The Tomahawk. [volume], April 09, 1903, Image 1

About The Tomahawk. [volume] (White Earth, Becker County, Minn.) 1903-192?

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TOMAHAWK.
OUS, It, BEAULIEO Publisher.
White Earth Agency, Minn.
t&TA WEEKLY NEWSPAPER de-
moted to the interests of the
tfhite Earth Reservation and gen
eral Northwestern News. Publish
ed and managed by members of
the Reservation.
Subscription rates 1*50 per
annum. For the convenience of
those who may feel unable to pay
for the paper yearly or who Wish
to take it on trial, subscription
may be sent lis for si and three
months ftt the yearly rates. AH
gums sent to us should be forward
ed by registered letter to insure
safety. Address all communica
tion's to.
THB TOMAHAWK
WHITE EARTH, MINN.
BEOlNSMTS CAREER AS THE
ORGAN Or THE
CHIPPEWAS.
With this number THE TOMA
HAWK begins its eareer as the organ
tff the Chippewa Indians of Minne
sota through it*columns their
Sentiments will be voiced and their
interests represented. Believing
Ibat "Th pefi is mightier than the
swefd3*
We start baton the war-path
with ft papier tomahawk, and we
feMpect te* 0 fciore effective and
satisfactory Work towards protect
ing and securingthe rights of the
tlhipifewa Indians than our red
fcfetfteftididat Siigar Point with
their tomahawlts and Winchester
may at times be competed tt)
triads* the administration of
iJhippewa affairs in Minnesota
$Ms w*6 wlll^oin the plainest terms
and without respect to "parties or
persons. W will uphold at all
times those who deal fairly and
justly in the administration of In
dian matters/and criticise adversely
those who do not. Whenever we
fcre convinced of the existance of
**aud, especially in delation to
'Chippewa pine timber interests, on
the Chipped Indian reservations
bf Minfiesota, we will leave no
%ton"eTmturfied to expose it.
With this brief explanation of
^u policy we asK&ll those who are
I aVblr of fair dealing towards the
Indians to give us their support,
%nd we trust that they will not
*he disappointed in our efforts in
"behalf of our red brethern either
in Minnesota or elsewhere.
RESERVATION LANBS.
TO LEASE
100,000 acres of fust class faim
lands on White Earth Reservation, in
tracts of 80 acres and more.
For fall particulars address THB
TOMAHAWK*
INDIAN PROTECTIVE Association
200 Bond Building
Washington D. C.
Dan'l B. Henderson, Atfy.
Indian claims against the Unit-
ted States-a speciality.
Gus Beaulieu
Xiocal Representive
^White Earth, Minn.
K. S. MDRCHISON,
ATTORNEY AT LAW.
tATE LAW CLERK, LAND
IDIVIS10N, INDIAN OFFICE.
DEPARTMENT PRACTICE A
SPECIALTY.
LOAN AND TRUST BLD'G.
.WASHINGTON D. C.
Defective Page
THIS IS THE LAW,
WHEN AN ALLOTTEE MAY SELL THE
TIMBER ON HIS ALLOTMENT
OF UNO
For the information of the In
dians on this reservation who de
sire to know under what conditions
they may cut, remove arid sell the
timber on their allotments, we
quote extracts from a decision of
the United States Supreme Court,
and although this decision was
rendered a number of years since,
and before the General Allotment
Act became a law, it is the law of
today, and is applicable to Indian
allotments.
4lst.
4
RESERVATION RAILROADS.
Bright prospects that at least
two will be built this summer
a
Timber standing on lands
occupied by the Indians cannot be
cut by them for the purpose of
sale alone though when it is in
their possession having been cut
for the purpose of improving the
land, that is to say, better adapt
ing it to convenient occupation, in
other words, when the timber has
been cut incldently to the improve
ment, and not for the purpose of
getting and selling it, there is no
restriction on the sale of it.
"This right of use and occpancy
by the Indians is unlimited. They
may exercise it at their discretion.
