THE INDIAN CONGRESS.
(By Mr. W.V. Cox, Secretary of the Government Exhibit Board.)
Among the many congratulatory remarks made in reference to the unqualified
success of the Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition, an apt one, made
by Mr. James Mooney, the ethnologist, is that "such a showing in a town whose
citizens only thirty years ago were called upon to barricade their homes
against an attack of hostile Indians, well illustrates the rapid growth and
tremendous energy of the West, and the grit and determination of the exposition
managers."
What a change there has been in the sentiment and interest pertaining to the
Indian in the past thirty years! When these same western people, who then were
over fearful of "an attack of hostile Indians", came to plan a great display in
1898 of their achievements as pioneers and of the natural wealth of the
territory they had developed, they sought early to arrange as a prominent
feature of their exposition an assemblage of the "red skins" of all tribes, to
exhibit their past and present conditions, their customs and accomplishments,
in brief all that should indicate their degrees of savagery and civilization,
then and now.
The project was one in which the whole American people became interested, for
but recently the Indian hold sway throughout this region. There had also been
manifested for some years a growing public attention to the science of
anthropology, and it was hoped to make the exhibit of the Indians follow an
ethnologic plan, although later this had to be largely abandoned.
In December, 1897, at the instance of the management and friends of the
exposition, a bill was introduced in Congress providing an appropriation of
$100,000 to carry out the project as a part of the exposition. Although the
bill passed the Senate in an amended form, with some prospects for its passage
by the House of Representatives, before it could come up for final action, the
preparations for the war with Spain so monopolized legislative attention, with
the consequent scaling down of appropriations all along the line, that it was
found impossible to effect the passage of the measure as contemplated. Later
an item for the same purpose, carrying $40,000 was incorporated as a paragraph
in the Indian Appropriation Bill. Unfortunately, this bill did not become a
law until July 1, 1898, a full month after the opening of the exposition; and
the enacted legislation took the work out of the control of the exposition
management, while no time was left for adequate preparations.
Despite the limits of the appropriation and of the time to prepare for the
encampment, and notwithstanding the necessity of largely abandoning the making
of an ethnologic exhibit, the project resulted most satisfactorily,
particularly to the exposition management for nothing like it had ever before
been presented at any exposition, nor, in fact, had there ever been attempted
in this or probably in any other land so extensive an ethnologic exhibition.
It was the strangest, most original, most interesting special feature of the
exposition.
Omaha being within easy reach of the large Indian reservations, it was possible
to bring together families aggregating 500 individuals, and representing 35
different tribes. The exhibit was designated as the Indian Congress, and it
occupied a plot of four or more acres within that portion of the exposition
grounds known as the North Tract.
It was realized by the Government authorities in charge of the exhibit that the
people at large held little interest in the educated Indian of the time. They
wanted to see him in his wild state, in his blanket and aboriginal tepee. They
were curious to witness the foot races, the fire dances, the native games of
the Indian of savagery, and cared little to see him if not wrapped in a blanket
of primitive weaving and decked out with paint and feathers. The authorities
endeavored to meet these ideas, but of course the Indian of the people's fancy
had passed away.
The Congress was visited daily by thousands of persons, who found it to be a
novel, entertaining--even a thrilling exhibition. To those of the visitors who
gave it more than passing attention, it presented an unusual opportunity for
studying the American Indian. The war dances, the ceremonials and the sham
battles given by the Indians attracted large audiences, completely absorbed at
the time with those unique and picturesque spectacles.
The Congress was ably managed by Captain W.A. Mercer, of the 8th U.S. Infantry,
under the direction of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs acting on behalf of
the Secretary of the Interior.
In his annual report for the year ending June 30, 1898, (pages 27-30), the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs says, in part:
"As showing the purpose and scope of the proposed congress of Indian tribes, I
quote the following from a letter of instructions sent to Indian agents in
regard to securing the attendance at the congress of representatives of various
tribes.
