CITIZENSHIP OF
INDIAN TESTEO
AT WRANSELL
INDIAN' rerr/KSSHIV TKMTKD
ntatus Finally KH«*bU*h«l—Kiglit |
*l\» Vol<* Saw Undisputed •
(From The Alaska Fisherman)
The cane of the United States ver
sus Charlie J.ones grew out of the
Toting which Jones did at the pen
oral election of November 7th.. 1922
when Jones swore in hi9 vote after
ehalleupe by L. M. Churchill, elec-,
tiorn judge at Wrangell. Alaska.
Certain leaders of the Natives have 1
felt for a long time that these peo
ple are free born citizens of the
United States under the 14th amend
ment and also under the act of .Con
gress passed February 8. 1887. And
because the subject of fisheries is so
important to them and because it is
a subject on which they are the best
informed, the natives have been urg
ed to vote for particular men who
had shown by their records that they
were fail-minded.
Charlie Jonea was selected by the
Wrangell City Council as being their
gfrongest case to prove that the said
J,one* was a legal Indian and not a
citizen. In many respects they were
right. for Jones is an old Indian, un
educated. h>* could not read or write,
and h«« lived on the lands which have
been surveyed by the Government a.* j
■‘Indian Possessions.”
The star witness for the Govern- I
n.ent was Billy Thomas, who at one
time was related to Charlie Jones by
marriage. He learned to read and
write late in life and finally became
United States Commissioner at
Wrangell.
The other star witness was L. M.
Churchill, who was married to an
Indian woman and raised a tine fam
ily of boys and girls, children that
would be a credit to any father and
mother.
The other star witness was Mayor
John Grant who is also married to
an Indian woman and who raised one
of the finest families known to this
We have wondered, though, why
such men who have cast in their lots
generally with the native Alaskans
should continue the persecution of
the race into which they married.
A great deal of unnecessary and
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STEAM HEATED, ELECTRIC LIGHTED
BATHS IN CONHECTION.
A
irrelevant testimony was introduced j
.it.d permitted, but the question at
last turned on whether or not Jones •
had abandoned his tribal relations j
and was living after the manner of
civilized life.
Thomas said it was his opinion I
that Jones had not. and when pressed j
in cross-examination to state in what
respect he had failed to live after the j
manner of one civilized, Thomas said \
that Jones regarded himself as th- J
successor of Chief Shaken and chief j
of the \Ton-ni-ah-yi clan; that he |
could n<»t read or write; that h'1 lived j
on an Indian Reserve; and that his !
house was not painted. The other;
witnesses testified in like manner/ :
In a well considered opinion. Judge •
Thomas Reed disposed of all legal !
questions, the Important points being!
"Every Indian born within the ter-1
tutorial limits of the United 3tat» ■» 1
who has voluntarily taken up with! • •
said limits his residence. sepirit-|
and apart from any tribe of Indian-,
therein and lias adopted the hab.t-j
of civilized life, is hereby declared >
be a citizen of the United States.
"An Indian tribe, in legal . j
ir a -omunity of the < riginal tribe oi .
race, having laws, rules and rogu'.i-j
t»er«i governing themselves and aw- j
inc allegiance to thr authority of the
tr be or the tribal law rather thin «*f •
the United Stales itse/.
"Some qu'=tion Is raised abou* the
defendant residing on s. tract of nj
t-hovvn on tb. > plat of the townsit of]
| Wrangell as 'Indian P« ssessions,’ :m i
•in iuc-.ication that he had not *.a\e 1 !
ill* his residence separate and if"!
from any tr'h- of Indians. * * 'll
•* * '* l.i» truct von that the - -
called reservation or Indian posse
ions at Wrangell is not a reservatt'"-.
in a technical or legal sense, bu* is
land that was withheld from occupa
tion and sale to others by virtue i f
ti e Acts of Congress which I have
just cited to you (May SO. 1884).