If the lands in the state of nature
are not in a condition for profitable
use, they may be made so.
If desired for the purpose of
agriculture, they may be cleared
of their timber to Vuch ah extent
as may be reasonable under the
circunstandfcs. The timber taken
off by the Indians in such clearing
may be s6ld by them. Bu to
justify any cutting of the timber
except for use upon the premises,
as timber or its prqduct it must
be "done in good faifK for the fm
prdvehient of the land.
The improvement must be the
principle thing, and the cutting of
the timber the incident only. An
cutting beyond this would be waste
and unauthorized.
The timber while standing is a
part of the realty, and it can only
be sold as the land could be. Th
land cannot be sold by the Indians,
and consequently the timber, un
til rightfully severed for the pur
pose of improving the land, or the
better adapting it to the conveni
ent occupation, but for no other
purpose. When rightfully sever
ed it is nd longer a part of the
lands, and there is no testriction
upon its sfele. Its severance under
such circumstances is, in effect, only
a legitimate use of the land. I
theory at least, the land is better
and more valuable with the timber
off then with it on. I has been
improved by the removal. If the
timber should be severed for
the purpose of sale alone, in
other words, if the cutting of the
timber was the principle thing and
not the incident, then the cutting
would be wrongful, and the timber
when cut, become absolute pro
perty of the United States."
(United States Vs. Cook. 19
Wallace 517.)
During the past week several _en-
gineers,JcOnnected with the Great Nor
thern Railroads, have been upon this
Reservation with the view to running
lines for the road which, they stated,
would probably be built through this
reservation the coming summer.
The Twin City newspapers also bring
the informtion of the proposed extent
sion of the Soo-Route from Glenwood
through this reservation to Fosston.
If these reports are true the pros
pects of having at least two railroads
through this reservation at an early
day are exceedingly bright. In this
connection we would suggest to thetradictory
members of the reservation that they
should not hesitate to grant some lib
eral right of way concession to the
railroad companies for nothing could
be of greater benefit or moTe condu
cive to the prosperity of this reserva
tion than to have two railroads operat
ing here.
_.-4SJ*5 'S?
VOL 1 WHITE EARTH, BECKER COUNTY, MINNESOTA, ^THURSDAY APRIL 9, 1903.** NO. 1.
AN ERRONEOUS RULING
In a recent letter to Mr. Steen*
erson of Crookston is the at
torney of certain chum aits to allot
ments on this reservation, the Com
missioner of Indians Affairs., Avho
held that children born to Whit*
Earth annuitants after July 2'2.
1900, are not entitled to allotments,
reiterates his former ruling-. I)\
this connection the eommissioncsr
says:-^
The provision of the treaty
March 19, 1867, (16 Statutes, 710
as far as allotments are concerned
hav"e been superceded by the
act/
of January 14, 1889, (25 Statutes
612.) In your argument yoli fail
to quote correctly article of the act
above mentioned. You omit afte!r
stating- that the act authorised1
thr*
President of the United States to.
appoint a commission, &., T&
negotiate with all the differan|
bands or tribes of Chippewa Indi
ans in the State ot Minnesota%"
The Very important wo?k-=
"for the complete cession and
linquishment in writing of all their
title and interest in and to all the
reservations of said Indiana in tne
State of Minnesota."
By ommitting this part, you fail
to express the evident meaning
and intent Of the act, but stem to
imply that the quoted passage
should be construed that the lndi*
ans of the White Earth and
Red"paid
Lakes reservations were not to be
negotiated with, except as relates
to the lands Which were actually
ceded. in the act does not beai* out this
construction. Th Indian oi the
White fiarth reservation SOB***
"fiegotiatetl "WlffiTlttflt
The passage as it stand
garcls the four townships ceded, but
as regards the entile reservation
and the acceptance of the provi
sions of the act constituted anew
agreement with them."
