NATIONAL OKGANUATION OF
AMEIUCANS
Organized at Ohio State Unfaersltv.
APRIL, 1911.
MEMBERSHIP
Active-Including Magazine, $2 50
annually.
Junior Ac^veIndians under 21
years of age. Including Maga
zine, $2.00 annually. Without
Magazine, $1.00 annually.
Application for membership should
be made to the Secretary-Treasur
er, Society of American Indians,
711 20th St N. W., Washington,
D. C. Information regarding^ the
Society will be cheerfully furnish
ed upon inquiry to the Secretary
Treasurer, Washington, D. C.
THOMAS L. SLOAN,
President,
3459 Macomb St., N. U*.
Washington, D. C.
When Visiting taigo
EAT AT
Pearl's Lunch
527 BROADWAY.
Just 4 doors noith o'f Fold Building.
Fargo, N. D.
Now is the time
subscription.
to pay that'
riinnesota.