* • * * Tills is different from
the reservations made by treaty
with the Indians or a reservation by
virtue of the. executive authority of
the United. States or by the Congress
el the United States. There the res
ervation is made and the land is with
drawn from public stile or disposition
artel remains so withdrawn until n
jvoked by the authority which created
tne reservation, hut an imn.in re
siding on a reservation of this class,
not bei-ng nn allottee; that Is. not
holding his land in severalty, cm not
he a citizen of the United States in
mj opinion because he is on a reser
vation created by the authority stat
ed for a certain number or kind or
tribe of Indians and is distinctly a
v:ard of the Government and subject
only to the laws of the United States,
relating to Indian tribes, but an In
dian residing on the class of lands
of the Wfangell townsite is a citizen
f he voluntarily takes up hi' resi
dence separate and apart from any
tribe, as I have defined the word
tribe to you. and has adopted the
habit’s of civilized life.
“Some testimony was introduced
oil the point that the defendant had
been refused a certificate of citizen
ship. authorized by the act of the
Territorial legislature of 101". * *
ami therefore Jones should have
i.Hirucf you that th • fact that a cor*
iff cate under the territorial law. was
efused th** defendant is not even
irima facie evidence that he was not
i citizen under the act of Congress
>f Feb. X. 1XX7. The Congress of the
'nited States, on that date, specified
•.hat Indians should be citizens of
he l'nited States and no state, ter
ritory or authority has any power or
iuthority to modify or add to that
Uatute which provides that an In
lian who was born in the United
States and residing within the juris*
iiction there, who ha- voluntarily
;ik'»n up his residence separately
uul apart from any tribe and adopt*
n the habits of civilized life. U a
•itiaen of the United States and en
, it led to all the rights, privileges and
immunities thereof.”
The jury which had listened to the
•mire case very carefully and among
whom were several persons from the
own of Wrangell, returned a verdict
• "not guilty.” on the second ballot.
The conclusions of law which
thinking men who followed this case
closely must adopt as a result, for
the evidence was comprehensive, the
customs of the different tribes of Al
aska Natives were considered, the
practices of the Indians of Wrangell.
Sitka and other towns were brought
in. were as follows:
1. That there is no "tribe of In
dians" in the legal sense at Wrangell,
or anywhere else where the same
form of tribal organization prevails.
Well-informed people know this ter
ritory to begin at least from Yaku
fnt and extend to Saxman and to in
< Hide the entire Thinget speaking
2. The term “Indian possessions"
h t».»t the same as "Indian reserva
tion” and does not effect the citizen
ship of one living thereon.
.1. "Indian reservations’* can only
h ' created tli by act of Congress;
(2» by treaty ; (31 by Executive an
il is extremely doubtful if the court
weuld hold that there are any wards
of the United States in Alaska with
the exception of the Indians living on
•! p Annette Islands and in respect tn
flo Islanders, the Circuit Court of
Appeals says they are wards.
The view or several prominf-m at
Itorneys is that this decision puts an
er.rl to the “literacy tests" sought hv
jdifferent legislators unless Congress
would change the Organic Act. This
! the Natives may expect certain peo
I pie to try for if this territory is di
vided: for several well-known ene
i. ies of the Indian race are on the
I steering committee which is drai'fimr
jthe new proposed Organic Act, name
llv. U. K. Robertson. II. L. Faulkner.
1.1. r. Barber, and others. It will he
the same gang. cannerymen. mining
'men. and their attorneys whose first
I purpose in dealing with problems of
i state is to control elections for their
j own selfish purposes.
All copy for changing advertise
ments In Weekly Nugget must be In
the printers hands not later than
THURSDAY \OON, ro insure in
the Vome Xuggof
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|',I\KS H>K.\ Ol MAMMOTH
THAT KOAMKI) ALASKA
in Fairtatnks It Securing
Mono* Very Excellent Specimens
| A scant 2.r..f»00 to 40,000 years ago
las geologists mark off th»» cons of
■time, the long-haired mammoth dom
inated the larger animals living in
; Alaska. says the Fairbanks News
Minor. His supremacy depended not
j alo-ne on numbers for. standing as he
did. about nine and one-half feet in
height, weighing at least two tons,
and equipped with long spiral tuk«
with points directed inward, so fash
ioned as to catch an adversary for
the deadly backward toss, be roamed
the lowlands free from fear of any
living enemy. For protection again
st a rigorous climate ho had an
under coat of wool and an overcoat
of yellowish brown wooly hair cover
ing the entire body. Interspersed
|with these was a 1-rge number of
longer and thicker hairs which form
ed mane-like patches on the cheeks,
chin and flanks of the animal.