W would suggest to the com
missioner that he has also made
a very important ommission irt nis
quotation* of theacfy which changes
its sense very materialy and which
comes immediately after the word
"Minnesota" and is as follows:
"except the White Eartli and lied
Lake reservation, and so much of
these two reservations as in the
judgment of the said commission
is not required to make arid fill the
allotments required by this attd
existing acts, and shall not ha\
been reserved by the Commission*
ers for said purposes and upon the
terms herein after stated
5 With
this addition to the commissioner's
quotations from the act the "evid
ent meaning and intent of the act'
cannot be questioned, and it is
plain that it does not supercede
the treaty of 1867, but simply con
firms some of its provisions.
Whenever a law is made to sup
ercede another it specifically re
peals it or that portion which
it intends to supercede. A care
ful perusal of the act of
1880,as
does not show in any par
ticular that its intent is to re
peal the treaty of 1867, or any
portion of it, but simply secures
certain concession from the Miss
issippi Chippewa Indians for whom
the White Earth reservation was
set aside by the treaty and confirms
the allotments made thereunder.
These concessions are confined to
the right of the Chippewas who
are living on the ceded reservation
to take allotments of land in sev
eralty on this reservation.
The rulings of the interior de
partment have been obviously con
in relation to the status
of this reservation, and the rights
of the Chippewas of the Missis
sippi under the treaty of 1867t and
the act of 1889. ^T,
Subsequent to the acceptance of
?J* SZL&M
cot, and prior to 1893, it held that
allotments could be taken for a lim
ited jfength of time under the pro
vision oi the treaty by im
jj^pving forty acres of^land.
If this ruling was correct the Indi
ans have the same right now as
they had then as the laws have^.
not been changed.
in this connection the question
which naturally arises is where
in does the depaitnient get its au
thority for suspending the opera
tion of the treaty and act referred
to by limiting the time within
^vhich allotments may be made?
It is the general opinion that the
ecrctarj of the interior exceed
ng his authority in so doing, and
that the courts, if the Indians should
appeal to them, wiH not sustain
him.
E^^JS,"
THE RED, LAKE:AQT.
^aad
fttrbfte~Wl'r
&
That the Secietary of the Intel ior
is hereby authonzee to sell, subject to
the homestead laws of the United
States, to the highest bidder at public
auction., in tracts not to exceed one
and sixty acres to each in
thvidual* all that pails of the Redbind
Lake Indian Reset vation in the State
of Minnesota lying westeily of the
range line between range thirty-eight
andfchirtysimiewestof the filth piin
cipal merdian, appioximating two
hundred and fifty-six thousand acies.
*And the land shall beol for not less
than four dollais per acre and shall be
.sold upon the following terms: One
fifth of the price bid theiefor to be
at"the time the bid is made, and
the^balance of the purchase pi ice of
said land to be paid in five equal an
nuale installments, to
refhundred
to the leceiveipayments of the Unitee
States land office for the distiict in
which said land may be situated.
jAnd In case any purchaser tails to
jnake such annual payment when
OT wittafr^n^*
^l!eleUfteldue, air
n^
i
lights in and to the land coveied bj
his or her puichase shall at once cease
and any payments made shall theieup
on be forfeited, and the Seceltaiy oi
the Intenoi shall theieupon declaie
such forfeited by reoffenngsuch land
for sale. And no title to said land
shall inuie to the puichaser, nor any
patent issued to the puichaser, until
the puichasei oi ids oi hei heirs shall
have lesidetl upon, nnpioved, and cul
tivated said land loi the full teim of
tiveyeaiS) without any commutation
oi time, and shall ha\c in rtll lespects
complied with the teimsand piovision
oi the homestead, laws ol the United
States: Piov ided, That such puichasei
shall ml*let* his final pi oof confoimable
to the homestead laws within six yeais
fiom the date of tliesrtle? that aliens
who httvip declaied theii intention to
become Citizens of the United States
may become piuchaseis undei tins
Act, but fcefoie making fmal proof
and acquiiing title must take out theii
full natuiahzation papers: Provided
That in considei ation of the benefits
to be derived by said Indiahs fiom the
acceptance of tins agieement they ex
pressly grant to the State ot Minne
sota foi school purposes sections six
teen and tin lty-six oi each township.
