President in 1890:   

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

Commissioner of Indian Affairs in 1890: 

    Thomas Jefferson Morgan (1889 – 1893)

 

JAN. 3, 1890:  Washington Post:  [Dakota] [delegation cont. from 1889]

THE INDIANS HAVE THEIR SAY.  They Want to Know if Treaty Promises Are to be Kept.

The delegation of Sioux chiefs had another talk with Commissioner Morgan yesterday.  When John Grass arose to speak the commission said he desired to hear those who did not speak at the former council.  Grass replied that he did not speak; he only had time allowed him to say that he desired to speak.  "Last summer," he continued, "you sent three men out to my country, and we let them talk as much as they pleased, and we listened to them.  They told us that if we signed the treaty we would get the schools and oxen and wagons and other things promised us in the treaty of 1868, and pay for the land we now sell besides.  I see that some of the same things are promised in both treaties.  My people want to know if we are to have them twice.  The commissioners said we were, and I want to know about it."

Mad Bear said:  "You sent us three persons to show us how to farm.  They can't talk to us; they only make motions with their hands and then go away.  We don't know what they mean.  If they would plow and sow and raise crops we could see how they did it, and learn to farm.  We have boys and half-breeds who know how to farm better than the farmers you send to us."

Commissioner Morgan interrupted to say:  "You should learn to understand English and then perhaps the farmers could teach you."

Mad Bear replied:  "If we had got the schools on the reservations as promised us in 1868 we would now know English, but we did not get them.  We want to learn to farm and do like the whites, and we want schools on the reservations so we can learn."

 

JAN. 3, 1890:  Evening Star:  [Dakota]

The Delegation of Sioux Indians now in the city have arranged for a conference on Tuesday next with the House committee on Indian affairs.  It is expected that they will leave for their homes next Wednesday. [NOTE: searched papers through Jan. 9 and no notice of either - stayed longer?]

 

JAN. 4, 1890:  Washington Post:  [Dakota]

Sioux Pupils Do Not Die.

Capt. R. H. Pratt, superintendent of the great Indian industrial school at Carlise [sic], Pa., referring to a statement in the press that from 30 to 70 per cent of returned Sioux pupils die within four years after reaching the reservation, says:

"I find we went 101 Rosebud and Pine Ridge agency students home prior to January 1, 1886.  Some of them have been home nine years.  The most careful inquiry shows that eighty-two are living to-day, which is less than 20 per cent. of deaths covering a much longer period.  We have no pupils from Standing Rock, Cheyenne River or Crow Creek agencies.

Jan. 8, 1890:  Evening Star:  [Dakota]

            What The Indians Want.

            The House committee on Indian affairs had a session yesterday.  Several Indian chiefs were present and addressed the committee.  Hollow Horn Bear of the Standing Rock agency wanted the recommendation made by the Secretary of the Interior carried out.   John Grass wanted the government to pay for 8,800 ponies which he claimed had been run off by Gen. Terry.  He said the Indians wanted to become educated and self supporting.  He did not favor eastern schools, but wanted them to be established on the reservations.

 

Jan. 8, 1890:  Sun [Baltimore, Md.]:  [Dakota]

            Indians’ Grievances.

            The House Indian affairs committee had a delegation of chiefs who are visiting the East before it today.  Hollow Horn Bear, of the Standing Rock agency, John Grass, of the Cheyenne agency, and Little Chief, of the Pine Ridge agency, presented grievances of the Indians.  Grass, who was the chief spokesman, wanted the provisions of the Sioux commission agreement carried out, and also asked indemnity for 8,800 ponies said to have been run off by General Terry a long while ago. The Indians estimate the value of each pony at $[40?]/

 

JAN. 8, 1890:  Evening Star:  [Menominee]

A Delegation of Menominee Indians from the Green Bay, Wis., had a conference with Secretary Noble today in regard to money matters and other affairs of the tribe.