"It is the purpose of the promoters of the proposed encampment or congress to
make an extensive exhibit illustrative of the mode of life, native industries,
and ethnic traits of as many of the aboriginal American tribes as possible. To
that end it is proposed to bring together selected families or groups from all
the principal tribes and camp them in tepees, wigwams, hogans, etc., on the
exposition grounds, and their permit them to conduct their domestic affairs as
they do at home, and make and sell their wares for their own profit.
"It is represented that the Indian tribes are rapidly passing away or modifying
their original habits and industries by adopting those of civilization; that
there are yet many tribes within our borders whose quaint habits and mode of
life, which have remained practically unchanged since the days of Columbus, are
little known to the majority of our own people, and that an assemblage of this
kind proposed would not only be beneficial to the Indians participating, but
would be extremely interesting, as well as profitable, to the large body of
people in attendance.
"The first step will be to select the families or groups of Indians who are to
represent their respective tribes at the encampment. It is desired that the
encampment should be as thoroughly aboriginal in every respect as practicable,
and that the primitive traits and characteristics of the several tribes should
be distinctly set forth. This point should be constantly kept in view in the
selection of the Indians and in the collection of material.
"The Indians chosen to attend must be full bloods, and should be good types of
their respective tribes, consisting preferably of leading men or chiefs and
their families. The latter should be made up of man, wife, and one or two
(never more than three) minor children. While it is desired that family groups
and family life should be portrayed, it would be preferable that at least a
majority of the delegation consist of adults.
"Only Indians of good morals and habits should be selected, and most important
of all they must be strictly temperate.
"They should bring native dress if possible. They should also bring their
native domiciles or the materials with which to make them. They should also
bring the necessary articles with which to furnish and decorate their tepees or
other domiciles. As this will be a most interesting part of the exhibit the
furnishings should be as attractive and complete as possible. The necessary
materials for carrying on their native arts should also be brought, so that
they may engage in making articles for sale on the grounds. Where this can not
be done they may bring things illustrative of their craft in reasonable
quantities for sale. Necessary cooking utensils should be brought, and these
should be as primitive as possible.
"A collection of the implements and emblems of warfare would also be extremely
interesting, and where it can be arranged with any degree of completeness it is
suggested that such collection be brought. Articles to which a historical
interest attaches for any reason should also be brought if practicable.
"The Indians will not, of course, be at any expense for transportation to or
from the Exposition or for expenses for living while in attendance there, and
they will be well cared for."
"July 11, 1898, the Department (of the Interior) detailed Capt. W.A. Mercer,
U.S.A., acting agent of the Omaha and Winnebago Agency, Nebr., to install and
conduct the congress of Indian tribes at the Exposition, and on July 13, 1898,
granted Mr. J.R. Wise, a clerk in this office, leave of absence without pay and
appointed him as assistant manager to aid Captain Mercer at Omaha. . ."
Report of Capt. Mercer.
Captain Mercer's preliminary report, submitted to the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs only six weeks after the Congress opened, is summarized in the
Commissioner's annual report, but the following is the full text of the same:
"The Indian Appropriation Act for the current fiscal year contains the
following provision:
"That the Secretary of the Interior be, and is hereby, authorized to cause to
be assembled at the city of Omaha, in the State of Nebraska, at such time and
for such period as he may designate, between the first days of June and
November, anno Domini eighteen hundred and ninety-eight, representatives of
different Indian tribes, as a part of the Trans-Mississippi and International
Exposition, to be held at the city of Omaha, in the States of Nebraska,
pursuant to an Act of Congress, entitled, "An Act to authorize and encourage
the holding of a Trans-Mississippi and International Exposition at the city of
Omaha, in the States of Nebraska, in the year eighteen hundred and
ninety-eight", approved June tenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-six, for the
purpose of illustrating the past and present conditions of the various Indian
tribes of the United States, and the progress made by education, and such other
matters and things as will fully illustrate Indian advancement in civilization,
the details of which shall be in the discretion of the Secretary of the
Interior. And for the purpose of carrying into effect this provision the sum
of forty thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is hereby
appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated; but
the Secretary of the Interior is hereby prohibited form making or causing to be
made, any expenditure or creating any liability on behalf of the United States
in excess of the sum hereby appropriated.
