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OldWestMagazine.com presents "The Administration and the Indians" January 16, 1886
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Harper's Weekly January 16, 1886
The Administration and the Indians
"The importance of the Indian question is evident from the report of Secretary Lamar. It has been generally held that the Indians must be hustled off their lands as fast as white men wanted them, and that the true key-note of our policy is that a dead Indian is the best Indian. But the humanity of the country, which has so long slumbered over this important question, involving the national character and honor, is now thoroughly aroused, and the firm and just attitude of the President in dealing with the depredators upon the solemnly guaranteed rights of the Indians is warmly approved. The Indian Ring, in its various ramifications, has not been able to confuse or mislead him, and there is a bright prospect that a policy worthy of the nation will be laid down and enforced by his Administration.
Secretary Lamar says distinctly that the practice of moving the Indians farther away is possible no longer. All the reservations are surrounded by civilization, so called, and the Secretary says of the Indian: "He must make his final stand for existence where he is now. Unless he can adapt himself to the necessities of these new conditions, his extinction will be sure and swift." The condition of such adaptation is separation from the demoralization of the whites, and regard for the actual condition of the tribes. They are in widely different stages of civilization, and nosingle system can be applied to them indiscriminately and at the same time. Gerneral Sheridan admits that his scheme of alloting a tract of 320 acres to each Indian family, and selling the rest of the reservations at $1.25 per acre, and investing the proceeds to furnish a fund for support of the Indians, can be "most advantageously applied gradually," but the government is bound to regard the Indians as wards, and even to defend them against themselves. It is not enough that their consent should be the condition of depriving them of their lands. The history of the country is full of instruction as to the methods of obtaining that consent. Secretary Lamar's remark is sagacious and timely. "Keeping the Indian reservations from the settlements of white men is a policy which, in my opinion, should be more rigidly enforced."
The bill introduced by Senator Van Wyck, of Nebraska, proposes a Territorial government over the whole Indian Territory, and, as it says, without impairing the rights of the Indians to open certain parts of the lands to settlement. But it is impossible to do this without injuring the rights and preventing the civilzation of the Indians. They are powerless against the United States. They have no possible hope but in the national honor. The nation practically holds their lands in trust for the Indians themselves. Their sole chance against extermination lies in adapting themselves to civilization, and this must be done under sympathetic care of the United States and upon the lands where they are settled. This seems to be plainly perceived by the Administration, and its wise treatment of the question would be another strong title to the respect and confidence of all good citizens."
courtesy OldWestMagazine.com
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