﻿638 
  THE 
  OMAHA 
  TRIBE 
  [bth. 
  ANN. 
  27 
  

  

  know 
  the 
  land 
  will 
  belong 
  to 
  our 
  children 
  and 
  thai 
  they 
  will 
  have 
  the 
  benefit 
  of 
  our 
  

   work. 
  There 
  are 
  some 
  Omahas 
  who 
  do 
  not 
  yet 
  care 
  for 
  titles. 
  We 
  desire 
  the 
  Gov- 
  

   ernment 
  to 
  give 
  titles 
  to 
  those 
  who 
  ask 
  for 
  them. 
  " 
  * 
  * 
  We 
  are 
  willing 
  the 
  others 
  

   should 
  do 
  as 
  they 
  please 
  but 
  we 
  are 
  not 
  willing 
  that 
  they 
  should 
  keep 
  us 
  from 
  getting 
  

   titles 
  to 
  our 
  lands. 
  Our 
  children 
  would 
  suffer 
  even 
  a 
  greater 
  wrong 
  than 
  would 
  

   befall 
  us. 
  Give 
  us 
  who 
  ask 
  titles 
  to 
  our 
  lands. 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  Do 
  not 
  let 
  us 
  be 
  held 
  back 
  

   and 
  our 
  children 
  be 
  sufferers 
  because 
  of 
  the 
  inaction 
  of 
  those 
  who 
  do 
  not 
  seem 
  to 
  

   care 
  tor 
  the 
  future. 
  

  

  Om'pato"o-a: 
  

  

  When 
  we 
  look 
  at 
  a 
  person 
  we 
  are 
  apt 
  to 
  know 
  what 
  that 
  person 
  is 
  thinking 
  of. 
  All 
  

   who 
  look 
  at 
  me 
  must 
  know 
  I 
  am 
  thinking 
  of 
  a 
  title 
  to 
  my 
  land. 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  I 
  wish 
  I 
  

   could 
  speak 
  English, 
  then 
  I 
  could 
  tell 
  you 
  directly 
  from 
  my 
  heart 
  of 
  the 
  way 
  in 
  which 
  

   I 
  wish 
  to 
  go. 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  We 
  want 
  titles 
  to 
  our 
  lands. 
  We 
  are 
  thinking 
  of 
  little 
  else. 
  

   We 
  shall 
  think 
  of 
  little 
  else 
  until 
  we 
  get 
  our 
  titles. 
  We 
  are 
  afraid 
  of 
  losing 
  our 
  lands. 
  

   When 
  we 
  receive 
  titles 
  to 
  our 
  farms 
  then 
  we 
  shall 
  be 
  treated 
  as 
  men. 
  

  

  Joseph 
  La 
  Flesche 
  : 
  

  

  * 
  * 
  * 
  I 
  was 
  born 
  in 
  this 
  country, 
  in 
  Nebraska, 
  and 
  I 
  have 
  always 
  lived 
  among 
  

   the 
  Indians. 
  There 
  was 
  a 
  time 
  when 
  I 
  used 
  to 
  look 
  only 
  at 
  the 
  Indians 
  and 
  think 
  

   tiny 
  were 
  the 
  only 
  people. 
  The 
  Indians 
  must 
  have 
  been 
  long 
  in 
  this 
  country 
  before 
  

   the 
  white 
  man 
  came 
  here. 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  In 
  the 
  spring 
  they 
  would 
  take 
  their 
  seed 
  and 
  

   farm 
  their 
  1 
  or 
  2 
  acres. 
  There 
  were 
  no 
  idlers, 
  all 
  worked 
  in 
  the 
  spring. 
  Those 
  

   who 
  had 
  no 
  hoes 
  worked 
  with 
  pieces 
  of 
  sticks. 
  When 
  they 
  had 
  their 
  seed 
  in, 
  they 
  

   went 
  on 
  the 
  hunt. 
  They 
  had 
  nothing 
  to 
  worry 
  them; 
  all 
  they 
  thought 
  of 
  was 
  their 
  

   little 
  garden 
  they 
  had 
  left 
  behind. 
  In 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  the 
  summer 
  they 
  came 
  back 
  

   with 
  the 
  skins 
  for 
  their 
  tent 
  cloths, 
  tin- 
  meat 
  for 
  their 
  food, 
  and 
  the 
  skins 
  for 
  their 
  

   clothing. 
  They 
  made 
  use 
  of 
  all 
  animals. 
  When 
  they 
  got 
  home 
  they 
  gathered 
  their 
  

   corn, 
  dried 
  it, 
  buried 
  a 
  part 
  of 
  it, 
  and 
  taking 
  enough 
  to 
  serve 
  them 
  started 
  out 
  on 
  

   the 
  winter 
  hunt 
  to 
  get 
  furs. 
  Then 
  it 
  was 
  I 
  used 
  to 
  see 
  white 
  men, 
  those 
  who 
  were 
  

   going 
  around 
  buying 
  furs. 
  Sometimes 
  for 
  two 
  or 
  three 
  years 
  I 
  would 
  not 
  see 
  any 
  

   white 
  men. 
  At 
  that 
  time 
  the 
  country 
  was 
  empty, 
  only 
  animals 
  were 
  to 
  be 
  seen. 
  