"In accordance with the foregoing provisions Capt. W.A. Mercer, U.S.A., Acting
Indian Agent of the Omaha and Winnebago Agency, Nebraska, was detailed to
install and conduct such Indian Congress. His detail was made by the Secretary
of the Interior on July 11th and it was about a week later that the active
installation of the Indian tribes was begun. The Exposition having opened on
the 1st day of June the work of installing the Indians was prosecuted with as
much expedition as possible and on August 4th, 1898, the Indian Congress was
formally opened, and although not nearly all of the Indian tribes which it was
originally intended to have present were on the grounds the Indians in
attendance and in the parade on that day numbered about four hundred and fifty.
The 'Opening Day' was a complete success in every sense and everyone in
attendance was delighted with the showing and expressed words of praise for the
encampment. The attendance on 'Indian Opening Day' had only been exceeded once
during the progress of the Exposition and that was on July 4th.
"There were present for that occasion about one hundred and fifty Indians of
the Omaha tribe and about forty-five of the Winnebago tribe, all from the Omaha
and Winnebago Agency. These were not intended as permanent delegations for the
Congress and they returned to their reservations after remaining about ten
days.
"The Indians comprising the permanent delegations at that time numbered about
two hundred and twenty-five, representing about fifteen tribes and eighteen
reservations. The work of procuring and installing delegations from other
tribes was prosecuted without interruption and up to the present time,
(September 15th), the following tribes have sent delegations from reservations
and in numbers, including children, indicated in the table hereto annexed:
Name of Tribe: Reservation: No. in Delegation:
Sioux, Rosebud, S.D., 48
" Crow Creek, S.D., 5
" Cheyenne River, S.D., 9
" Lower Brule, S.D., 7
" Pine Ridge, S.D., 10
" Standing Rock, N. & S.D. 9
Blackfeet, Blackfeet, Mont., 22
Assinaboine, Fort Peck, Mont., 25
Sac & Fox, Sac & Fox, Iowa, 16
Apache, San Carlos, Ariz., 21
" Jicarilla Jicarilla, N.M., 12
Chippewa, Lac de Flambeau, Wis., 25
" Bad River, Wis., 5
Flathead,__
Kootenai, ______________ Flathead, Mont. 15
Calispel,__
Crow, Crow, Mont. 26
Sac & Fox, Sac & Fox, Okla. 33
Iowa, Iowa, Okla., 4
Ponca, Ponca, Okla., 30
Tonkawa, Ponca, Okla., 10
Cheyenne, (Southern), Cheyenne & Arapahoe, Okla. 43
Arapahoe, ( " ), " " " 24
Kiowa, Kiowa & Comanche, Okla. 22
Apache (Geronimo's band),Fort Sill, Okla. 22
Wichita, Kiowa & Commanche, Okla. 36
Omaha, Omaha, Nebr., 31
Winnebago, Winnebago, Nebr., 9
Pueblo, Pueblo & Jicarilla, N.M., 15
Otoe, Otoe, Okla., 11
Total 545
"Included in the band of Apache prisoners of war from Fort Sill are Chief
Geronimo, the famous Apache warrior and his able lieutenant Nachie; also a
large number of prominent men in the various delegations from the several
agencies.
"Many difficulties were encountered in the work of preparing and installing the
Indian Congress and in making it what it was originally intended by the
Department that it should be, namely, a Congress of the several Indian tribes
of the United States at which their native customs, habits, modes of dress,
domestic life, dwellings, etc., should be portrayed. The greatest difficulty
lay in the fact that Congress delayed the appropriation for the purpose so long
that insufficient time was allowed to properly select, equip and prepare the
several delegations. Again, many of the Indian Agents either lacked interest,
or else failed to appreciate the significance of the Congress in its broadest
sense. The Indians, too, in many cases were distrustful or hesitated, giving
the many excuses which only an Indian can conceive of for not wanting to come
to the Congress. This was especially true of some of the oldest and best types
of Indian tribes, the ones that were really most desired as delegates. As a
rule no difficulty was experienced in obtaining any number of half breeds or
partially civilized representatives, which for many reasons were the least
desired.
