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Problem of Indian Administration

brought forward. To have done so would have required far more than ten persons for one year and would have taken the staff far beyond the scope of the present undertaking, but everything that was said was given careful consideration as indicative of at least one Indian point of view. Much of what was said was of course verified and confirmed by other work which the survey had done, notably with respect to matters of health, education, economic conditions, and encroachment upon Indian rights.

One fact noted at several of the councils was that the Indians were apparently uninformed regarding the actions of the government in respect to matters of vital concern to them and did not understand the motives and purposes that underlay them. To some extent responsibility for this situation seemed to be with the superintendents. That much time and effort are required to make these matters clear to the Indians and that a superintendent’s life is a busy one, are facts readily admitted; but to keep the Indians informed as to the actions and objects of the government in matters of great concern to them is a task of first importance. That it can be done, and done most effectively, has been demonstrated by several superintendents. Especially noteworthy is the issuance of bulletins, pictures, and cartoons, mimeographed in the Indians’ own language. They read them. Where the superintendents neglect the opportunity of informing the Indians, they leave the field to the agitators who thereby become the main source of information or misinformation for the Indians. Where the superintendents make it a rule to keep the Indians informed, the most effective antidotes for the irresponsible agitators is the more substantial industrious Indian who is accurately informed as to actions taken and the purposes thereof.

Numerous informal meetings were held with single Indians or small groups, generally at the hotels or rooms where the staff was staying. Often these meetings would come in the evening. Sometimes the Indians wished to present personal grievances which were listened to attentively for what bearing they might have on the general situation. Sometimes the Indians would come to express the fear that the staff would not be shown certain conditions which the Indians felt should be seen. In most cases such matters had already been inquired about by the staff or had been presented by the superintendent or other employees and arrangement had already