"All of the Indians residing upon
the tiact above deseiibed shall remove
theiefrom to the diminished Red Lake
ReseiVation within six mohths after
the ratification of the Act: and theie
is hereby appropi iated fiom the pio*
ceeds of said sale the sum of twenty
thousand dollars or so much thereof
may be hecessary, to be paid to those
thus removing in propoition to their
respective impiovements, which pay
ments to said Red Lake Indians shall
be in full of all improvements which
they will abandon, and also for theter
removal within the diminishd reserva
tion of their dead from where they are
now buried on the tiact above describ
ed. The pioceeds of said lands, as re
alized from time to time, shall be paid
into the United States Treasury to
the credit of the Indians belonging on
said Red Lake Reservation.
"Of the amount realized from the
sale of said lands the sum of three
hundred thousand dollars shall be paid
in cash, per capita, share and shaie a
like, to each man, woman, and child
belonging on said Red Lake Indian
Reservation within ninety days after
the sale herein provided for and the
receipt by the United States of said
sum from said sales, and the remain
der of the proceeds of tlie sale of said
lands shall be paid in cash, per capita
in fifteen annual installments, the
XV
"M:
'iA'
first installment to Ire paid in the
month of Octobet of the yeai follpw
ing that in which the payment of the
three hundred iltousand dollais is
made. ~$*rg.~
"In consideration of the Indians
hereinafter referred to ratifying filtfs
Act, the said Indians Shall prossess
their diminished leseivation independ
ent of all other bands of Chippewa In
dians, and shall be entitled to allot
ments thereon of one hundred ahd six
ty acres each of either agiicultura or
pine land, the diffeient classes of land
to be appiopriated as equitably as pos
sible among the allottees. And noth
ing in this Act or its' acceptance by
said Indians shall be construed to de
prive the said Indians of any benefits
to which they ftre entitlad under ex
isting treaties or agreements not ^In-
consistent with the provisions Of this
Acti
^"Th Secietary ot the Interior is
hereby vested with full power and
authority to make such rules and rein
gulations as to the time ot notice,
manner of sale, and other matters in
cident to the eairying out of? tho pro
visions of this Act as he rnajfWleem
necessary, and with authority t6 con
tinue making sales of said land until
all of said land shall have been sold.
The registei and leceiver shall receive
the usual fees for making final proof
under this Act.
Provided That nothing in this sec
tion contained shall in any manner
the United States topuroh&se
any portion of the land herein describ
ed, or to dispose of said land except as
provided herein oi to guarantee to
find purchasers for said lands or any
poition theieof, it being the intention
oi this Act that the United States
shall act as tiustee for said Indians to
dispose of said lands and to expend and
pay over the proceeds received ffbm
the sale theieof only as received, as
herein plovidefy
"This Act shall take effect and bein
in foice fiom and after its latification
by the Red Lake and Pembina Bands
of Chippewa Indians belonging on the
Red Lake Indian Reseivfttion, in thethe
State of Minnesota* a majority of the
male adults of said Indians assenting
.tjieiejtdj Hlidtlre bv idence theieof to be
made by the proclamation of the Pre
sident to the effect that this act hasship
been duiyiatifiedi And theSecietaiy
ot the Intel ior is heieby directed to
submit this Act to said Indians tor
latification as eaily as is piacticabe.
DON'T TOUGH THE PEN.
On this page will bo found
a full text of the Clapp amend
ments to tht' Indian appropriation
act, which provides for the open
ing of the western portion of the
Red Lake reservation. Under the
provisions of those amendments
the assent ot the lied Lake Chip
pewas is necessary before the law
can become operative.
