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Image provided by: South Dakota State Historical Society – State Archives
Newspaper Page Text
'gx w z tf.' IS* »i sKTiX'. A- W.* FiftK Year Number 11 Are the Indians on Pine Ridge Reservation Increasing or Decreasing? In all their relations with others, anion"" themselves, or with the Govern ment. the ultimate object of these Indians is that they may live as a people, and perish from off the face of the earth, and no other question pertaining to their physical being is of as much importance to them as is that of whether they ar*- increasing, or decreasing in number. To demonstrate the correct answer to this question requires the intro duction of their vital statistics, and as the earlier statistics regarding their numbers are based on estimates only, and the vital statistics prior to 1890 are very imperfect.previous to the latter date there are 110 a calculation on. These Indians were first counted in 1886, but the count was acknowledged to be unreliable. They were counted again when the U. S. census was taken in 1SJMI. and this count was adopted at the Agency, and made the basis for an annual agency census, but as these do not give the Indians and Mixed-bloods seperately they can only be used as a check against the total population in making the calculations required to answer the question. Beginning in 1890 a careful record of births, deaths and transfers that occurred on the reservation was kept down to the present time. The last count of the population on this reservation was made when the U. S. census was taken for 1900 which gave the Indians and Mixed-bloods seperately. and taking this as a basis, and useiny the records of births, deaths, and transfers in the calculation, it was carried back to 1*90. and brought down to 1905. at which latter date it agrees with the annual agency census in regard to the total number of enrollable persons. The statistics obtained in this manner are as follows: Population. Year. Indian s. Mxd. bids. Total. 1890 49S3 1428 0411 1897 4934 14(53 i397 1898 4889 1485 0374 1899 488(5 1513 (5421 1900 4888 1594 0482 1901 4902 1630 0538 1902 4919 1077 0(9ti 1903 49*1 17h() 0711 1904 4952 1778 (730 From 1890 to 1905 the total population has gained 311). But while the Mixed-bloods have gained 300 the Indians have lost 31. and the answer is that the Indians are decreasing. This answer should be explained, for the Indians during the year: 181)7. lost 49 1901. gained 14 18.8. lo^t 45 1902. gained 17 181)1!. lost 3 1903. gained 2 l!!00,gained 2 1904. lost 29 From the year 1890 to 1!'H the proportion of the death to the birth rate was reduced at an increasing ratio each year. *o that during these seven years they were gaining, and during the last four ot these years they were increasing in number, and if the answer had been given at the close of the reliable data to base