"It required renewed and repeated efforts and much persuasion to get Indians of
the class really desired. Some of the tribes failed to send delegations, owing
to the various reasons above outlined.
"Among such tribes might be mentioned the Utes, the Bannocks, the Shoshones,
the Nez Perces, the Osages, the Navajos and the Northern Cheyennes. After
having been at the Indian Congress camp a few days after having seen the
Exposition and its surroundings no difficulty would have been experienced in
getting delegations of any size desired including the best men, from the tribes
already represented.
"The delegations present are on the whole well equipped as to dress and camp
outfit and are most excellent types of their several tribes, and the Indian
camp affords an opportunity for the student of aboriginal Indian life never
heretofore presented.
"It was soon found from experience, however, after the Indian camp had been
installed, that this feature of it was of comparatively little interest to the
average visitor, who, having seen one or two camps had seen them all. In other
words, the real differences and characteristics of the Indians were of very
little interest to the average visitor. A scientific exhibit appeals to but a
small percentage of the Exposition visitors. The greater portion of the people
coming to the Exposition visit the Indian Congress, and invariably express the
fullest satisfaction. However, what they really desire is amusement; they
prefer to see the Indians in their full Indian dress on parade, conducting
their ceremonies, their dances, or participating in sham-battles. All of these
are being provided so far as practicable, to the delight of the eager crowds
which are often larger than the grounds can comfortably accommodate.
"The Indian Congress is not without interest to the Indians themselves and
those in attendance must necessarily be immensely benefited by their two or
three months sojourn at the Exposition, while the incidents and information
they will have to repeat to their people on their return to the reservation
will add further to the good accomplished by the Congress.
"Not one of the least interesting and beneficial results of the Indian Congress
is the opportunity it affords to the Indians of the several tribes to mingle
with, and make the acquaintance of, one another. This was one of the things
that was not fully appreciated prior to the installment of the Indian Congress,
but is really very significant. The Indians in attendance had probably never
seen and made the acquaintance, at most, of more than five or six other tribes,
and the privilege of making the acquaintance of people of their own race here,
representing twenty-eight or thirty different tribes, will certainly be an
event in the tribal history of all Indians represented. The sociability of the
Indians in the camp is a very marked feature and all the tribes mingle with and
visit among one another, with the greatest freedom and apparently the utmost
satisfaction. It is believed that this feature of the Congress alone is worth,
from the standpoint of the Indian, all that it cost the Government. It is an
Indian Congress indeed.
"In spite of the many difficulties and drawbacks encountered, the Congress of
Indian tribes is a success in its fullest sense. The visitors give expression
to remarks showing full satisfaction upon visiting the camp, while the
Exposition management is more than satisfied with the results."
In his letter transmitting the above report, Captain Mercer makes this
statement:
"In connection with said report, I think it proper to add in justice to myself
and to the Indians in attendance, that the weather has been trying in the
extreme nearly all of the time since the encampment was opened. Most of the
time we have had extreme heat accompanied by dry, hot winds, which rendered
camp life anything but pleasant, the conditions being rendered somewhat worse
by our location.
the tribal history of all Indians represented. The sociability of the Indians
in the camp is a very marked feature and all the tribes mingle with and visit
among one another, with the greatest freedom and apparently the utmost
satisfaction. It is believed that this feature of the Congress alone is worth,
from the standpoint of the Indian, all that it cost the Government. It is an
Indian Congress indeed.
"In spite of the many difficulties and drawbacks encountered, the Congress of
Indian tribes is a success in its fullest sense. The visitors give expression
to remarks showing full satisfaction upon visiting the camp, while the
Exposition management is more than satisfied with the results."
In his letter transmitting the above report, Captain Mercer makes this
statement:
"In connection with said report, I think it proper to add in justice to myself
and to the Indians in attendance, that the weather has been trying in the
extreme nearly all of the time since the encampment was opened. Most of the
time we have had extreme heat accompanied by dry, hot winds, which rendered
camp life anything but pleasant, the conditions being rendered somewhat worse
by our location.