It is easy to read the description
cf animals of these proportions with
out actually getting a true mental
picture of this grout giant among all
the quadrupeds. If these animals
bad persisted in Alaska to the pres
ent day and we should suddenly en
counter one on the trail, the modern
big-game rifle would prove of little
avail. The soft-nose bullet would be
flattened and retarded in penetrat
ing the thick tough hide and heavy
flesh pads and only by chance would
I the vitals be reached.
! nut the mammoth did not survive,
jarnl today we must visualize his great
i bulk from skeleton remains uncover
ed chiefly in the placers. Tom Smith
jof Nenana recently secured front the
Manley Hot Springs an exceptionally
well preserved thigh bone of out* of
these animals, and this bone, which
is now at the college, serves better
(than anything else to designate the
j gigantic bone structure of the mam
jmoth. This thigh bone alone has a
| dry weight of about 4.r. pounds, is
j three, feet in length and at the bait
.and socket hip joint is .14 inches in
. i i iveumference. Its weigh just fif
|teen times that of th • thigh bone of
Iiavo mot many bison and wild horses
: f,»r (host; who have made a study of
jthe problem are of the opinion that
iduring the glacial period th- 111am
jmoth exceeded in number any other
[large animal in the northern part of
J our continent. The bison ranked
‘second .Hid the wild horses and the
J caribou existed in lesser but import
Jant numbers. The placers of Alas
Ika have not yielded any large quan
11't v of horse bones and the impress
J it n has generally prevailed that the
I horse was rare during the time of
[the mammoth. On the contrary,
j however, he probably existed in con
siderable numbers but his grazing
1 rea kept hint out of the stream b«*t
!toms much of the time and hence
his bone-, would not oft«-n appear in
At Hot Springs, however, two well
preserved hors.- skull- and several
ation with the thigh ho: • of the
PERSONAL PROPERTY
li^ai DELINQUENT ASSESSMENT HOLE ( ITV OF NOME, ALASKA.
DESCRIPTION
Arctic Whali-ng * Fishing Co.
ANDERSON. B. M.
CLARK. JAMES.
COOK. - FRED.
CROWLEY, D. E.
ENT * CLUB.
EWERT. HARRY .
DANKERT. CHAS..
GIBNEY, BARNEY MRS. .
GUSTAFSON. THEO .
GRIFFITH, M. W.
HAGER.. J. J. . .
HENDRICK SON. GUS.
JANNSEN, C. F.
JONES. C. D.
KOHANEK. T.
KLEINSCHMIDT. E. L.
MacSMITH, J.
NOME BREWING CO.
NELSON. N. B.
O’CONNOR. E. B. ..
OLSON. ANDREW .
SCHOONER RAM.
PETERSON. PETER X.
RANK. IRA M.
RANK & BERNARD.
REED. C. W. ESTATE.
SIMEON. S. H.
WALKER. HENRY.
WILSON. ERIC ..
WEISBERG. MITCH EL _
Personal . .
j Personal . . .
1 Personal . . .
Boat 17405 & "Jew
Boat "Kobuk"
Lodging House .
[Boat "New York”
I Personal .
Personal .
Personal .
Personal .
Personal .
I Personal .
j Second Hand S?or*
Persona] .
Personal .
Boat “Ukiwak”
Personal .
Personal .
Boat "Sea Wolf" .
Boat "Teddy Bear’
Personal .
Boat "Helen”
Mach me Shop
Boat "U 416*'
Personal .
$108.00
NOTICE LH HRKKBY GIVEN, that union* the Delinquent Taxes on the above Personal Property are paid
with penalty and accruing interest and other costs within ten (10) days from the final publication at this notice,
to wit, within ten days from 5th day of April, 1924. the property or a portion thereof upon which said taxes
are a lien, will be seized under distress warrant and sojd to satisfy said taxes so due.
Dated at Nome, Alaska, this 15th day of March. 1924. E. GRIMM,
City Clerk and Rt-Offlclo Tax Cdhrtor.
flute of first publication fineb 15, 1224. Date of last publication April 5, 1224.
expert pahonto !- gist won!il be ah
to accurately classify this hors*! ai
designate it general rehitin-nshlp
our present-day horse.