In this Connection the Indian
cannot bet careful in having as
full and complete an interpretation
of the amendments made to them
as can be obtained. They must
not rely wholly, as they have in
the past, upon such an interpreta
tion of the law as may be given by
the representatives of the gover
ment vvho will negotiate with them
for their assent to the amendment*-,
but they shoiild call Upon their
agent, the educated members of
their band, the missionaries that
are amongest them and their at
torneys for information and ad vice
before they accept or reject them.
If these persons view the mat
as we do they will advise the
Indian against their acceptance of
the amendments.
The most objectionable features
of the amendments are contained
in the clauses which provide for
deferred payments and the proposi
tion to donate to the State of Min
nesota sections sixteen and thirty
six of each township.
The Indians have gained experi
ence under the act of 1889, com
monly called the Nelson Act, and
from that experience they should
know whether the amendments
would be beneficial to them or
not.
Under the Nelson act the same
provision are made relative to the
dh%r-~ ^^J&aaS'
Wk.
installment payments for agricul
tural lands as are contained in the
iClapp amendments.: and, although
it is over eight years since this
class of land on the former Ked
Lake reservation was opened to
settlement and* entered by settlers*
the amount due for the land re*
mains unpaid, and thus the Chip-1
^ewas are losing, annually, at least
fifty thousand dollars as inter*
est tth a' fund which should be
drawing interest at the rate of
five per cent pet annum as provided
by the act.
*4TWithiri a year after the agricul
tural land of the former l$ed Lake
reservation hatl heen entered by
settlers, efforts were made to have
the time of payments extended be*
yond the period fixed by law, and
this the settlers wei*e successful,
for this extension was granted re
gardles of the law which fixes, de*
finately, the dates of the payment
In the liglit of their past experience
what ^arariSee^tlwase^Ec, .hav^e
the ld Lake Indians that
same conditions will hot arise
der t|e Clapp .amendment** il
now exist in relateJ^M\J
cultural lands under the Nels
Act, if they should assent to the
amendments, since the provisions1
in regard to the payments for Agri-*
cultural lands provided by the lat
ter la\v are not any more definate*
ly fixed than those of the Nelson
Act. Besides thisHwlities may in-1
tervene and cause the communta
tion of the payments which the
amendments propose, and result
an entire repudiation of the
rights of the Indians*
Another important objection t'd
amendment is the proposition
which provides that the Indians
shall donate to the state sections
sixteen and thirty-nix each town
that may be ceded, or in oth
er words, give to Minnesota lands
valued at between sixty and seven
ty five thousand dollars. Inasmuch
us the state failed, in the courts of
tho United States, to establish its
claim to those* lands it seems lath
er presumtious to ask the Indians
to donate thrill to the state now*
especially as they would not re
ceive any benefits therefrom.
W do not behove, judging"
from the reports that come froni
Rod Lake, that it is necessary
for us to say to our brethern at
Hod Lake "foun't WMch the pen.'*
A FEARLESS INDIAN AGENT.
According to recent dispatcorf,
from Washington to the Twin
City daily newspapers, a strong
effort is bring rtiade to secure thd
removal of Major Scott, acting1
Indian agent at Leech Lake, and
to again place Oapt. Mercer in
charge there. W do not claim
any acquaintance vvith Major Scott
or hih manner of contacting his
agency, but from information
obtained from Indian sources wo
are satisfied that he is strictly lion*"
est, and is doing all in his power
to advance the interests of the In-*
dians under his charge.
On the other hand We claim to
be somewhat familiar with Capt.^
Mercers methods of conducting I
dian agencies, and we do not lies- 'js
sitate to say that his administra
tion of such agencies, both in Min
nesota andWisconsin,especially in
relation to pine timber deals, was
outrageous. The Chippewas have
had enough of him, but if the gov
erment cannot dispense with his
service in the Indian country we
would suggest that he be sent to
some reservation where there is no
pine timber.
If the Chippewas were pre'mit*
ted to have a voice in the matter
Major Scott would continue in
charge of the Leech La ke Agency
indefinately, ^f
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