The past forty years we have had statistics on Indian advancement in the Secretary of the Interior and Indian Office reports. Until late years, these were not detailed, but presented in condensed form the opinions of Agents, Superintendents and employees.

In 1908 the United States Board of Indian Commissioners published a table containing answers to twenty-six questions. The information is valuable and was of service to the Government in handling Indian problems. I do not reproduce the table here for the reason that excellent though it was, it omits protection of property, and vital statistics. Under my chapter devoted to health I have discussed, in a general way, the health of the Indians, but have not presented tables for the reason that I do not wish this book to become too statistical in character.

Feeling that none of the statistical and other reports submitted by Superintendents, Special Agents, Inspectors—or even the Honorable Commissioner himself—emphasized the phase of the situation which in my eyes seemed the most important, I have prepared a table of my own.

Two general questions might be asked every man and woman in the Indian Service, every educated Indian, and every person living in, or near, Indian communities. These are:

First. “Is the Indian citizen treated as the white citizen, or is he discriminated against?”

Second. “Has his moral, physical, financial and general well being increased or diminished, the past twenty years?”

On these two very pertinent and important questions hang the entire future of the American Red Race.

After some thought, I decided to obtain opinions from those who knew at first hand how our wards were progressing. The information I desired must cover all of the United States, where Indians now live. Naturally, it was confined to the region west of the Mississippi, with the exception of tracts in Wisconsin and Michigan.

The excellent table prepared by Commissioner Sells in his report of 1913 is based upon statistics sent in by Superintendents, teachers and physicians. Of necessity, it could not include statements or opinions of missionaries and other observers. It presents the views of employees in the Department.

After deliberation, a series of fourteen questions were prepared and addressed to upward of 300 men and women representing every reservation, Indian community, or school. Nearly half of these replied, and on pages 345 to 358 I have presented their comments grouped under these various questions. I have tried to make the questions sufficiently elastic to cover every phase of the subject. Specific requests applied to one section of the country, might be out of place in another. For instance, a series of questions concerning the Navaho, might not be answered intelligently if applied to the Ojibwa of Wisconsin.

In studying the table of statistics, one observes that the answers indicate a wide difference of opinion. This is quite natural. As an illustration; at Pine Ridge, Major Brennan—a competent Superintendent, who has been in charge of the fighting Sioux for many years—thinks that there is less sickness and more progress than formerly; whereas a prominent missionary takes the opposite view. Another missionary offers a compromise as between Major Brennan’s view, and the opinion of his worthy co-laborer. This difference does not reflect on the report of Major Brennan, but is an honest difference of opinion. Missionaries and their assistants go about among the Indians of a certain part of the reservation more than does the Agent, who is engrossed in many official duties.

Not a few of the answers are lengthy, and extremely interesting. Were it possible, all of them should be reproduced in this chapter.

A number of answers were received promptly, others have come to hand a few at a time, the past four months. Others are still arriving. It must be remembered that these people are all earnest workers, whether employed by the Government or benevolent organizations—hence the delays. Beyond question, many will reach me too late to be included in the table. There is also a class of excessively timid persons, who seem to think that to answer the questions, may involve them in controversy, or cast reflection on the Interior Department. It is quite surprising that so many correspondents should take this view.

The differences of opinion in nowise affect the table as a whole. On a large reservation, the Indians in one section may be rather backward. For instance, there will be more sickness at Pine Point, White Earth reservation, than about White Earth agency. Hence, the priest at Pine Point would report a worse condition among his Indians than the Agent at White Earth. In the great Indian area of eastern Oklahoma, near the schools conditions are satisfactory, whereas back in the hills, there is much suffering and distress. Also in Oklahoma, near the towns will live Indians who drink and gamble. Therefore, if such facts are taken into consideration, many of the apparent discrepancies in my table will be readily understood by readers. Upwards of a hundred of my correspondents have been very frank, and many of their recommendations and suggestions are purposely omitted for the reason that to incorporate them would seem like criticizing the present administration. This is not my purpose, as has been frequently pointed out in this book. All I desire to do is to present facts, and include sensible remedies suggested by correspondents on the ground.

If we average up the entire table and allow for the progress in the sections wherein are located schools; where Superintendents, through efficient farmers and teachers, have brought about advance of Indians, we will find that in many parts of the country there is a distinct advance. In other portions of the United States the natives are either at a standstill, or have retrograded. The best showing is in the Navaho country, where good work has been done by all the Superintendents and missionaries, by Rev. Johnson, and by the Agent at Shiprock, Mr. W. T. Shelton—where now the desert blossoms like the rose. The general policy as carried out by Major Peter Parquette, Superintendent of the Navaho, and his able assistants, has been to let them alone and permit them to work out their own salvation under a slight supervision. As the Navaho are today the largest body of Indians speaking the same language, and chiefly full-bloods, in this country, the Navaho statistics are sufficiently strong in the point of progress to appreciably raise the entire tone of Indians in the United States. This should be a lesson not lost on our Congress. While this is true and other communities, such as Tulalip Agency, Washington, show a marked gain, the general tone of Indian communities as to advance in the arts, health, etc., is not satisfactory. The table clearly indicates this. We must take into account two important factors in studying the reports of my correspondents. First, the Superintendents, very naturally, wish to present their wards in as creditable a manner as possible. They do not exaggerate, for they are all honest and competent observers. But they rather minimize the sad side of the story. The teachers, missionaries, priests, and the doctors rather lean toward a pessimistic view of conditions.

In our final analysis we find that a majority of the correspondents realize the difficulties under which the Indians labor, being discriminated against in their respective communities. That is, that although we claim citizenship for the Indians, all the facts point to the conclusion that the citizenship is not effective. While we claim to care for the health of the Indians, we have an insufficient number of doctors and hospitals. While we build many irrigation plants, prepare model farms, etc., we do not provide the Indians with sufficient seed, stock, implements, wagons, etc., whereby they may become self-supporting. Most important of all, where we have given the Indians deeds to their property, the majority of them lose the property. It is not pertinent in the table of statistics to enter into the question whether the Indian or the white man is at fault in this respect. The bald facts are to the effect that Indians lose their property.

The statistics indicate that education is advancing, and allotting of lands has far advanced. In education alone, the Indians certainly have advanced to a marked degree. Practically all Indians under fifty (save those referred to on page 27) have had some schooling.

For various reasons the names of the correspondents are omitted, although their original communications are preserved in my files. In various chapters throughout the book, I have incorporated partial or complete statements from these same correspondents. In the table, the answers to the questions have been presented in a few words. Many of the sentences are actual quotations, but others present in condensed form the opinions of the writers. Many correspondents have devoted an entire page to answering one question. Frequently, after answering the questions, the correspondent has written several pages in order to present his views concerning the Indian problem. Others have selected such questions as appeared to them to be of primary importance, and have answered these at considerable length. A majority of the correspondents realize that the protection of the Indian’s property, the safeguarding of his health, and the relation between the two races constitute the essentials of the Indian problem, and that all other considerations are secondary.