their self-selected areas called
reservations. It was then, we
observe, that this early develop
ment of civilization with its ul
timate goal — citizenship—was
being merged into that of the
invading European social stream
This European stock set up its
colonies, it’s states and it’s un
ion of states, and we became it’s
su ejects.
Prior to June 2, 1924, there
were only a few ways in which
an Indian could become a citi
zen of the United States—nine
to be exact, and very few who
became citizens realized the
liberties and responsibiliti s
which were theirs when citizen
ship was conferred upon them.
On June 2, 1924, Congress con
ferred citizenship upon all non
citizen Indians born within the
Territorial limits of the United
States. The exact text of the
Act was as follows:
“Be it enacted by the Senate
and the House of Representa
tives of the United States of
America, in Congress assem
bled,
“That all non-citizen Indians
within the Territorial limits of
the United States be, and they
are hereby declared to be, citi
zens of the United States:Pro
vided, That the granting of such
citizenship shall not impair or
otherwise affect the right of any
Indian to tribal or other prop
erty.” At the time the law was
passed, very little publicity was
given to it, but, upon the reali
zation of the importance of this
measure, persons interested in,
and persons dealing with the In
dian problem studied it. When
the full meaning of the Act was
made clear, it was found to be a
rather peculiar enactment in
that Congress conferred citizen
ship upon the Indians but at
the same time remained their
guardian. Questions in regard
to the rights of Indians to their
property arose, and, moreover,
certain rights, immunities, and
exceptions which the Indians
had enjoyed before, came to an
end. The results of this legisla
tion may be divided into five
parts:
First, the Indians became vot
ers subject to State laws. When
the law of 1924 was passed, 125,
000 Indians became eligible to
vote.
Second, the Indians whose
property is not held in trust by
the Government becomes sub
ject to taxation.
Third, the Indians became
subject to jury duty, and to all
the duties of the average citi
Fourth, the Indians became
financially liable.
At last, a serious problem con
cerning the property rights of
the Indians arose. The Govern
ment still controlled a large pro
portion of their land and their
tribal funds. During the last
years these holdings have be
come very greatly depleted.
Just what deductions may be
drawn from this legislation af
ter years of observation are hard
to state in qualified terms. There
has been progress. The Indian
people are slowly but surely
taking on that mantle of citi
zenship, which the Europeans
with a civilization cf two thou
sand years, have thrust upon
them.
We ,as the descendants of a
a great and noble race, must
maintain our dignity, preserve
our integrity, develop our in
tellectuality, and stimulate our
ambitions so that we can take
our place as cooperative citizens
of this great commonwealth and
become self-sustaining, self
lespecting, and respected citi
zens of the communities iu
which we live.
-x
WAR ON INDIAN BUREAU
-X
Congressman Joe Crail of Cal
ifornia ha$ declared war on tha
Bureau of Indian Affairs.
The federal government’s
handling of the American In
dian has been an “outrage,”
Crn.il says. He plans to intro
duce a bill at the next session of
Congress that will wipe out the
Indian Bureau and turn its
work over to the States.
“The States may not do the
work perfectly,” Crail said, “but
the government has failed.
“It is my idea that if control
of Indian affairs were made
more local in character, so that
someone on the ground might
take an interest in it, the results
would be better.”
Crail will have with him many
cultured representatives of In
dian tribes over America who
are determined before it is too
late the Indian be given a
chance to achieve the full dig
nity of American citizenship.
One well-known member of
the Omaha tribe, Mrs. Leta My
ers Smart of Los Angeles, is
helping Congressman Crail in
his battle.
For some years Mrs. Smart
was a teacher on Indian reser
vations and came to know the
obstacles they must overcome
to achieve independence and
self-respect in the white man's
world.
She has no sympathy with
those whose primary interest is
Ihe “romance” of tribal Indian
history.
“I am not nearly so much
concerned,” she says, “over the
shape of my grandfather’s skull
as I am over what is going to
happen to me and my child,”
she says.
The only way the Indian can
survive in America is through
Education that will fit him for
full citizenship, with all its pri
vileges and responsibilities.
-x
Private opinion is weak, but
public opinion is almost omni
potent.—Henry Ward Beecher,