Presidents in 1889: 

    Grover Cleveland (March 4, 1885 – March 4, 1889)

    Benjamin Harrison (March 4, 1889 – March 4, 1893)

 

Commissioners of Indian Affairs in 1889: 

    John H. Oberly (Oct. 10, 1888 – [June 9?] 1889)

    Thomas Jefferson Morgan  (1889 – 1893)

 

Dec. 6, 1889:  Evening Star:  [Umatilla]

            A Small Delegation of Umatilla Indians from Oregon will come to this city within the next few weeks at their own expense to talk with the Great Father about the allotments of lands in severalty to their tribe.

[note:  the Indian Agent was Maj. Lee Moorhouse, a photographer]

 

Dec. 6, 1889:  Evening Star:  [Dakota]

            Sioux Chief Coming.

            They have Surrendered Nine Million Acres of Land.

            In compliance with the request of the commission which negotiated the purchase of the Sioux reservation in the Dakotas a delegation of about thirty-five chiefs and head men of the Sioux tribe has been given permission by the Interior department to visit this city.  They are expected to reach here about the middle of the present month.  The object of the visit of the Indians at this time is understood to be to talk over their future with the President and the Secretary of the interior.  Under the terms of the agreement to which they have given their assent some 9,000,000 acres of land will be restored to the public domain.  When this land is surveyed and sold under the homestead laws of the Unites States the proceeds will be paid over to the Indians.

[rest not copied – details about agreement etc.]

 

Dec. 11, 1889:  Evening Star:  [Dakota]

            Sitting Bull Coming.—Agent McLaughlin of Standing Rock Indian agency was at Bismarck, N.D., yesterday en route to this city with a delegation of leading Sioux chiefs.  Sitting Bull is one of the delegation.

 

Dec. 11, 1889:  Evening Star;  [Umatilla]

            Indians In Town.—Five members of the Umatilla tribe of Indians, living in Oregon, are in the city and are talking with Indian Commissioner Morgan relative to the boundary lines of their reservation and other matters.  The delegation was accompanied by Indian agent Morehouse.

 

DEC. 12, 1889:  Washington Post:  [Dakota]

Among the forthcoming distinguished arrivals at Washington are Chiefs White Swan, Charger, Flying Bird, Brave Eagle, and Crow Eagle, of the Cheyenne agency.

 

Dec. 13, 1889:  Evening Star:  [Dakota]

            A lot of Sioux chiefs from Standing Rock, Santee and Rosebud agencies are coming to Washington.

 

DEC. 16, 1889:  Evening Star:  [Dakota]

SIOUX CHIEFS IN THE CITY,

A large delegation of Sioux Indians are in the city. On Wednesday morning they will have a conference with Secretary Noble.  The object of the visit of the Indians at this time is to talk over the agreement which they have made with the Sioux commission to sell a large portion of their lands in Dakota to the government.  There are a good many details which the Indians want to talk about. The following chiefs are in the delegation:  Jno. Grass, Mad Bear, Chief Gall, Big Head and Bear Face of the Standing Rock agency; Joseph Campbell and Phil Webster of the Santee agency; Foolish Elk, Swift Bear, Lip, Sky Bull, Hollow Horn and Yellow Hair of the Rosebud agency; American Horse, Fast Thunder, Spotted Horse, Standing Soldier and Little Chief of the Pine Ridge agency; Big Mane and Eagle Star of the Lower Brule agency; Wizi, Dog Back and White Ghost of Crow Creek agency.  The Indians are accompanied by agents and interpreters and are stopping at the Beveridge house on 3rd street.

 

DEC. 17, 1889:  Washington Post:  [Dakota]

An Indian Delegation Here.