"Following close upon the heated period we have just had a week of cold, heavy
rains which made the camp and life in it more disagreeable even than it was
during the hot spell.
"The weather has cleared now, the camp has taken on new life and inspiration,
and with favorable conditions I feel fully justified in predicting that the
Indian Congress will meet and even surpass the most sanguine expectations.
Even with the unfavorable conditions which have existed we have had most
flattering notices from the Press, and everyone speaks in the most favorable
terms of the exhibition of the Indians and of the Indian life presented here on
the grounds at the expense of the Government."
Such ethnologic results as were obtained in the Congress were the work of Mr.
James Mooney, an expert of the Bureau of American Ethnology, a dependency of
the Smithsonian Institution at Washington, who was detailed at the special
request of the exposition management. In the American Anthropologist for
January--March, 1899, (vol. 1, no. 1, new series) Mr. Mooney has given an
interesting account of the Congress from the viewpoint of the ethnologist, from
which the following is taken:
Mr. James Mooney on the Congress.
"...The first Indians arrived in August, when the exposition was already half
over, and they continued to come in by delegations and singly until the close.
Some went home after a short time, but the majority remained to the end. The
number contemplated in the estimates was 500, the actual number present varying
from about 400 to about 500. Filtered water for drinking was supplied to the
camp, and daily rations were issued nearly equivalent to the regular army
ration. There were three deaths--a Sauk warrior, who was buried in full Indian
dress, and two babies. Two infants were born during the encampment.
"Omitting several delegations which remained but a short while there were
represented about twenty tribes, viz: Apache, Arapaho (southern), Assiniboin,
Blackfoot, Cheyenne (southern), Crow, Flathead, Iowa, Kiowa, Omaha, Oto, Ponka,
Potawatomi, Pueblo (of Santa Clara), Sauk and Fox, Sioux, Tonkawa, Wichita, and
Winnebago. The Apache were in two delegations, the Chiricahua now held as
prisoners at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and the San Carlos delegation, coming
directly from Arizona. With the latter were several Mohave. The Flathead
delegation included also some Spokan and Kalispel. The Kiowa were properly
Kiowa Apache, practically a part of the Kiowa in everything but language.
There were several delegations of Sioux, mainly from Rosebud and Pine Ridge
agencies in South Dakota. The Wichita delegation included one or two
individuals of the nearly extinct Kichai, while with the Tonkawa, themselves of
the verge of extinction, was a single woman of the broken tribe of the Lipan.
"...Four-fifths of the Indians thus brought together represented but a single
type, the ordinary tipi tribes of the plains. The wood carvers of the
Columbia, the shell workers and basket makers of Oregon and California, the
Navaho weavers, the Pawnee--aboriginal owners of Nebraska, --the tribes of the
gulf states, now living in Indian Territory, and the historic Ioquois of the
long-house were unrepresented.
"Linguistically, the tribes are classified as follows: ALGONQUAN
STOCK--Arapaho, Blackfoot, Cheyenne, Potawatomi, Sauk and Fox; ATHAPASCAN
STOCK--Chiricahua Apache, San Carlos Apache, Kiowa Apache, Lipan; CADDOAN
STOCK--Wichita, Kichai; SALISHAN STOCK--Flathead, Spokan, Kalispel; SOQUAN
STOCK--Assiniboin, Crow, Iowa, Omaha, Oto, Ponka, Sioux, Winnebago; TANOAN
STOCK--Santa Clara Pueblo; TONKAWAN STOCK--Tonkawa; YUMAN STOCK--Mohave.
