Edited by Wassaja (Dr, Montezuma's Indian name, meaning "Signaling") an Apache Indian, Vol. 3, No. 10 ISSUED MONTHLY January, 1919 EXCUSES TO ABOLISH THE INDIAN BUREAU For the Indians what sub,titute hnve we for the Indian Burea u? Such nonsensical questions are asked, as though they are saying something. when in reality they are expressing their know). edge on Indian matters and civil government. Any nation that comes to the United States and takes up their citizenship here, by that act they substituted their country for this country. When the Indian Bureau is abolished the Indian wards, who have been under the un-American system of the Indian Bureau, will come out from that autocracy Siberia into the TRUE FREEDOM of the United States. The same persons will say, ·'The Indians are not prepared for' such a radical change." History and cases of individual Indians will bear us out that such movement is practical. The world is going through a more radical change and shall we say it is not prepared? We believe the world will readjust itself in the great upheaval. Better understandings will take place between nations. Our commerce will reach farther and wider in the world, and our ties will be stronger with other countries. The Indians have not been mnch to this country because of the position they have been held in on reservations. We may cite Indians on reservations who may see·1n·to be incapable of being free. What is the· reason? There is only one reason. Those Indians have not been given the chance. It is easy to say, they aro not prepued for freedom, when we had all the chance ourselves. The Indians were a splendid race, to remain there. Now. the•e Indians have been under the charge of the Indian Bureau for fifty years and still this same bureau says, the Indians are not prepared for freedom. Whose fault is it? Fifty years ago the black race were freed with no better chance than the Indians, and they challenge the world today in their progress. Can there be a more positive proof that the Indians, too, will advance shoulder to shoulder with the country if only given a chance? The same persons will ask, "What more chance do the Indians want? They are taken care of !::etter than we are. I wish I had the Government to take care of m<'." It ts easy to talk and flippant to cover up the guilty party and for their interest sake. These friends of the Indians and the Indian Bureau must be purged of their selfishness, Do one thing or the other, like the rich man's son who approached Christ and asked, "What shall I do that I may inherit the kingdom of heaven?" Christ knew the heart of the rich man's son. "Go and sell what thou hast and give to the poor," was the Son of man's answer; and we reaci that the young man went away very sorrowful. The associate members, membr.rs from the Indian Service and many good interested souls of the Society of American Indians can take this to heart. N, w, at the birth of the great Society of Am•lrican Indians, a majority of the chart r members rhought fhat the society could harmonize l'nd work with the Indian Bureau for one but they wer..e !.orced on reservations and forced common cause. The S. A . I. worked with the ·· WASS AJA "WASSAJA" Vol. 3, No. 10 JANUARY, 1919 Subscription, 50 Cents a Year Single Copies, Sc 100 for $2.00 ADDRESS ALL COMMUNICATIONS TO CARLOS MONTEZUMA, M. D . 3135 S. Park Ave. Chicago, Illinois Indian Bureau until last fall, when the REAL INDIANS of the S. A. I. turned the tide against the Indian Bureau. The S. A. I. is no longer working hand in hand with the Indian Bureau; it is working to have the Indian Bureau abolished to save the Indian race. These timid christians in behalf of the lnpians referred to are good folks and are found doing missionary work among the Indians. They would not betray Chri,t, but they feel justified in betraying the principles of Christ to please the Indian Bureau. They say, 111believe in the abolishment of the Indian Bureau, but you see how I am placed. Our church cannot afford to antagonize the Indian Bureau. We depend on the Indian Bureau to get to the Indians." It appears then that the missionary work among the Indians has not reached that stage where it' can stand on its principle and on PRINCIPLE ALONE. Our profession in Christ should place us above money and above selfish interest. You see what is right, but you cannot do it is no excuse for a christian missionary. You cannot afford to .,stand by a principle even though God should whisper to you? You quench the spirit and mingle among strangers as a good fellow and deny that you had said, "The poor Indians should be set free and given their citizenship by the abolition of the Indian Bureau.• The conclusion is, that Indian matters have come to that point, that the churches must not aide in with the Indian Bureau, if they are friends of the Indians and wish to do the most good for them. It is certain, that we christians ought to see as with one eye on the abolishment of the Indian Bureau, so that the INDIANS CAN GAIN THEIR FREEDOM AND CITIZENSHIP. HELPI HELP!! HELP! !! The w,:.r was won by money. WASSAJA is fighting for freedom and citizenshi;:, for the Indian race by &eeking to have the Indian Bureau abolished. Like the war, TO WIN WE MUST HAVE MONEY. Send money to us (contrib ,_ tion) and subscribe for WA3SAJA. The sul·. seript1on 6hmK>--that-J secure another subscriber and to remin you 'f your annual dues, if you have not already pai . This paper is Indian. Indian way is, if you help hirn, he will help you. WASSAJA is helping all the Indians, and now WASSAJA wants all the Indians to help the little paper. AMERICAN "INDIANS FOUGHT IN FRANCE For the principles of freedom and liberty, and still they do not enjoy freedom and American citizenship. Congress, it is your turn next, to pass a bill to abolish the Indian Bureau, rn that they -will be free and enjoy the rights of full citizenship. I ND I A N S, D E P E N D U PO N YO U R OWN MUSCLES Indians are fighting for freedom? Why should they fight for the United States, they are not freed by Uncle Sam? Equal rights? Uncle Sam believes in that, but the Indians have not equal rights. That being the case, the Indians are only used as tools by the Indian Bureau, to make a big showing, in order to add feather, in their hat. This is the picture: They remove from the Indians the shackles and send them to Europe to fight for others we:i.ring shackles. When the conflict ls over the Indians return and a gain take up their shackles. The Indian Bureau is more than willing to furnish the chain•, to keep them in re,traint. The Indian Bureau sees no inconsistency in the Indians fighting for freedo or the people in Europe and the Indian held u a ward at home, There wu an Indian WASSAJA from Rapid City, South Dakota, who entered the fight for freedom and while in action he was wounded in the arm and leg. On his return he became stranded at Valentine, Nebraska. Although the weather was very cold and the snow deep, from there he contmued his journey on foot. He arrived at Lake View exhausted. The Indians persuaded him to stop and rest. Meantime, they took up a collection of $18.00 for him, gav-,, him a horse and a saddle and enough provisions to finish his journey. In this way he reached home. The Indian who furnished this information asks, "Is this the way an Indian should be treated, who has volunteed for the service of his country and returns bearing wounds?" His hardship proves his bravery. He has the material necessary for'the making of the Rtrong man. HE DOES NOT NEED THE INDIAN BUREAU OVER HIM. He •hould lift up his voice in the cause of freedom for his race. God bless him and make him useful to his people. HARDSHIP MAKES US STRONG. Man cannot fulfill his place in life until he has been schooled by both nature and hardship. The idea of exempting the Indians from these laws before bestowing freedom and citizenship is all bosh. Each one must stand alone, upon his own feet. The sooner we find this out, the quicker we will abolish the Indian Bureau. . Indians, work! Use your 'own muscles, use your own eyes; think and act for yourselves in this world of opportunity. ·Do not let the Indian Office THINK FOR YOU any longer. Do not be told that you are incompetent and that YOU MUST OBEY THE INDAN AGENT AND THAT YOU MUST NOT DISPLEASE THE "WASHINGTON FATHER." when there is no such existing thing on the face of the earth. It is like Santa Claus-a myth that has no weight when tested by the light bf truth. CATO SELLS. HE ''HEAP'! BIG MAN And Susie, dear, and did you hear The news from Washington? How Cato Sells sits around and tells Of great things he has done! And what he'll do for poor old Lo, ·And what hard work he does But Cato is just like the bee, The most he's done is buzz. "Red Tape" delays of sixty days, And oftentimes a year, To-Mr. Sells are bagatelles And scarcely worth a tear. No wonder when the business men In Oklahoma balk, And fondly wish, that the "Commish11 Would do something else but talk. In fact, a few go farther, too, And wish that he'd resign- They do not care for his "hot air," Although he thinks it's fine! With Lo hogtied, he points with pride To what he's done to him, And franks the note of old Joe Choate, Whose eyes are growing dim. He knocks the bill that Hastings still Insists on putting through, Because it might shift the limelightAnd that would NEVER dol For months and months he never once Has done much else than try; He has his name go down in fameHe is such a funny guy I His main delight is just to sight His name on a printed page, And then to sit and read what's writ, And draw his monthly wage. His trusty shears, rusted with tears Of joy, have clipped the dope Which daily he has chanced to seeHe loves the old "soft soap." One day he spied a diatribe Which his horn didn't toot; He wildly spat where he was at, And theatened libel suit. His legal staff smothered a laugh, To see their chief so hot, Because someone had poked some fun, Which they enjoyed a lot. Still friend Cato a fit did throw, His words stuck in his throat. That writer pale, must go to jail; "Boo Hool He's got my goat!" A peck or two of brief they drew, \Xfith a diagram attached- And thus it was, does rumor buzz, The libel suit was hatched. They all did seek about a week To help the "big boss" out. And then they found the law unsound, And that made old Cato pout. Of course we wll help foot the bill For all that wasted time; 'Twill take a share from each tax-payer Of 'bout one thin, smooth dime. MORAL: Cato, my boy, whom god~ destroy They first get good and mad; So when you read this little screed, REMEMBER THAT, MY LAD! -J. W. F. FEAR NOT, THE INDIANS WILL NOT DIE Full blood Indians can survive better than modern Indians when the INDIAN BUREAU IS ABOLISHED. It is in the memory of the writer that the question of the full blood Indians were taken into consideration, if the ration system was cut off suddenly from the Indians much distress was laid upon the aged and the real Indians. Why the old and tull blood Indians? Because they could not work to support themselves. The ration ~stem was done away with. A year ·or two after this awful radical edict, what do you suppose? An investigation showed thatthe aged and full blood Indians worked