A large delegation of Sioux Indians are in the city.  On to-morrow morning they will have a conference with Secretary Noble.  The object of the visit at this time is to talk over the details of the agreement which they recently made with the Sioux Commission.  The following named chiefs are in the delegation, very many of them having visited Washington one year ago:  John Grass, Mad Bear, Chief Gall, Big Head, and Bear Face, of the Standing Rock Agency; Joseph Campbell and Phil. Webster, of the Santu [sic]

Agency; Foolish Elk, Swift Bear, Lip, Sky Bull, Hollow Horn, and Yellow Hair, of the Rosebud Agency; American Horse, Fast Thunder, Spotted Horse, Standing Soldier, and Little Chief, of Pine Ridge Agency; Big Mane and Eagle Star, of Lower Brule Agency; Wizi [,] Dog Back and White Ghost, of Crow Creek Agency.

 

DEC. 17, 1889:  Washington Post:  [Dakota]

The visiting Sioux chiefs Big Head and Bare Face, Gall, Foolish Elk, and Hollow Horn, are delighted with the congenial atmosphere of Washington. They object, however, to the universal use of fancy names among pale face chiefs.  Herein the savage shows his simplicity.

 

DEC. 18, 1889:  Washington Post:  [Dakota]

At The White House.

General Crook, Governor Foster, and General Warren, of the Sioux Commission, had an interview with the President yesterday morning.  Among the President's other callers was ex-Senator McDonald.

 

DEC. 18, 1889:  Washington Post:  [Dakota]

The Indians Said, "Good-bye, Boys."

The delegation of Sioux Indians now in Washington called upon Senators Allison and Wilson, of Iowa, at the Capitol yesterday.  As they filed out of the room bystanders were convulsed to hear them say in taking leave of the dignified Senators, "Well, good-bye, boys."

 

DEC. 18, 1889:  Evening Star:  [Dakota]

AN INDIAN CONFERENCE.

The Sioux Chiefs Inform Secretary Noble of Their Needs.

DISTINGUISHED WHITE AND RED MEN AT THE POW-WOW-THE [illeg. -recheck] ... OF THE LATTER TOWARD CIVILIZATION - THEY WANT MORE SCHOOLS AND PRESENTS FOR THEIR PAPOOSES.

The leading men of the great Sioux tribe of Indians were assembled in the Interior department today.  They had come to have a conference with Secretary Noble.  The Indians, dressed in suits of "store clothes" were seated together in the central part of the room while opposite them were arranged the men who represented to them "The Great Father."  The central figure of the group of white men was Secretary Noble.  At his right hand sat Gen. Crook, the great Indian fighter and a member of the Sioux commission which recently completed the negotiation of the agreement by which the Indians cede to the United States a large portion of their reservation.  Ex-Gov. Foster of Ohio and Gen. Wm. Warner of Missouri, the two other members of the commission, occupied seats on the left of the Secretary.  In the immediate vicinity were Senators Pettigrew and Moody of Dakota, Senators Dawes, Paddock and Manderson.  Senator Teller was also present for a short time.  Indian Commissioner Morgan, Assistant Commissioner Belt and others interested in Indian matters were interested spectators.

GOV. FOSTER'S OPENING REMARKS.

The conference was opened by ex-Gov. Foster, who said, and his remarks were interpreted to the Indians, that the Sioux commission had performed the duty assigned to it and had secured the signatures of three-fourths of the male Indians over eighteen years of age to the agreement, as provided by law.  They had also listened to the suggestions and complaints of the Indians, but they had promised nothing except that when there was evident justice in such suggestions or complaints that they would call the attention of Congress to the matter with the view of having these matters attended to.  He said that the members of the commission after their frequent interviews with the Indians felt an interest in them and desire for their welfare.  He thought that the commission would have failed in their mission if the Indians had not had confidence in them and the promise that their needs would be called to the attention of the proper authorities.  With the hope of impressing the Secretary and the members of Congress with the justice of these complaints, Gov. Foster said that the commission had asked that these Indians be brought here.  He said that the Indians here represented are progressive.  They desire their children to go to school and to reach the stage of self-respect and self support.  "They are here, Mr. Secretary," he added, "turning to Secretary Noble, to address you on their grievances and suggestions."  He then formally introduced the Secretary, who arose and bowing to the Indians told them that he was ready to hear what they had to say.

