The Progress., July 14, 1888, Image 1

About The Progress. (White Earth, Minn.) 1886-1889

Image provided by: Minnesota Historical Society; Saint Paul, MN

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VOL. 1.
The Indian Right and Wrong.
5*"WE hold these truths to be self-evident,
that KLTU MEN are created equal that they
are endowed by their Creator with certain
unalienable rights that among these, are
X-IFE, LIBEiyPY, AND THE PURSUIT OF HAP-
JA^^ffJ,"-Declaration
of Independence, July
In the Senate of the United States, Juno 20th,
1888. Mr. Morgan introduced the follow
ing bill which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on Indian affairs.
A BILL.
To establish police courts and to define their
Jurisdiftlon smd. regulate judicial
proceedings wltlmithe Indian res.,
and i'ur other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and
"House ei. Representatives of the Uni
ted States of America in Congress as
sembled, That all persons, who com
mit within the limits of- any Indian
reservation offenses which are made
punishable with death or imprison
ment in tho penitentiary, or by sen
tence to hard labor under the laws' of
the 8tate or Territory in which such
Indian reservation is located, shall be
liable to indictment, trial, and pun
ishnu nt for such offenses under the
laws of such State or Territory and
the court of competent jurisdiction
over such offenses, which is held at
the place that is nearest to the agency
of such reservation at the time said
offense is committed, shall have full
power, so far as the United States can
confer or consent to the same, to in
dict, try, sentence, and punish such
offender, when found guilty, in the
same manner as if such offense were
committed within the county in such
State or Territory where such court is
held.
SEC. 2. That the right to sue and
be sued in all civil actions shall be en
joyed by any person residing or found
within the limits of any Indian reser
ervation in the same manner and to
the same extent as if such person re
sided or was found in any county of
the State or Territory in which such
reservation is located, but no person
residing in such reservation, being an
Indian attached to the tribe, or tribes,
belonging to such reservation, shall
be liable to be sueil in any county of
such State of Territory that is outside
of such reservation, except in cases
relating to the title to lands, cases re
lating to the administration of the es
tates of decedents, cases of guardian
ship, cases for the execution or ad
ministration of trusts, cases for the
recovery of chattels where the amount
in controversy is five hundred dollars
or more, and cases arising under con
tracts, express or implied, where the
amount in controversy is five hundred
dollars or more.
SEC. 3. That the civil actions men
tioned in the foregoing section of this
act shall be tried in the county of such
State or Territyry in which the seat
of justice is nearest to the agency of
such Indian reservation at the time
the suit is brougt.
SEC. 4. That in all civil and crimi
nal proceedings instituted in accortf
ance with the foregoing sections of
this act, the process of the court,
whether original, mesne, or final, shall
run to and be executed within such
reservation in the same manner and
j-* with the same effect as if the same
were issued or executed within any
county of such State or Territory.
SEC. 5. That the judges of the In
_dian police court hereinafter provided,
shall have, and exercise within such
reservation, all the powers of com
mitting magistrates, with the same
powers within such Indian reserva
tions to commit for trial or to admit
to bail persons accused of the crimes
hereinbefore mentioned as belong to
committing magistrates in like cases
in any county of such State or Terri
tory. "$_' (a
SEC. 6.' That all proeess issued" in
-cases, civil or criminal, of the de
scriptions above in this act mentioed,
which is to be executed within any
Indian reservation, and all process is
rsuing from the Indian police courts,
"Jjshould be attested by the clerk of the
J||||?/conrtin which such proceedings *is
'"'.had, and shall be executed by the cap-
||t|feain of the police of the reservation
itypjFJinto whose hands it shall come his
S8H8
his
8UDOrdinates
y&'l
direction,or
k3| shall be duly returned by him to the
7? '^court to which it is returnable: Vno-
^5P)J TIDED, That either of the judges of
and
^"the Indian police court may issue
.^.warrants of arrest in the criminal
jps^.ff -Tv cases above mentioned in
*i4.
thiseact,
^'.J^ding to law, which shall be, in
W~~i%manner, executed and returned.
TK"
np
"."'on oath or affidavit duly mad accor-
like
-fn iS:','.,-'CC'\' iV
Interior ^hall have power to appoint
the members of the police courts, to
consist of three judges, in any Indian
reservation, who shall hold' office for
the term of four years from the date
of appointment, and until his success
or is qualified, and who shall be re
movable from such office at any time
by the direction of the Secretary of
the Interior. The agent of such In
dian reservation shall be ex-officio
the chief judge, and the other two
judges shall be members of some tribe
or band of Indians located within such
reservation who can read and write
the English language-.