"We shall now speak in detail of some of the tribes, beginning with the one of
the most interesting. The Wichita, with their confederates, the Waco,
Tawakoni, and Kichai, numbering now altogether only about 320, belong to the
Caddoan stock, and reside on a reservation in southern Oklahoma. The first
three are practically one people and speak a dialect of the Pawnee language,
the Tawakoni particularly claiming close relationship with the Skidi division
of the Pawnee. The Kichai, reduced now to about 60 souls, are the remnant of a
tribe from eastern Texas, with a distinct language of their own. The Wichita
call themselves Kitikitish, meaning literally, 'raccoon eyelids', but
understood to signify 'tattooed eyelids', from a former custom among the men of
tattooing lines upon the eyelids. The women tattoo lines upon the chin, and
some of the older ones have their breasts covered with tattooed designs. From
this custom the Wichita derived their French name of Panis Piques. The common
name of the tribe has been variously explained, but may be connected with wits
or wets, their own word for 'man'.
"Within the historic period, which in their case dates back more than three
centuries, they have ranged from central Texas to Arkansas river, and there is
evidence that at one time a part of them at least lived farther eastward in
Arkansas and Louisiana. They are identical with the people of the ancient
Quivira, with whom Coronado, in 1541, found 'corn and houses of straw. At the
beginning of their official relations with the government the Waco and Tawakoni
were in Texas, about the present Waco city and Tawakoni creek, while the
Wichita and Kichai had their permanent village in the Wichita mountains, on the
upper Red river. Driven out of Texas by the whites, they were collected on the
present reservation in 1850, but had hardly gathered their firstcrop when they
were again scatted by the outbreak of the civil war, and fled north, remaining
about the site of the present city of Wichita, Kansas, until the struggle was
over, when they returned to their homes on the reservation. They have never
been at war with the whites.
"Like all the tribes of Caddoan stock, the Wichita are an agricultural people,
and even before the coming of the white man raised large quantities of corn,
which they ground into meal upon stone metates or in wooden mortars, or boiled
in pottery of their own making. Their surplus supplies were deposited in
cistern-like caches lined with bark.
"Their permanent houses are of unique construction, being dome-shape structures
of grass thatch laid over a framework of poles, with earth banked up around the
base. From Catlin we have a picture of such a village, as he found it, on
upper Red river in 1834, but, as is the case in the other of his drawings, with
the forms somewhat idealized. It may be mentioned that the circular
embankments on this village site were plainly to be seen when the writer
identified the location a few years ago. In making up the Wichita delegation
for Omaha a typical grass house was bought from the owner, on the reservation,
with the understanding that it should be taken down and the materials
transported in Indian wagons to the railroad, thirty miles away, thence to be
shipped to Omaha, to be again set up on the grounds of the Indian congress.
The contract was faithfully carried out. The grass house was taken down,
transported by wagon and rail, and again set up in the original materials at
Omaha, the rebuilding requiring the labor of several women about one week.
"The inside support was a substantial square framework of stout logs, about
eight inches in diameter, planted upright in the ground, supporting
cross-pieces of the same size laid in crotches at the top. Over these
cross-pieces were bent long, flexible, half-round timbers having their bases
planted in the circular trench which formed the circumference of the structure,
while their tapering ends were brought together at the top and bound firmly
with elm bark to form rafters. Smaller flexible poles of perhaps an inch in
diameter were then bound across these at regular intervals from the ground to
the top. Over this framework the long grass was laid in shingle fashion in
regular rounds, beginning at the bottom, each round being held in place by
light rods fastened with elm bark to the supporting framework and cleverly
concealed under the next round of grass. Near the top, but at the side instead
of in the center was a smoke-hole. Doorways were left at opposite sides to
allow the breeze a free sweep, and detached doors were made of grass over a
framework of rods. Around the inside were high bed platforms, and in the
center was a fire-hole with a support from which to hang the pot. There was
also a grass-thatched arbor built in the same fashion, with a sweat-lodge of
willow rods. A curiously painted Indian drum, which they brought with them,
hung on the outside, the mortar and the metate near the doorway, and the
bunches of corn and dried pumpkin, with the Indian owners themselves, made the
Wichita camp altogether perhaps the most attractive feature of the congress.
"At the close of the exposition the grass house, with the mortars and metates,
was purchased for the National Museum, and the materials transmitted to
Washington to be again set up in the National Park, where future visitors may
have opportunity to study the structure of the 'straw houses' of old Quivira.