The C’lilh e- is securing an unusu
rollerct.on of Pleistocene mamma
and in time this collect ion will pi
>nit several *»f the species to lie r
assembled m skeleton form for in
seum and laboratory purposes.
lAlitltANKS IM K1.ISIIKK I.K.lVl
poit sT.ims on \ r.rsi\i*>*s
Tak«*s Out \laska Exhibit to .Hno
Territory Can llui«c Produce
W. F. Thumps-n, v-*t.*ran nev. s»»
per publisher of Fairiv-nks •
*:-.Ut l> for the Stat'-s enr- Ute !,> «
teen principal cities where li w.
give interviews of Alaska and
hibit pictures nr the railroad dis:- •
including mines, camps and firm
Mr. Thompson plans to visit Ft.
Porte, in Sait Lake, the Denver Pos
Editar Allen White, at Empori:
Kansas; Omalia. Kansas City, S
I/ouiH, Washington. Baltimore. Ho
ton. New York, going as far East i
Maine before returning by way <
Rochester, Minnesota, where he wi
spend a short time in Mayo Bros.
Mr. Thompson took with him h
famous Harding exhibit, includin
the golden make-up rule used by th
President on the forms of the New
Miner, and the type set by the Pre
blent on the occasion of his memo
able trip north. Some thirty artlcl*
have been written by Mr. Thompso
which will be submitted to variot
papers. An exhibit of pictures, le
r* rs and curios of the Harding vis
will be made in leading store wir
In this way much information ca
i be desseminated about Alaska as
I home-builder, and much erroneoii
| information dispelled. \V. F. Thom]
■ son is perhaps one of the oldes
’.newspaper men in Alaska havin
[‘pent his youth on several large pi
pers of the East and West. He wei
't.. Dawson in the boom days, late
| going to Fairbanks where he estal
jlished the News-Miner, which h*- hr
; managed since. He is known to ef
|cry prominent publisher and polit
jcian in the States, and has exerts
every effort to bring Alaska into th
; Cnielight. He will l>e gone a hoi
[three months.
I WORM vriov VI AVTKII
■j'S'usfret,
A Sir:
'lh<. tame of I). D. Garun-. If to
jffln Rive me any information in re
Sard to him. or help me locate him
| I -'hall be very thankful
LORETTA GARVEY.
Hartford. AVis
of ( oritsF vnr i»o
j Everybody wants »o re. .] the n. \v:
j. nd keep posted on what -s happen
j r.g thruout the World. Hceomr r
j.-teady subscriber and have ;bf
fTelegraph Hull-’ t . $1.00
* JOHN A. WILSON «fl
* 1 s- MINERAL SURVEYOR !#t
ifi Nome, Alaska. if
* ***!fi!fiifi'fififififif*ififi
NOTICE OF FORFEITURE.
To 1‘ A. Kornell. V. Juli.-u, C. E.
Kyberg. J. Unuiii. L. Williams. C.
Pelletier and J. Dubois, your and
ea-'h of your h drs. executors, ad
ministrators and assigns:
Von are hereby notified that the
snders.jrnftd has expended dtirin-r
eh of the y -air of 19 14. 1915.
the sum of On. hundred Dollars,
(1100.00). in Labor and Iinprove
cer mi nine i ’aim known as and
being OSKORXE NO. 1 ASSOCIA
TION. situated on Odvrne Creek a
tributary . f the Nome River,
:n the Cape Nome Mining District
aid Precinct. Territory of Alaska:
the location certificate or no.tice of
which sa.id claim is of record in the
office of the recorder of said mining
district and precinct, in Vol. 190. at
Page 173. of the records of loca
tions of said mining district and
precinct.
That said work was performed as
provided by Sec. 23 24. of the Re
vised Statutes of the United States
and stipple mental legislation, for
the purpose of holding said claim.
And you are severally required to
contribute your proportion of such
expenditure according to your sev
eral interests in said claim, to the
undersigned, co-owner with you
therein, within ninety days after the
service of this notice on you by pub
lication thereof, or your interest in
said claim will become forfeited
and vest i-n the undersigned, as pro
vided by said statutes.
Dated at Nome. Alaska, this
2nd day of February, 19 24.
JOE BOUTCGKT
©o-Owotr
Bj A. A. Cargnon. Agent
Publish Feb. 2; 9, U. 23. Mferch 1. 5.