SKC. 8. That the salaries of ,th
Indian judges shall each be sixty dol
lars per month, and the Indian agent
shall not receive any salary as such
judge.
SEC. 9. That the Indian agent shall
appoint a competent clerk for said
court, to keep the records thereof,
who is authorized to issue and attest
all lawful process in civil and crimi
nal proceedings instituted in said
court. Such clerk shall receive a sal
ary of sixty dollars per month, and
shall be removable at any time by the
direction of the Indian agent.
SEC. 10. That the Indian police
courts shall have civil jurisdiction of
all suits growing out of contracts, ex
press or implied, of all suits for the
recovery of personal property, and
of all suits for the recovery of dam
ages, where the sums in controversy
in such suits are less than five hun
dred dollars.
SEC. 11. That the criminal juris
diction of the Indian police courts
shall extend to offenses that are not
pnnishable with death, or with im
prisonment in the penitentiary, or
with hard labor according to the laws
of the State or Territory in which said
court is held, and, until otherwise pro
vided by law, shall include assault
and battery with such a weapon, or
in such a manner as is calculated to
produce death of great bopily horm,
petit larceny, malicious mischief, and
the violation of any regulation made
and published by the Secretary of the
Interior for the government of per
sons on Indien reservations.
SEC. 12. That the court of Indian
police may inflict punishment for the
violation of the laws or the regula
tions adopted by the Secretary of the
Interior upon persons duly convicted
of such offonses by fine and imprison
ment the fine not to exceed in any
case the sum of five hundred dollars
and the imprisonment not to exceed
the period of one day for each half
dollar of the fine so imposed, and the
payment of the fine shall discharge
the imprisonment from the day of the
payment.
SEC. 13. That the trial of offenses
under the provisions of this act shall
be upon presentment of the clerk of
the court based upon an affidavit of an
informer, or upon the order of any of
the judges of the Indian police courts,
and such presentment shall set forth,
with reasonable certainty, the offense
charged, and that it was committed
by the person accused within the In
dian reservation for which such court
is held, and within one year before
the proceeding is commenced.
SEC. 14. That if any party to a civ
ii suit, or any criminal proceeding,
shall demand a jury for the trial of the
same, he shall give notice, in writing,
of soch demand, to the clerk of the
court, at least days before such
trial is had. Thereupon, the Indian
agent for such reservation shall name
six intelligent and impartial persons
to constitute such jury, and require
the captain of police, or any of his
subdrdinates, to summon such persons
to attend as jurors on such trial. The
Indian police court may reject any of
said jurors for good cause, and sum
mon others to take their places. Said
jury shall be sworn to faithfully, hon
estly, and truly render their verdict
impartially and without favor. The
defendant in any civil or criminal case
shall have the right to stand aside
two jurors summoned and present at
the trial, and the agent shall desig
nate others to take the places of the
jurors who are so excluded from the
jury. The verdict of the jury shall be
final in the case, unless it is set aside
and anew trial is granted by the ma
jority of the court. Neither the fa
ther, son, brother, or first cousin of
either party shall be a competent ju
ror in any case, civil or Criminal.
SEC. 15. That the court of Indian
police shall have power to isBue at
tachments against any party, or any
(itnesB disobeying^the lawful .orders
r&:': *'9'Ae''
or process of the oourt, and to compel the:
attendance at the trial of any cause, civil djr
criminal, and to punish persons guilty of con
tempt of court. The court may punish per
sons guilty of contempt of court or its process
by line not exceeding fifty dollars and ln|-
prisonment not exceeding twenty days f5
the the same offense.
SEC 10. That the personal property of toe
defendant in any judgment rendered by siiM.
court may be sold for the satisfaction of tt|e
same upon a writ of execution, after ten days'
notice of the time and place of sale in writing
posted on the door of the agency, and all pro
cess of execution shall issue to the' agent 3
the Indian reservation in which such proper
ty is found. Any property seized under efcg
cution shall be placed in the custody of tfie
captain of police until the same is sold. TraB
necessary expenses of preserving any jorppe)^
ty levied upon under execution or atttuj&h
mat shall bepirid-by ttarTJntted 9tates -fcHRk
the Indian agent, and the sums so expended
shall be lirstjeimbursed out of the procceds
of the sale thereof before any partof the samo
is paid to the person for whose benefit the ex
ecution was issued.
