164 OUR USE OF THE LAND 



on the land either to reestablish themselves on their own land 

 or find new land elsewhere. In most cases this help has been 

 given through carefully supervised loans, made with the under' 

 standing that they will be used in such a way that the land will 

 be permanently improved. To accomplish this, the lending agen- 

 cies help the farmer or rancher make a plan of land management. 

 When this plan is approved, the farmer or rancher gets his 

 money. The Farm Security Administration then checks up to 

 see that this plan is followed. The purpose of this program is to 

 create security for those who live on the land, not a soil "sweat' 

 shop" for quick profits. 



A new approach to the land'use problem was worked out by 

 the Indian Service of the Department of the Interior. Congress 

 abolished the old Indian land allotment system. According to 

 that system, the Indian lands which belonged to the tribes, 

 rather than individuals, had been divided into privately owned 

 land, so much to each eligible Indian. This land was held in 

 trust for the Indian owners for twenty-five years by the federal 

 government. At the end of that trust period, the land was 

 turned over outright to the Indians, who usually sold it to white 

 men. Thus the Indians lost about two-thirds of their land, and 

 that the best of it. 



Most of the remainder of this land was range, fit for gracing 

 only. Under the Indian Reorganisation Act of 1934 gracing 

 districts were established on this land. The Indians were lent 

 money with which to purchase livestock, develop the timber 

 resources and farm land on which to grow their food. In giving 

 these loans the government reserved the right to supervise the 

 work carried out by the Indians with the money. Thus the loans 

 became a means to enforce good gracing and forest practice. One 

 of the great problems on the Indian lands is the fact that the 

 plains Indian thinks of wealth in terms of the number of animals 

 he has, rather than the quality. He is particularly fond of horses. 

 These horses have no great sale value, but they consume much 



