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Christmas at Fort Yates, Dakota
Our readers will be glad to
welcome Miss Josephine E. Barnaby to her new
field of work, and to a place in the pages
of the Missionary. She is of the Omaha
tribe, was a student at Hampton, then spent
some time in a training school for nurses in
New Haven, Connecticut, and is now the
assistant of Miss Collins at the Grand River
Station.
Miss Collins writes of her: "Josephine is
very much interested in her work. She said
to-day, 'I wish every one interested in
Indians could come here and stay long enough
to see how the foundation ought to be laid,
and how much better off our native teachers,
Elias and Wakanna, are with the Bible
knowledge they have without the English,
than the Indians are who speak English and
are without Christ.' She knows, for her
people are largely godless but
English-speaking."
My Dear Friends:
We have been so busy getting ready for
Christmas that we have had no time to write
to our friends. Miss Collins told the
Indians on Sunday last that we were going to
have a tree and wanted all the Indians to
come, the real old ones as well as the young
men and women. She told them of how our
Savior was born on Christmas day, how the
people came and gave him gifts, and we, in
remembering his birthday, would give them
little gifts. The next day, a very old woman
came to the school-house and told Mary (that
is the native teacher's wife) that she heard
we were going to have a "Ghost feast" and
give away everything we had, so she thought
she would come and ask for one of the
school-room lamps for fear she might not get
it if she waited, as there would be so many
people to get the things, and she needed a
lamp very much.
Doesn't that sound like an Indian? I was
very sorry the poor woman did not get the
lamp.
Yesterday morning, while Miss Collins pinned
the names on to the presents, I went up to
the school-house, and by the help of two
native teachers planted the tree in a
cracker-box and put the little colored
candles on. In the afternoon, we took the
presents up and hung them on the tree; we
put up a curtain to hide the tree, and then
in the evening put out several Japanese
lanterns on the corners of the house and
over the door, and rang the bell; while the
bell was ringing, you could see the Indians
coming from all parts of the village. It was
a pretty sight. The ground was covered with
snow, it was just between the light and
dark, and a few bright stars were shining
through the clouds.
The room is not very large, so Miss Collins
proposed that they should stand. It was well
they did, for they were packed tightly
together, the men and boys on one side, the
women and girls on the other.
After all came, we sang "Joy to the World,"
in Dakota, with several other hymns; they
all sang very loud. Then Wakanna told them
about Christ's birthday, then we lighted the
little candles and took the curtain away,
and you can imagine there were some
wide-open eyes and big, smiling faces. There
were over two hundred, and each one received
something; as one man came to day and said
to Miss Collins, "Why, Winona, you did not
forget the little babies; their names were
read out the same as the old men." The tree
was very pretty, and it would be useless for
me to tell what each one received, but the
boys were delighted with their tops as much
as the girls were with their pretty dolls;
the old men received feather fans and were
delighted. After they had their gifts, we
passed refreshments; we then had the
fireworks; the red light was wonderful to
them—the first they had ever seen. They went
home seeming very happy.
We want to thank our friends who were so
kind as to send us those pretty things for
the Christmas tree.
I myself have never before spent such a
happy Christmas, because previously all my
kind friends have always tried to make me
happy, and this time I worked hard to make
some one else happy, and I find that is the
best kind of happiness.
My benches were almost crowded to-day in
school, as I had so many children; married
women come with the children; they are all
very anxious and earnest to learn to read
and write. I ask you to pray, my dear
friends, that there may be some good seed
sown each day, that may spring up and bring
forth fruit for His service.
Truly your Indian Friend,
JOSEPHINE E. BARNABY.
The Government and the
Indians
On the 13th of March, some of the
Secretaries of the missionary societies, and
others interested in the welfare of the
Indians, had an interview with President
Harrison and with Secretary Noble, of the
Interior Department. We were kindly
received, and the Secretary solicited
information from us as to the methods in
which he could aid in furtherance of Indian
civilization. A number of suggestions were
made in response, and the following outline
is given as a summary of the points
presented to the Secretary:
1. That the appointment or retention of all
officers and employees in the Indian service
of the Government shall be on the sole
ground of fitness—that ability, integrity
and an interest in the welfare of the
Indians, shall constitute the only required
conditions. We are not ignorant of the
difficulties involved in securing such
persons, especially with the low salaries
paid to some of these employees; and we
shall be abundantly satisfied with the
purpose of the Government to reach the
nearest attainable success in this
direction.
2. That the Government shall make adequate
appropriations for the establishment and
maintenance of suitable schools for the
education of all Indian pupils—whether these
schools be sustained and controlled wholly
by the Government or in cooperation with
missionary societies. The millions of
dollars now due to the Indians by treaty
stipulations, for educational purposes,
should not be idle in the National Treasury,
but should, as rapidly as possible, be
devoted to their legitimate purposes, and
they should be supplemented as far as need
be by direct grants from the Government.
3. That the cooperation of the Government
with the missionary societies in what are
known as Contract schools should be
continued and enlarged. We believe that no
better teaching has been afforded to the
Indians than that given in these Contract
schools. The educational qualifications of
the teachers, together with their
disinterested and self-denying characters
and their religious influence and
instruction, render them pre-eminently fit
for their places and successful in their
work. The experience of the past and the
testimony of all unprejudiced persons bear
witness to this fact.
4. That compulsory education of Indian
pupils be enforced, with liberty of choice
to the parents in the selection of the
schools to which their children shall be
sent. The Indians are generally averse, or
indifferent, to the education of their
children. The withholding of rations in case
of failure or neglect is usually an
all-sufficient motive for prompt compliance.
Then, too, the parent, if a Christian and
intelligent, should be allowed to select the
school for his child, and not be compelled
to send it to a Government school simply
because that may happen to be nearest.
5. The Government should adopt a liberal
policy in regard to the use of the
vernacular in the Indian schools. We are all
agreed that the English language should be
brought into use among the Indians at the
earliest practicable period. But the
experience of all the past, in Indian
civilization among the ruder tribes, has
shown that Christian influences have been
most successfully brought to bear by the use
of the vernacular, in giving them the
knowledge of the Word of God, in teaching
them a practical morality, and in preparing
them for civilized life. We ask, therefore,
that no restrictions be placed upon
Christian people in their efforts for this
great object.
6. We ask that the Government exercise an
absolute impartiality in dealing with the
different denominations of Christians, in
the distribution of appropriations, in the
granting of lands for missionary uses, and
in the appointment of officers, agents,
teachers and employees. We ask no favors in
these respects, and we desire that none
shall be granted to others.
This site includes some historical
materials that may imply negative stereotypes reflecting the culture or
language of a particular period or place. These items are presented as
part of the historical record and should not be interpreted to mean that
the WebMasters in any way endorse the stereotypes implied
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American Missionary Association, 1888-1895
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