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Edited by Wassaja (Dr. Montezuma'3 Indian name, meaning " Signaling") an Apache Indian

Vol. 6, No. 1 ISSUED M ON THLY April, 1921

THE ONLY WAY TO GET THE INDIANS OUT OF THE CONTROL OF THE INDIAN BUREAU, IS TO GET THEM OUT OF THE CONTROL OF THE INDIAN BUREAU

THE AMERICAN FLAG The American flag is nothing but a worlhless

piece of bunting that flutters in the breeze, but what it symbolizes is worth living ar.d dying for. That flag stondP for something that we should appreciate. It was the meaning of that flag touching the patriotic hearts that caused millions of our young men to shoulder their guns, cros3 the sea and heroically take part in the world righteous war. The meaning of that flag is precious and heavenly- it reaches to God.

The cloth of red, white and blue is worthless, but the syml::olical meaning is sacred and stands above the material treasures of men. That flag, to mankind, directs man's heart to liberty, equal rights, democracy, humanily and justice, with one and all of G:>d's creatures.

To mar one of those cardinal principles of our Americanism is to virtually violate the Constitu­tion of the United States.

The American people freed themselves from the grasp of great Britain. The American people f,eed the black race from slavery. The American people fought to free the weaker of the world races and now they are talking of freeing the Phillippines, but they don't say one word about freeing the Indians. The good book speaks of having eyes, and yet, cannot see; of hearts of stone and quenching the spirit of justice.

Right in the midst of this liberty-loving coun­try, the Indian Bureau flourishes in its slavery system with the Indian race, and the public at

large is not aware of it nor see it. T~e heart of the public is, as hard as ,tone and cold as ice, to the agonizing cry of the Indian people, and they have quenched the divine spirit of brotherly love and relief. They go on unheedingly taking everything that belongs to the Indian people re­gardless of whether it is lawful or not. Greed has taken the place of philanthrophy and com. mercialism to that of charity. There is no kind­ness bestowed, but they are taking advantage of the Indians on all occasions, of their rich re­sources on their lands. It is hard to bear, but the Indians are slaves and tremble to the Indian Bureau and they must stand and take such med­icine or be placed in jail until they give up to the Indian Agent or Indian Office.

Liberty is one of the vital principles for which the American flag stands for. Have the Indians their liberty? No. They are under the human bondage system of the Indian Bureau. The In. dian people do not know what liberty or free­dom mean. They are colonized on reservations away from all opportunities that liberty gives t~ all mankind. It is the Czars Siberia, a dungeon of crimes human, of human crim<s. There you find corruption, stagnation and misery and where there is no life, but sure death.

Equal rights is the cry of man and the law that governs nature. Do the Indians on reservations enjoy equal rights? Not at all. They are not citizens; they have no voice in their own affairs They are children of wa_r. All of their bein · are invested in the Indian Bureau and they ha!:

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2 -WAS SAJ A

WASSAJA Vol. 6, No. 1 APRIL, 1921 -....

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no rights whatsoever. It is a damnable shame and a crime, and God, in the day of his judg­m~mt, will require an answer at the hands of a government that used his name in a system that should shock the entire God-rearing world.

Democracy-the glory of America is that the people rule. They have a voice in their govern­ment. The Indians that live in America, what about them? They have no voice in their affairs. They are held in bondage. They can eat, breathe and sleep, but outside of that, the Indian Bureau does everything for the Indians, Their proper­ties are sold or leased and the Indians are mum, Their salaries are spent without their knowledge or consent; and laws are made for them behind their backs and they have no rights to defend themselves in the common courts. The Indian Agents and Indian Bureau are their lords and little Zzars in this land of democracy. The In­dian Bureau system for the Indians is a . sham and a mockery to democracy.

That flag stands for humanity. The Indians are segregated on reservations and suppressed from developing their God's gift faculties. Right­eousness is not permitted to come into the res­ervations and the Indians are not allowed to go outside to breathe the air of freedom. An Indian Agent was once asked, "What is a reservation?" He replied: "It is a hell!" A reservation ia foreign to humanity, It is criminal and intrigue upon the Indian race by the invading intruders of the United States and that flag which stands for democracy is desecrated by the toleration of such existing laws.