better than the youni;c reservati,m Indiana. Now, if this same old 1cbeatnut' ia coming up, aa an arFtument, to WASSAJA 4 ) keep the Indians from freedom and citizenship, it does not · show that those who use the argument that they know anything about Indians. When our firs! lady was in France, knowing that she had Indian blood in her veins, the people crowded around for curiosity sake and some went so far as to ask her, for a war whoop. She excused herself by saying, that she was human, like themselves. Oh, the feeling of an Indian! When people take you as something else besides h uman, when it happened that you were called an Indian by mistake. These very people who are opposing our freedom and citizenship ARE ENJOYl1'1G THE SAME THEMSELVES. They preach patriotically that to have ,ubjects of noncitizenship is a violation of the law and should not be tolerated. and yet, they allow the Indian Bureau that TURNS OUT MEN AND WOMEN WHO ARE NOT CITIZENS. Who has a right or authority to tell how a man will turn out in life, and who has a right and authority TO STAND IN THE PATH OF INDIAN PROGRESS? Has G od given civilization His power to deal with the Indians? Has the Indian Bure,au a license to down the Indian race by a SLOW, GRINDING P R OCESS OF DEATH? Has God been surplanted by human greed and thus human and divine justices take away all of th~ Indians' land because he has no us~ of them and call it HUMAN AND DIVINE JU.3TICE? When the Indians cannot select their own legal adv'sors wit\iout the APPROVAL O F THE INDIAN BUREAU AND SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR, who are int..,,·eeted parties at the close of Indian affairs, is that justice? That law should be repealed by Congress. Would you like ·to have an interested party select your attorney for you and YOU HAVE NO VOICE IN THE MATTER? The Indian Bureau ·holds the Indians down and makes them useless and dependent. This criminal abuse on the part of the Indian Bureau may last for a time, but IT CANNOT LAST ALWAYS, (AND THAT TIME HAS COME.) We Indians are handicapped by the Indian Bureau. Whatever way we seek to gain our freedom, we face the Indian Bureau, which stops us. It sounds like a phantom, but it is REAL and TRUE. The Indian Bureau has the Indians body and soul, and defies human and divine rip.hts to let the Indians go. The Indian Bureau may have been justified in acting for the Indians when they did not under stand civilization, but now, it is different. New ,generations have grown up and are in position of taking care of their own affairs. As men and citizens, Indians are sePking for their ri1<:hts and thev ask Con1<:ress to ABOLISH THE INDIAN BUREAU ROOT AND BRANCH, so that they m'>Y breathe· the atmosphere of freedom and enjoy the ::,rivile1<:es of citizenship. Now is the time for REAL INDIANS and REAL FRIENDS of the Indians to write WASSAJA their view& _,. to the freedom of t e re · . We woulq [ b e pleased o be able to send 300,000 favorable' letters to the •·White Father" in Washington, D. C., to be presented to the Congress of the United States. God grant to us the prayers that come from our hearts. OO•-o00•-•0•-•00•-•0•-•00•-•00 I CORR ESPONDEN CE I 00•-•00•-•0•-•00•-•0•-•00•-•00 MY DEAR DOCTO R :! can't see why all of our people fail to understand that it is the segregation of Indians all along the line which is in the way of their progress. I am surprised that after all the personal experiences of &o many there should be on the part of the Indians themselves so little comprehension of the great fact that segregation is the greatest enemy to their progress and citizenship. I am willing to base all that I say about it on your own experiences. The same is true of Dr. Eastman and thousands of others. I care not how good the schools may be, if the pupils are constantly compelled to compare themselves with themselves, they .are inevitably bound 1 to !all short of that preparation absolutely neces-T, sary to give them the couralle and the individual · ability to become independent, competing citizens. Indian schools of all sorts fall down just here. The recent much lauded and alleged new occ~pational system, while !living greater improvement, does not give the great es,ential thing-rather it makes better Bureau Indians. Washin1Zton, D. C. DEAR FRIEND AND FELLOW MEMBER:May I call your attention to the re-organization and active policy of our Society? The mass of the Indian. people and many of the leaders would not co-operate with us while there remained any suspicion of a controlling influence on the part of the Indian Bureau. At the last annual convention, the re•olutions pa,sed set this doubt entirely at rest. Although I was not present, they elected me their President, and I feel it my duty to my race to make a supreme effort at this juncture to as•ist as far a• I am able in attaining our ultimate object-THE FREEDOM OF THE INDIAN FROM BONDAGE. I believe that Congre,s and the people are willing to izrant us full citizenship, but we have fallen into the clutches of a Bureau Machine, which controls our property, our money, our children and our personal rights. We are not a "dying race ; 11 we are alive and asking for our share of the LIBERTY AND DEMOCRACY THAT WE HAVE FOUGHT FOR. I thank you heartily for your support in the past, and appeal to you personally for a renewal of your active interest in our ori;ianization at this critical and hopeful moment in history. Will you n'lt send us your increased donation as soon as po•sible, together with vour message of encouragement and good will? Yours faithfully, ~ CHARLES A. EASTMAN, President Society of American Indians.