   Then 
  after 
  a 
  while 
  the 
  white 
  men 
  came, 
  just 
  as 
  the 
  blackbirds 
  do, 
  and 
  spread 
  over 
  

   the 
  country. 
  Some 
  settled 
  down, 
  others 
  scattered 
  on 
  the 
  land. 
  The 
  Indians 
  

   never 
  thought 
  that 
  any 
  such 
  thing 
  could 
  be, 
  but 
  it 
  matters 
  not 
  where 
  one 
  looks 
  

   now 
  one 
  sees 
  white 
  people. 
  These 
  things 
  I 
  have 
  been 
  speaking 
  about 
  are 
  in 
  the 
  

   past 
  and 
  are 
  all 
  gone. 
  We 
  Indians 
  see 
  you 
  now 
  and 
  want 
  to 
  take 
  our 
  steps 
  your 
  

   way. 
  * 
  * 
  * 
  It 
  seems 
  as 
  though 
  the 
  Government 
  pushes 
  us 
  back. 
  It 
  makes 
  us 
  

   think 
  that 
  the 
  Government 
  regards 
  us 
  as 
  unfit 
  to 
  be 
  as 
  white 
  men. 
  The 
  white 
  man 
  

   looks 
  into 
  the 
  future 
  and 
  sees 
  what 
  is 
  good. 
  That 
  is 
  what 
  the 
  Indian 
  is 
  doing. 
  He 
  

   looks 
  into 
  the 
  future 
  and 
  sees 
  his 
  only 
  chance 
  is 
  to 
  become 
  as 
  the 
  white 
  man. 
  When 
  

   a 
  person 
  lives 
  in 
  a 
  place 
  a 
  long 
  time 
  he 
  loves 
  the 
  place. 
  We 
  love 
  our 
  lands 
  and 
  want 
  

   titles 
  for 
  them. 
  When 
  one 
  has 
  anything 
  he 
  likes 
  to 
  feel 
  it 
  is 
  his 
  own 
  and 
  belongs 
  to 
  

   no 
  one 
  else, 
  so 
  we 
  want 
  titles; 
  then 
  we 
  can 
  leave 
  our 
  land 
  to 
  our 
  children. 
  You 
  

   know, 
  and 
  so 
  do 
  we, 
  that 
  some 
  of 
  us 
  will 
  not 
  live 
  very 
  long; 
  we 
  will 
  soon 
  be 
  gone 
  

   into 
  the 
  other 
  world. 
  We 
  ask 
  for 
  titles 
  for 
  our 
  children's 
  sakes. 
  For 
  some 
  years 
  

   *ve 
  have 
  been 
  trying 
  to 
  got 
  titles 
  but 
  we 
  have 
  never 
  heard 
  from 
  the 
  Government. 
  

   We 
  are 
  not 
  strong 
  enough 
  to 
  help 
  ourselves 
  in 
  this 
  matter, 
  so 
  we 
  ask 
  you 
  

   to 
  help 
  us. 
  In 
  the 
  past 
  we 
  only 
  lived 
  on 
  the 
  animals. 
  We 
  see 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  from 
  the 
  

   ground 
  that 
  you 
  get 
  all 
  that 
  you 
  possess. 
  The 
  reason 
  you 
  do 
  not 
  look 
  upon 
  us 
  as 
  

   men 
  is 
  because 
  we 
  have 
  not 
  law, 
  because 
  we 
  are 
  not 
  citizens. 
  We 
  are 
  strangers 
  in 
  

   the 
  land 
  where 
  we 
  were 
  born. 
  We 
  want 
  the 
  law 
  that 
  we 
  may 
  be 
  regarded 
  as 
  men. 
  

   When 
  we 
  are 
  in 
  trouble 
  we 
  want 
  to 
  have 
  courts 
  to 
  appeal 
  to. 
  The 
  law 
  will 
  teach 
  

   wrongdoers. 
  It 
  will 
  prevent 
  trouble 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  punish 
  those 
  who 
  commit 
  offenses. 
  

  

  