It is beautiful and worthy to be proud of that flag, when we realize in our hearts that it stands for justice; because justice is that standard of right by which we are enabled to render unto every man his just due without distinction. When a foreigner lands at Castle Garden and in five years after landing becomes a citizen of the United States, that is justice, But when the In. dians, who were here before Columbus, ask for freedom and citizenship, they are kept as wards and there is a committee of three that judges whether the Indians are competent or incompe. tent, making exception with the Indian race­that is not justice. It is a right down distortion of that which is justice. The Indians were here

before Columbu, and yet, they are not c1hzene. They cannot vot,; common cour(s are cl~sed \ 0

them. ,They are as prisoners of war and are ~ot eligibl.;-'to the pro\«jction fhat other races e;njoy. If there is such a thing as justice and if ·there is such a thing as prior rights, it is the Indian race of people that are entitled to the prior rights and privileges of Ame;,can citizenship. But, sad to say, at this hour of the world history, the Indians are kept from the hands of justice by the exist­ing Indian Bureau, that makes its living at the expense of the Indian people. The Indian Bureau makes the public believe that it is doing good work for the Indians, when it is degrading them to the lowest depth ot human existence.

And, therefore, we pray to God, that the Re. publican Congress will take a ,tep for the free­dom and citizenship of the Indian people and ex. emplify that flag, that symbolizes-liberty, equal­ity, democracy, humanity and justice.

LOY AL INDIANS AND TRUE FRIENDS

The nearer we advance to the goi-1 of freedom and citizenship, the more opposition we will meet. The dog, while it is filling its stomach and is let alone, does not growl or show its teeth; but look out when you disturb him. The Indian Burebu; with its army of blood-sucking grafters, has the Indian~ to fill their stomachs and they are i,; power; they are worse than the dog; they are on guard and using every means to have the In. dians in their charge, taking everything away from them. We read that human nature can condescend to reach a very low ebb. Just think of an Indian woman who has been in the Indian Office and is so in love with it that she is work­ing to have Cato Sells retained as Commissioner of Indian Affairs. That beats all. Cato Sells is considered the worst Indian Commis,ioner that ever occupied that position. There have been Indian friends who straddled th,: line "between the Indians and the Indian Bureau. They have come out that they are in league with the Indian Bureau. n In other words, they prefer the Indian Bureau man to get the comr,:issionership r.,ther than Tom S loan, who is clearly and openly against the Indian Bufeau.

One can say, "I am for the Indians fiist and last, n and still, be a traitor. And the worst part of it is, that some people think they can be neutral and help the Indians; when the Indians need their moral support, they hold back and do not ,ay a word. We were not born yester· day. We know that silence means, that ycu have not the loyal and true ring for the be,t in. terest of the Indians. Something of a poisonous nature overshadows that once a pure and unde. filed heart for the i;!Ood and betterment of the Indian raGe. The parting of the ways is sad and does not help the Indian p eople. There are some things and some times it pays to give away.

WASSAJA 3 The time is now. Petitions from many Indians for Tom 's1o~n ~~ InJia,n Commissioner have been ri,ceived, bqt who _jire placing themselves in the, way but these spurious so-called friends of the Indians. There is a little excuse for the In­dian Bureau employee•, but to have those who claim to be r..al friends of the Indians and claim they are against the Indian Bureau, and then to have them side in with the Indian Bureau rather than awrove Mr. Thomas L. Sloan, it is inex· plicable. Freedom and citizenship for the In- , dians does not need the help of disloyal Indians and false friends, but LOYAL INDIANS AND TRUE FRIE~ms.

HORSE MEAT AS FOOD FOR MAN

Horse meat was unknown among the lndiaus of America. Horse is the introduction of civiliza. tion. Horse m eat is good to eat, so is cat's fl esh. The ..;,riter remembers the time, when his fo lks stampeded horses into the mountains and killed them for food . A cat was a tender morsal to an Indian woman. These things occurred fifty years ago. It was a day of live or die. It was a case of necessity, and there was no way out of it.