"The Wichita delegation numbered thirty-eight, of whom fifteen lived in the
grass house, while the remainder occupied several canvas tipis adjoining. The
party had been carefully selected, and included several noted runners
distinguished in the ceremonial footraces of the tribe, two Kichai women, still
retaining their peculiar language, and one of them with the old-style tattooing
upon her face and body, and a mother with an infant in a cradle of willow rods.
Physically the Wichita are dark and generally of medium size, with flowing hair
inclined to waviness. They were accompanied by their chief, known to the
whites as Tawakoni Jim, a man of commanding presence and fluent eloquence, and
in former years a scout in the service of the government.
"Another interesting southern tribe represented was that of the Kiowa Apache,
now numbering about 220, on a reservation in southwestern Oklahoma, adjoining
the Wichita. Although closely associated with the more numerous Kiowa, they
are of Athapascan stock, coming originally from the far north. They call
themselves Nadiishan-Dina, and are mentioned under their Pawnee name of Gataka
in a French document of 1682, being then in the same general region where they
became better known at a later period, participating with the Kiowa in all
their raiding wars until assigned their present reservation in 1869. Until
within a few years past they have been a typical plains tribe, without
agriculture, pottery, or basketry, depending entirely on the buffalo for
subsistence, and shifting their skin tipis from place to place as whim or
necessity guided. They hunted and fought on horseback, carrying the bow, the
lance, and the shield (and more recently the rifle), and joined with the Kiowa
in the great annual ceremony of the sun dance. Physically they are tall and
well made, with bold, alert expression.
"Every man and woman of the delegation came dressed in full buckskin,
beautifully fringed and beaded. They set up their canvas tipis adjoining the
Wichita, enclosing one of them with a circular windbreak of leafy willow
branches after the manner of the winter camps of the plains Indians. Suspended
from a tripod in front of the same tipi was a genuine, old-time 'buffalo
shield', the last shielding remaining in the tribe. It is now the property of
the National Museum.
"It may be in place here to describe the tipi, the ordinary dwelling of the
plains tribes. The name tipi, 'house', is from the Sioux language and has now
almost entirely superseded the former term, lodge.
"The tipi is a conical structure, formerly of dressed buffalo hides, but now of
cow-skins or canvas, sewn together with sinew, over a framework of poles of
cedar or other suitable wood, tied together near their tops and spread out at
the ground to form a circle of about twenty feet diameter. An average tipi
occupied by a family of about six persons has twenty poles in the circle and
stands about fifteen feet high to the crossing of the poles. Three--or with
some tribes four--particularly stout poles form the main support of the
structure. One of these is at one side of the doorway, which always faces the
east; another, to which is usually tied the 'medicine-bag' of the owner of the
dwelling, is nearly opposite the doorway, while the third is on the north side.
These three poles are first tied together about two feet from their upper ends
with one end of a long rope, and are then raised in place by the women and
firmly planted in the earth. The other poles are next sorted out according to
length and leaned against them in such a way that when set up the tipi's
longest slope will be toward the front. The formula is: three main poles; two
sets of five longer poles each, one for each side and extending around to the
doorway; two sets of three shorter poles each, for the back; one pole which
fastened to the tipi covering at the back and serves to lift it upon the
framework. There are also two outside poles for the flaps. As each set of
poles is put in place another turn of the rope is taken around them at the
crossing, and when all are up the loose end of the rope is wound around one of
the main poles and firmly tied. The covering being lifted upon the framework,
the two ends are brought together in front and fastened with a row of wooden
pins running upward from the door, which may be a simple hanging flap, a coyote
skin, or something more elaborate. About twenty pegs fasten the edges down to
the ground, grass and wild sage being used to fill in any spaces which might
admit the cold air. The opening where the poles cross allows the smoke to
escape. On each side of the opening is a flap, held in place by two other
poles on the outside of the tipi, by means of which the draft is regulated as
the wind changes.