 

Jan. 18, 1890:  Evening Star:  [Oneida]

            Non-Progressive Red Men.—A delegation of Oneida Indians from northern Wisconsin called yesterday at the Indian office and presented a petition asking for a suspension of the work of allotting lands to the members of their tribe until they can be fully heard and the views of the Indians obtained upon the allotment scheme.  The commissioner declined to order a suspension of the work and expressed the opinion that the delegation represented only the non-progressive members of the tribe.

 

Jan. 18, 1890:  Evening Star:  [Chickasaw, Choctaw]

            The Oklahoma Territory Bill.

            Further arguments on the Oklahoma territory bill were heard by the House committee on territories today.

            Judge Paine of this city, representing the interests of the Chickasaw and Choctaw nations of Indians, who began an argument the other day before the committee, finished today.  His argument was followed by an address to the committee by Miss Alice M. Robinson, a missionary among the Indians in the Indian territory and a teacher in the Presbyterian Indian schools there, who made a strong plea for ample protection for the full-blooded Indian.  Representative Rogers of Arkansas pointed out where the legal machinery provided in the bill was inadequate to meet the exigencies of the case.  He will conclude his argument next Wednesday.

 

Feb. 17, 1890:  Duluth News-Tribune:  [Dakota]

            He Wanted to Die

            Standing Rock, ND., Feb. 16.—

            Big Head, a leading Sioux Indian chieftain, attempted suicide near here Saturday.  He was found hanging from a tree with a cracker box kicked from beneath him.  After restoratives had been applied he regained consciousness.  He said the recent loss of his grandchildren made him feel bad and he wanted to join them I the happy hunting grounds.  He has been placed in the charge of officers until his troubles are forgotten.  No Sioux Indian was ever known before to attempt his own life.  Big head was one of the Indian delegation that visited Washington several weeks ago.

 

MAY 5, 1890:  Washington Post:  [Ponca]

Spotted Horse, Standing Bear, White Eagle, and Antoine Roy, Indian chiefs from the Ponca agency, Indian Territory, were at the Capitol on Saturday under the charge of Captain Keith.  These red men are here for the purpose of asking certain legislation, but the interpreter declined to give exactly the nature of their pilgrimage to Washington, saying that newspaper notoriety would not assist them in securing what they desired.

 

MAY 5, 1890:  Washington Post:  [Laguna/Pueblo/other?]

William Marmon, one of the New Mexico delegation now in the city, resides at Laguna, New Mexico, where he has large cattle interests.  He is an adopted member of the Laguna Pueblo Indian tribe, and has been chief of the Pueblos.  He is a white man who went to Laguna as a teacher in the Indian schools in 1871, married a Pueblo woman, and has become a trusted leader of his wife's people.  Laguna is the most progressive of the Pueblos, and has 250 children in school.  Mr. Marmon has exerted a good influence among these Indians.

 

May 12, 1890:  Evening Star:  [Ponca]

            Can Wait for Photographs.

            Secretary Noble Makes Short Work of a Delegation of Ponca Indians.

            A small delegation of Ponca Indians of the Indian territory had an interview with Secretary Noble today.  They came to the city of their own accord and their object was to induce the President, through the Secretary to reconsider the recent order directing the removal of all cattle other than those owned by the Indians from the territory on or before the 1^st of October next.  The Indians told the Secretary that the revenue derived from leases was the main source of their support and that they could put their great stretches of pasture land to no other use.  The Secretary’s reply was brief but pointed.  He informed the Indians that their leases with cattlemen had no authority in law; that their lands were intended solely for the occupation of the members of the tribes; that the use by white men of land in the Indian territory gave them an unjust advantage over cattlemen in the states, as the later paid taxes on their lands and their cattle, which were not required in the Indian territory; and that the effort to retain these leases was mainly in the interests of a few middlemen who received the principal benefits.  The Secretary, in conclusion, told the Indians that they had better leave for their homes on the first train this evening.