Before the white man came, the Indians lived on wild game and nature's provision. They fat. tened as though living in the "lan_d of milk and honey.• Everything was plentiful and they were never in want. Before the white man came, no happier and more contented people ever lived on the face of the earth than the Indians.

What a change has come a-bout in the case of the Indians! By force of arms, they were com· pelled to give up their life of freedom to that of confinement on reservations.

San C,:rlos Reservation of Arizona, in 1871. wa, the first place where the Indians cculd go and be safe from being killed. At the present time its area is about fifty miles squ,re. At the beginning of the reservation system the lndidns were given beef meat for their ration.

A letter dated March 23rd, 1921, reads as fol­lows: "A meeting was held and the Indian Agent informed the indians that he wanted to buy ponies to feed the Indians and that the ponies must not cost any more than $6.00 per head." The writer also says that the Indians do not want horse meat. They do not know where to get any help in their behalf, in reference not to enforce horse meat on the Indians of San Carlos.

In orcier to be fair and set a good example, let the Indian Ag'ent and the employees of the San Carlos Reservation start in on eating horse flesh themselves. It is not right to force the Indians to eat horse meat when they do not want it.

Here is an opportunity to help these Indians from being fed on horse meat. Write to the Commissioner of Indian Aff"irs, Washington, D . C., and also to_ Mr. ,Thomas G. Bishop, 711

20th St., N . W ., Washington, D . C ., of your disap­proval of having the Indians rationed on horse meat, and you will be doing an act that each and ~very lover of justice, humanity and equal rights is in duty bound to do.

San Carlos Reservation is a cattle range country. The white cattle-men have the range and the Indians are crowded out (of their own lands. ) That is exactly the way the Indian Bureau looks after the welfare of the Indians. It is the case of mineral oil , timber and coal rights. · The Indian Bureau forces the Indians to give up their rights for these g-igantic in­terests. This horse flesh feeding business is a self-confession on the part of the Indian Bureau that- it is a perfect failure. Feeding its wards with horse flesh is a sign of i;: t a rvation and of leading the Indian;, down to the lowest depths of life. This may be the Indian Bureau's method of getting these Indians to move away from the San Carlos Reservation, so that the Indian lands can be converted into a re;,ervoir for the proposed San Carlos dam.

We have a lways claimed that a reservation is a place of idleness and pauperism.

At San Carlos, the Indian B ureau stopped buying wood from the Indians and purchased coal. There is no such a thing as "paying" on reserva lions for the Indians .

When Indians are in a starving condition and there are cattle upon a thousand hills and they are forced to live on horse meat, there is something radically wrong and the matter s houid be inve3tigated. This is the limit: This arbitrary act of the Indian Bureau should condemn it and it should be totally abolished.

"LET MY PEOPLE GO" ---- ANo----

"ABQLISH THE INDIAN BUREAU"

Now is the time to do something practical for the lndie.n people. If you cannot d o it personally, the n ext help~ fu l thing to do is for you to procure, all you can, copies of "LET MY PEOPLE GO" and " ABOLISH THE INDIAK BU REAU." and send them where they will do the mo8t good. Scatter them far and wide . If thousands will do that in each st11te, just imagine what inAuence it would have. It would be like seeds; they would take roots, and the public would know some· thing about the Indian' s plights.

If there were book~ or pamphlets on the subject we would be g ad to refer them to you, but there arc none I hat we know of. "LE f MY PEOPLE GO" and "ABOL­ISH T HE IND IAN BUREAU" are the only pamph­le1 s touching on the vital s olution of the so.called ln· dian proble:m obtainable at this lime .

" LET MY PEOPLE GO," per copy .... .. .. ....... .. lOc

"ABOLISH THE INDIAN BUREAU." pcrcopy .,. 15c

For information and immed iatt- delivery of one or both of these publications. w rite the Editor,

13 5 South Park Ave. CH ICAGO, ILLINOlS

4 WASSAJA THE COMMISSIONER OF INDIAN AFFAIRS

Through the press we are informed that Charles H . Burke has been appointed as Commissioner of Indian Affairs. To the Republican party belongs the spoils. Charles H. Burke is worthy of this position as a reward. We are not in a position to say anything about the new Commissioner until we find out more &bout him and give him a chance to do something and say something on Indian matters.

