RESERVATIONS, INDIAN. 



673 



tion provided that Congress " shall have power to 

 regulate commerce with the Indian tribes," and, by 

 decisions of the Supreme Court "commerce" being 

 declared to mean " intercourse " between citizens 

 of the United States and the individuals composing 

 those tribes, it followed that nothing could arise 

 out of our relations with the Indians that was not 

 subject to regulation by Congress. In 1790 an act 

 of Congress inaugurated a system of licensed trade 

 with the Indians, forbade the sale of Indian lands 

 unless authorized by the Government, and prohib- 

 ited trespass upon Indians or Indian lands. In 

 1806 the office of Superintendent of Indian Trade 

 was created. In 1802, to promote civilization among 

 the friendly Indian tribes, and to secure the con- 

 tinuance of their friendship, the annual expenditure 

 of $15,000 was authorized, to furnish them with 

 useful domestic animals and implements of hus- 

 bandry and with goods or money, in the discretion 

 of the President, and the appointment of temporary 

 agents was 'permitted. This was followed by the 

 act of March 3, 1819, which inaugurated the policy 

 of educating the Indians, looking to the " employ- 

 ment of capable persons, of good moral characte'r, 

 to instruct them in the mode of agriculture suited 

 to their situation and for teaching their children." 

 After this period school funds were created in 

 treaties entered into with the Indians, the interest 

 from which was applied to the establishment and 

 maintenance of schools on the reservations. But 

 not until 1877 was a definite system of education 

 for the Indians at public expense entered upon, 

 when the appropriation of $20,000 was made, which 

 in 1885 was increased to nearly $1,000,000, and 

 which has grown steadily year by year. On July 

 9, 1832, the office of Commissioner of Indian Affairs 

 was created, but the act of June 30, 1834, stands as 

 the organic law of the Indian Office, which was 

 transferred from the War Department to the De- 

 partment of the Interior, March 4, 1849. The res- 

 toration of Indian affairs to the control of the mili- 

 tary has been advocated at various times, and from 

 March, 1869, to July, 1870, army officers, detailed 

 for the purpose, acted as agents at most of the 

 agencies, and similar action was taken in the Sioux 

 country during the last outbreak of that tribe in 

 1890. 'Under the act of July 13, 1892, army officers 

 are now detailed to act as Indian agents whenever 

 vacancies in that office occur, and are under the 

 orders of the Secretary of the Interior. Originally, 

 the duties of Indian agents related only to the 

 superintendence of trade with the various tribes ; 

 but with the increase of white settlement and the 

 ensuing attitude of dependence of the Indians for 

 protection, they became more diverse, and at pres- 

 ent they may be defined briefly as follows: To in- 

 duce Indians to labor at civilized pursuits; to 

 ? reserve order on the reservations ; to protect 

 ndians holding lands in severalty and Indian 

 rights in matters of trade ; to remove persons found 

 in the Indian country contrary to law ; to suppress 

 traffic in intoxicating liquors;' to investigate depre- 

 dation claims; to oversee all employees; to have 

 charge of all Government property and agency 

 stock ; to receive and distribute supplies ; to dis- 

 burse money received; and to supervise schools. 

 Until 1869 Indian agents reported to superintend- 

 ents of two or more agencies and to the Commissioner 

 of Indian Affairs at Washington a system vicious 

 and dangerous in the extreme, discontinued as one 

 of the first changes inaugurated by President Grant 

 in his " peace policy," which was said to have been 

 " fraught with more good to the Indian and the 

 country than all the measures of years past." From 

 1870 till about 1880 Indian agents were appointed 

 j by recommendation of the several religious denom- 

 inations, but without satisfactory results. In 1896 

 VOL. xxxvin. 43 A 



there were 55 Indian agents, covering one or more 

 reservations, of whom 38 were civilians and 17 

 army officers acting in that capacity. The salary 

 of an Indian agent ranges from $800 to $2,200, and 

 bonds are required from them in $2,000 to $125,000. 

 The employees under Indian agents on the reserva- 

 tions, exclusive of school employees, are physicians 

 (the Government having assumed the medical over- 

 sight of the great body of the Indians, with the ex- 

 ception of the Five Civilized Tribes), clerks, inter- 

 preters, farmers, carpenters, blacksmiths, appren- 

 tices, herders, etc. Whenever it has been found 

 practicable to employ Indians, it has been the policy 

 of the office to give them the preference, and in 

 the large majority of instances they have been 

 found faithful and earnest. There are Indian em- 

 ployees at every agency, except 2, one of which is 

 very small, and the other has only 2 employees. One 

 agency has 107 Indians employed, another has 76, 

 and 2 have 51 ; 22 have over 20. and 19 have from 

 tO to 20 Indians on the rolls. These figures do not 

 include employees in schools. The appointment of 

 Indians is permitted without examination or cer- 

 tification by the Civil Service Commission to all 

 places except those of superintendent, teacher, 

 teacher of industries, kindergartner, and physician. 

 The total number of whites employed in the Indian 

 service in the field in 1896 was 635, and the total 

 number of Indians, in excepted places and having 

 salaries below classification, was 1.434. The total 

 of salaries paid to whites employed at agencies 

 during the year was $546,670, while the total of 

 salaries paid to Indians aggregated $258,140, nearly 

 half the amount paid to white employees. White 

 school employees at the agencies during the year 

 numbered 1,365, and Indians employed in excepted 

 places 705. The salaries paid to the white school 

 employees amounted to $849,645, and those paid to 

 the Indians to $148,766. 



In addition to the clerical force of the Indian 

 Office at Washington, there are employed in the In- 

 dian service 5 Indian inspectors in the field at a 

 salary of $2,500 per annum ; 5 special Indian agents, 

 at a salary of $2,000 ; and a superintendent of In- 

 dian schools, with a salary of $3,000. Various com- 

 missioners are appointed, as exigencies arise, to ne- 

 gotiate with Indians, to select and appraise lands, 

 etc. Prior to 1851 commissioners to frame treaties 

 with the Indians were appointed at the pleasure of 

 the President, but after that date they were ordered 

 by Congress to be chosen by him from officers of 

 the Indian Department only. Prior to 1787 the 

 States were empowered to appoint commissioners 

 to the Indians, who, under Federal superintendents, 

 in some cases made treaties. Since 1869 an advisory 

 board of 10 Indian commissioners, appointed by the 

 President, with headquarters in New York city, su- 

 pervise the letting of contracts and furnishing sup- 

 plies for the Indians, and oversee the moral and 

 physical condition of the race, visiting and inspect- 

 ing reservations, and reporting annually to Con- 

 gress. This service is rendered gratuitously. 



Indians who maintain an advanced form of tribal 

 government, in addition to the Five Civilized Tribes, 

 who have severally a republican form of govern- 

 ment assimilating' closely the governments of the 

 States, are the New York Indians, whose govern- 

 ment is based on a constitution approved and rati- 

 fied by the Legislature of the State of New York ; 

 the Osage Indians, whose Government is based on 

 a constitution approved by the Interior Department ; 

 the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico, who live under 

 their ancient form of local town governments : and 

 the Eastern Cherokees, who have an organized form 

 of tribal government, and have been individually 

 recognized as citizens of North Carolina. 



Indians on reservations are not taxed, and after 