SEC. 17. That the courts of Indian police
shall be courts ef record, and shall be furnish
ed, as they are needed, books stationery, and
suitable blanks for the convenient adminiH
tration of tho business of such court, and rec
ords shall be kept by the clerk, undor the su
pervision of tho court, of the proceedings had
and judgments rendered In such court. And
the records of such courts shall bo received In
evidence in other courts, when duly certified
according to the laws of the United States,
with the same effect as tho records of the
State and Territorial courts are required to
receive in evidence.
SEC. 18. That a quorum to try causes, civil
or criminal, shall consist of the agent of the
reservation and one or more of tho judges of
the Indian police courts.
SEC 19. That this act shall only apply to
such Indian reservations as the President
shall from time to time direct, and he shall
have power to direct that it Khali cease to ap
ply to any Indian reservation until he shall
give further 6rders for itB renewal therein.
SEC 20. That this act shall not apply to tho
Indian reservations of the Cherokee, Creek,
Seminole, Choctaw., m- Chickasaw nations
but an appeal shall ifPn the Supreme court
of the United States from any final Judgment
rendered by the court of last resort In said
five nations, or tribes mentioned in this act,
when the case includes a question arising un
der the laws or Constitution of the United
States, or any treaty with either of said tribes
of Indians and the decision in such court of
final resort is adverse to the right claimed
under the Constitution, laws, or treaties
aforesaid. And the Supreme court of the Uni
ted States shall have power to enforce its
judgments in such cases in the same manner
as if said appeals had come up on writs of
error to the snpreme courts of the States.
And when any person is convicted in any
State or Territorial court of any offense pun
ishable with death, or imprisonment for Ufo
under the provisions of this act, the person
convicted shall have the right of appeal to the
Supreme court of the United States on the
law and the facts of the case, and said court
shall hear and determine the same and ren
der judgment therein according to law and
justice, and in accordance with the rules gov
erning appeals, In other like cases, from tho
courts of the Territories of the United States.
Had the White Earth reserva
tion been excluded with the tribes
mentioned in Sec. 20, or had the
word "agent" been omitted in
See's 7, 9, and 18 we would not
have felt called upon to say a word
for or agaiust the above measures.
In our remonstrance against the
bill we do not question the good
intentions or motives which may
have prompted its. introduction
before the U. S. Senate, but past
experience, with us, has taught a
never to be forgotten lesson which
has established the deplorable
conviction that too much official
indulgence has tended to the abuse
of official power and corrupted the
noblest pretext with which their
mission were originally intended.
To be candid, we are emphatically
opposed to any, /measures that
tends to confer additional privil
eges to the "lord and maste r
judge and jury" system which has
characterized the management of
Indian affairs, especially on this
reservation, and turned to naught
many of the noblest efforts of Con
gress which were created for and
in behalf of the Indians. #_.?
And it would seeto to us, ancl as
we understand "the above bill, that
it savors too strongly of actocrat
ic tolerance to he admitted with
out question, in so far as the
White Earth reservation is con*
cerned. And any fair minded per
son conversant with our reserva*
tion affairs for the past three or
four years will hot question our
dilligence in "fighting shy" of any
measures that has a seeming ten
dency to confer additional stress
Gwilization: The Maintenance of Law and Order."
WHITE EARTH AGENCY, MINNESOTA, SATURDAY, JULY 14, 1888.
to the judicial privileges of an In
dian agent and the many political
buffoons and arrogant official
churls who seem ever ready to
''take his word aa agent*' and to
aid and abet him, in any and all,
of his nefariousdamnablepro-
ceedings-against any persons on
the reservation who might incur
his displeasure^" -?^,'t-i:
^Therefore it would seem to us
much more reasonable, and more
in keeping with the broad, liberal
American idea of thinking, did
the establishment of such a court,
the selection and appointment of
its several judges, clerks,, etc.,
were left in a measure, or brought
about by the popular will of the
people, or if you please, by the ju
diciary of the State in which such
reservation may be situated. In
which case the people could hope
for "a government of the people,
for the people, and by the people,"
and be spared the galling and in
tolerable ignominy of the con
temptible votary of arrogant au
tocracy.
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