To make party tools out of the Indians, any good Republican can fill the place of Indian Com­missionership. To reward a brother Republican to the Commissionership of Indian Affairs, he does not have to know anything about Indians. All he has to do is to take the oil can and grease the Indian machine faithfully; now and then tighten this and that loose screw; his main duty is to keep the machine (Indian Bureau) going. The Commissioner's political obligation is so great and his position is so tempting, that he naturally follows to the law of least resistance. He finds himself busy head over heels con­sulting with old friends about matters under his charge. These friends of the Commissioner wish him to favor this and favor that. It may be on the leasing of Indians' grazing or mineral lands; it may be on moving the Indians away from where they are, in order to utilize that land for the good of the public ; it may be on the subject of great projects of irrigation and constructing dams on Indian Reservations; it may be on buy. ing timber from the Indians ; it may be to sell cattle to the Indians, and it may to skin the In­dians (always the policy of the Indian Olfic<e.)

When you do a favor for your friends as a Commissioner of Indian Affairs, and you are wearing the same shoes as your Democratic pre­decessor, it would be foolish to have heart and soul interest in the dirty, lazy and good for noth­ing Indians. The Indians are disgusting to a political Commissioner of Indian Affairs, but you know, honor, bread and butter and party loyalty is worth the sacrifice for four years. After the first year, it gets more interesting, because he knows more of the ins and outs and wants of his interested friends. These friends do not forget him either. In politics you do not work for glory. Business is business. The Indians furnish the ground for the political play. High princi­ples actuated each party to power, but the way the Indians have been treated by them while in power, is a mockery and a violation of the Con­stitution of the Uniti,d States.

This is an age of commercialism, where man wants to be paid for what he does, but does not want to pay for what others do for him. Still, he pays, because he is compelled to pay his debts. The unselfish philanthropy of the Indian Bureau is killed by converting the Indian Bureau into commercialism, It pays to be a guardian

when the wards have property and money, and they are kept as babies from birth to death. God does not sanction the imprisonment of the human faculties. Does the Indian Bureau staff know God~

To do the most good for the· Indians, that per­son must know that Indians are HUMAN BE­INGS, just like himself. What will help him, the same thing will help ihe Indians. Do for the Indians as you would do for yourself. If the Indians are backward and incompetent, it is due to the system of reservation life. No man can develop when all of his opportunities and re­sponsibilities are forcibly debarred from him and he has been forced to live in ignorance, slavery and debauchery. To continue that human crime by a President and Commissionership of Indian Affairs is rotten to the core. They are not friends of the Indians.

The light and life of man is FREEDOM. The Indians were here before Columbus and they are slaves and prisoners of war. To quench the spirit of righteousness on this matter and heed not the cty of the inner s~ul of the man- In­dian, is to say, " You know God, and God i., not in thee."

The greatest thing that a m a n can say and is, that he is a citizen of the United States. If there is a race that should have a prior rights to American citizenship, it i., the Indian race, But they are not citizens; they are wards. Leg ally, with man to man, they have no more rights than a dog. On reservations, they are treated worse than dogs. The Indian Bureau system, in the sight of God, is worse than black slavery to the Indian people, and the reser­vation is Dante's inferno, No. 2, and should be swept from the face of the earth.

An Indian Commissioner o f Indian Affairs, is he, that will bestir himself to have the books of the Indian Bureau closed, so that the In­dians will be free to t ake care of themselves, like you and I, and which would automatically bestow upon them effectual citizenship. Now, that there has been a change in the Commis­sionership of Indian Affairs, we will live on in the hope that thete will also be a great change for th e Indian race, and tha t they may soon be a free and happy people.

"ON THE INDIAN TRAIL'' BY DR VAN DYNE

Is a novel of Indian characters, leading from a reservation Indian life to that of combating the Indian Bureau and d y ing on the path that leads to freedom and citizenship. A c"opy of this w onderful book should be in the posession of ev ery lover of justice, humanity, equal righ ts and freedom.

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