CHIEF WHITE SWAN.        

An expressive "Ugh," indicating satisfaction but sounding very much like a grunt, ran through the group of Indians and then old White Swan of the Cheyenne river agency stepped out of the ranks.  He is said to be one of the oldest men in the delegation.  His long, coal black hair framed in a face that was marked with the wrinkles of age.  Like nearly all the Indians he had brightened up his costume of store clothes by knotting a red silk handkerchief about his throat.  As he talked the interpretor [sic] translated each sentence into English.  He spoke for the Indians on his reservation, and each of the five delegations present were given a hearing.

WHAT THE RED MEN ASK FOR.

As the Indians had agreed all the speakers confined themselves to general matters, intending to talk to the Indian commissioner about a number of details.

The attention of the Secretary was called to the fact that the Indians wanted a correction made in one of the old surveys of their land, so as to restore a portion to them which they claimed was their property.  They wanted Indians instead of white men employed in positions about the reservations as far as practicable, that the contracts for furnishing hay, wood and beef be also open to the Indians, and also the contract for hauling the government supplies from the railroad station to the reservations, and that while they were learning to become farmers rations might be issued to them.  They asked for pay for ponies run off from their reservationby United States troops about the time of the Custer war in 1876.  They were of the opinion that men sent out to instruct them in farming ought to know how to speak their language.  They asked that the method of issuing rations and annuities be changed so that there would be greater promptness.  Attention was called to the custom of beef contractors of selling them meat on the hoof and furnishing the entire supply in the Fall and receiving so much a pound, while the Indians had to bear the loss occasioned by the effect of the cold of winter on the cattle.

THEY WANT INDIAN SCHOOLS AT HOME.

The speakers asked that large school buildings be erected on their reservations, where their children could be educated.  They spoke of the expense of sending their children to the schools in the east, and also the bad effect upon their health owing to the change of climate.

As White Swan quaintly put it, instead of their children learning to read and write at these eastern schools they seemed to learn to die, because upon their return to their homes they generally sickened and expired.

AN INDIAN HUMORIST.

John Grass, who is regarded as one of the brightest Indians in the Sioux tribe, after concluding a rehearsal of these suggestions and complaints occasioned a hearty laugh by a graphic narration of the return of the Indians to their homes.  They would, he said, each have a satchel in his hand and when they entered their homes the women and children would surround them and at once look into their satchels to see what presents they had brought home.  The Indians, he said, did not want to disappoint their women and children and he suggested that each be given about $30 to buy little things to take home as presents.

Ex-Gov. Foster, when this naive suggestion was made, turned to Secretary Noble and laughingly remarked to him that there was a good chance for him to make some christmas gifts.

Some of the speakers asked that they might be allowed to go home by way of Carlisle and Hampton in order that they might see their children and friends in these schools.  Several of the speakers asked that surveys be made of the reserved portions of their reservation at once as many were anxious to take allotments of lands.

THE KIND OF PLOUGH THE INDIAN WANTS. 

One of the chiefs in talking about their needs of agricultural implements said that he knew how to hold a plough handle, but he had seen ploughs on wheels, and all that a man had to do was to sit down on this plough and drive around all day.  That was the kind of plough the Indian wanted.

The Secretary and the members of the commission laughed heartily over this request.

When the Indians had finished talking the Secretary told them that he would consider what they had said.

The conference then adjourned.  Tomorrow the Indians will probably call upon the President.

 

[NOTE: No report of this conference located in the Post]

 

DEC. 20, 1889:  Washington Post: [Dakota]

IN BLANKETS AND FEATHERS.  The Sioux Indians Have a Talk With the Great Father.