            The Indian, however, asked the Secretary to relax the rigor of the last suggestion somewhat, as they had a photograph taken which they wished to take home with them, and the photograph would not be ready until tomorrow.  [NOTE:  photographer was probably by C.M. Bell who did take photos of the Ponca that year] The Secretary then said that they might stay until tomorrow evening.  Senator Dawes accompanied the Indians and after the conference he told the Secretary that his propositions could not be disputed.  This is probably the last effort that will be made by the cattlemen to retain their hold in the Indian territory.  Secretary Noble has been much annoyed by the hostile attitude of the lease holders of grazing lands in the Indian territory toward the efforts made by the government to secure a cession of the lands from the Indians.  It is believe that they have influenced the Indians to resist all negotiations in this direction and the ejectment of the lease holders from the territory after October 1 is one of the results of the hostile policy they have adopted against the government.

 

May 13, 1890:  San Francisco Bulletin: [Ponca]

            Indians Snubbed.

            Washington, May 12.—A delegation of Ponca Indians has called on the Secretary of the Interior to protest against the order removing cattle from Indian Territory.  They said the removal would deprive them of revenue and the grass would go to waste.  The Secretary replied that the leases were illegal and gave the lessees an unfair advantage over small stock-raisers, as they escaped taxation, and suggested that as they had no further business in Washington they return to their reservation at once.

 

JULY 10, 1890:  Washington Post:  [Chickasaw]

ONLY INDIANS CAN VOTE.  A Burning Question That Is Agitating the Chickasaw Nation.

One of the burning questions just now in the politics of the Chichasaw [sic] Nation, in the Indian Territory, is whether the adopted citizens, as the white men who have married Indian women are called, can vote at the general election.  The election is to be held in August next, and there seems to be considerable excitement there just now over an alleged decision of the Indian Bureau, which delares [sic] that readopted citizens have the right to vote.  Governor Byrd and another delegate ARE NOW ON THEIR WAY TO THIS CITY to get the alleged decision reversed, and in the meantime Secretary Noble received a dispatch from Samuel Paul urging him to stand firm and not reverse this decision.  Secretary Noble was considerably surprised, as he was not aware that such a decision was in existence.  He sent a telegram to Mr. Paul, in which he said:  "You are mistaken in the statement or supposition that this Department has given any order permitting any adopted citizens to vote at your next general election.  The paper that was written by the assistant commissioner of Indian affairs was simply his opinion on the subject, which has not been adopted, nor has it become an order of this Department in any sense to take care of your men by my executive action.  If you get relief from Congress it is all that you can expect."

A bill is now before Congress giving adopted citizens the right to vote.

 

July 11, 1890:  Washington Post:  [Chickasaw]

Intelligent Chickasaws Come to Washington on an Important Mission.

A delegation of Chickasaw Indians is at the National, consisting of ex-Gov. B. C. Barney, Col. G. W. Harkins, Judge O. Love, and his son H. Love.  They are a fine lot of men, who are just as civilized and intelligent as any other group of four men you may encounter anywhere.  A story has been printed that they had come on because of trouble in regard to the disfranchisement of the white "squaw men" in the Nation.

"That story," said Colonel Harkins, "is a flash in the pan.  It isn't so.  We disfranchised the white men who had previously been allowed to vote.  They are allowed their full treaty rights, however, Attorney General Miller has sustained the action of our council.  There are three classes in the nation--the Chickasaws by blood, by adoption, and by marriage.  None have been adopted since the war, and only one or two of these are living.  There are some 100 or so of whites who are Chickasaws by marriage, and that is all.  The real object of our visit to Washington is in regard to the lands leased by us to the United states in 1855 for ninety-nine years for the purpose of locating friendly tribes of Indians.  There are 7,000,000 acres of these lands to the west of us, extending over two degrees of longitude.  A few Comanches and Kiowas are settled on a small portion of these lands.  We desire the Government to quiet our title if it wishes to divert these lands from their original purpose under the lease, and to incorporate them in Oklahoma.  We have a good case and want only justice."

 

JULY 20, 1890:  Washington Post: [Cherokee]

Article about D. W. Bushyhead - copy in file.  Says: