Not in Keeping with “Civilization” Indian Office Orders End of
Long Hair, Dances, and Feasts William A. Jones, the Commissioner
of Indian Affairs in the Office of Indian Affairs, has ordered
his agents and superintendents on the reservations to see to it
that Indian men not be allowed to wear long hair. Jones states
that long hair is “not in keeping with the advancement they are
making or will soon be expected to make, in civilization.”
According to Jones’s order, if Indian men who are employed by
the government do not comply, their food rations should be
stopped. If they became troublesome, Jones believes that “a
short confinement in the guard-house at hard labor, with shorn
locks, should furnish a cure.” Jones also ordered his
reservation officials to end face-painting and traditional
dances and feasts and to encourage the discarding of Indian
dress. When reporters questioned whether he had gone too far,
Jones responded that his actions were in line with the policies
set down by Secretary of the Interior He