The President gave a reception yesterday afternoon to the delegation of Sioux Indians now on a visit to this city.  There were about fifty of them present, in charge of Messrs. Foster, Warner, and Crook, of the Sioux Commission.  The reception was held in the east room, and was witnessed by Mrs. Harrison, Mrs. McKee, Doctor Scott, Postmaster General Wanamaker, and others.  General Warner presented the Indians, saying that it was merely a social call, the Indians wishing to show the Great Father what manner of men they were.  He then introduced John Grass, of Standing Rock agency, who made a good-natured speech to the President, in the course of which he remarked with quiet humor that this was not a scalping visit, but merely a friendly call.  His tribe, he said, had never been visited by such a good commission, so ready and willing to point out matters to the Indians.  His people would like, among other things a boundary line for their reservation and better schools for their children.  Another Indian, American Horse, also made an address, after which the President spoke to the delegation, through an interpreter, as follows:

I am glad to meet so many representatives of the Sioux nation.  A few years ago, while a member of a Senate committee, I visited your reservation and saw your homes and farms.  I want to assure you I have a sincere interest in the welfare of your people.  Your true interest is in the direction of legislation to settle each of you on a farm of your own.  It is the policy of the Government to give to your children the advantages of schools, which you have not had.  I will read with pleasure the report of the commission, and it will give me still greater pleasure to aid them in securing from Congress those laws that are necessary to meet the suggestions made by the Commissioners.  You must remember that I do not make laws.  Congress does that.  I have no doubt, however, that our friends in Congress will be disposed to do that which is liberal and just to those people who have surrendered so much of their land to the Government.

 

DEC. 23, 1889:  Evening Star: [Dakota]

The Delegation of Sioux Chiefs, who have been in the city for some time, will leave this afternoon for Hampton, Va., to visit the Indian school in that place, where several members of the delegation have children.  They will stay there a day or two and then return to this city.  After talking with the Indian commissioner and seeing the sights the Indians will return sometime next week to their homes.

 

DEC. 23, 1889:  Evening Star: [Dakota]

THE SIOUX COMMISSION.  Their Report Favors the Education of Indian Children on Reservations.

The report of the Sioux commission is now being printed at the government printing office.  True to their promises to the Indians, the commission have made a number of recommendations, which the President will probably transmit to Congress for its action.  Perhaps the most important of these recommendations is the one that contemplates the education of the Indian children in schools erected on the reservations.  The Indians are opposed to sending their children to the schools in the east.

 

DEC. 23, 1889:  Washington Post:  [Dakota]

WILL VISIT THEIR BOYS.  The Sioux Chiefs will leave for the Hampton School To-Day.  IMPRESSED WITH CITY SIGHTS.  They Wonder How the Washington Monument was Built so High and so Straight and How it Remains Without Falling--The Red Man Has Been Well Treated.

To-day the Sioux Indians who are in the city will be taken to Hampton, Va., to spend the holidays.  Many of them have children at the Indian school there, and as it will be impossible for the chiefs to settle their business until after Congress convenes, they propose to avail themselves of the opportunity to visit their children.

Most of the members who comprise the delegation are not strangers to Washington by any means.  They have all been here before, many a time, to pow-wow with the Great Father, but they take just as much delight in going around visiting the public buildings and other places of interest as if they had never seen them before.

Of the entire delegation only three or four are paying their first visit to the East.  To say they are astonished is putting it mildly.  They had heard of the Capitol and the Washington Monument, from the others who had been here before, but they did not believe more than half what was told them.  Hence when they saw for themselves that the descriptions they had received were more than justified by the facts, they became the most indefatigable sightseers imaginable.

They have explored every section of the city, and when they return from Hampton will go over the same route again.  It is hard to tell what impresses them the most.  They do not talk much about it, and even with the aid of an interpreter a white man stands precious little show of finding out what they think.  Perhaps the Washington Monument is the most bewildering thing to them.  They cannot understand how it was built so high and so straight, and how it remains without falling.