"The fire is built in a shallow hole dug in the center of the tipi. Behind and
on each side of the fire are low platforms, set close against the wall of the
tipi, which serve as seats by day and beds by night. The frames are of small
poles, supporting mats of willow rods, usually looped at one end in hammock
fashion, and covered with skins or blankets. Above the beds are canopies set
so as to catch the stray drops which come in through the smoke-hole during
rainstorms. The clear space of ground immediately about the fireplace, where
the women attend to their cooking operations, is sometimes separated from the
bed space by a border of interwoven twigs. The tipi is painted on the outside
with heraldic designs and decorated with buffalo tails, streamers from the
poles, or similar adornments. In summer it is set up on the open prairie to
escape the mosquitoes. In winter it is removed to the shelter of the timber
along the river bottom, and surrounded with a high fence or windbreak of willow
branches neatly interwoven.
"Such was the dwelling until recently in constant use by all the
buffalo-hunting tribes from the Saskatchewan to the Rio Grande, and for apart
of the year also by the semi-sedentary agricultural tribes, such as the Roe,
Pawnee, and Wichita. No other structure met so well the requirements of the
nomad hunters of the plains, as no other is so easily portable and so well
adapted by its shape to withstand the stormy winds of the timberless region.
This is shown by the fact that it furnished the model for the Sibley tent. It
is still in use by all the plains tribes, with no change from the former
methods of construction excepting in the substitution of canvas for buffalo
hides and in the general inferiority of ornamentation and workmanship.
"Of the Kiowa Apache delegation the most prominent member was the hereditary
chief, White-man, now nearly seventy years of age, a kindly, dignified
gentleman, who has twice represented his people at Washington. In spite of
years he sits his horse as firmly and bears his lance as steadily as the
youngest of his warriors. In former days he was one of the two war leaders
deemed worthy to carry the beaver-skin staff which pledged them never to avoid
a danger or turn aside from the enemy. Another notable man is the captive,
Big-whip, whose proper name is Pablino Diez, and who jokingly claims kinship
with the distinguished president of the sister republic. He is one of a
considerable number of captives still living among these southern tribes, which
formerly made Mexico and the Texas frontier their foraging grounds. Unlike
most of these unfortunates, Pablino retains the knowledge of his name and his
Spanish language, and remembers vividly how he was taken, when about eight
years of age, in a sudden dash by the Apache upon the town of Parral in
Chihuahua.
"With some modification of detail the description of the Kiowa Apache will fit
the other plains tribes represented at the congress; the Dakota, Assiniboin,
Crows, and Blackfeet of the north; the Omaha, Ponka, and Oto of the central
region; and the Cheyenne and Arapaho of the south. With the exception of the
Omaha and Ponka, who are practically one people, they were all roving buffalo
hunters, fighting and hunting on horseback, dwelling in skin tipis, practicing
no agriculture, using the same weapons, and having similar military
organizations and tribal ceremonies. Most of them seem to have been
unacquainted with the clan system. The Omaha and Ponka had corn and
earth-covered lodges, both of which they probably obtained originally from
their allies, the Pawnee. All wore the prairie moccasin, breech-cloth, and
buckskin dress, differing only in length of fringe or color of decoration. The
men wore the scalp-lock, usually having the rest of the hair braided and
hanging down in front on each side of the head. With the Crows, and sometimes
the Blackfeet, it was pushed up or reached over the forehead. Excepting in the
substitution of cloth for buckskin, the majority of these Indians are but
little changed in appearance from the time when they were first put on
reservations. They are all of fine physical type, as might be expected in a
race of warrior and horsemen. The build is sinewy and the features thin and
clear-cut, excepting the semi-agricultural Omaha and Ponka, who show the effect
of a partial grain diet in rounder faces and portlier figures. The Blackfeet
and Crows are especially tall, with the Cheyenne and Arapaho not far behind.
The Dakota are notable for their auiline noses and light complexion, the
Cheyenne also being much lighter in color than their neighbors.
"The Sioux, who call themselves Dakota or Lakota, 'allies', number about 25,000
souls, being the largest tribe or confederacy in the United States. They
formerly owned the greater portion of both Dakotas, with about one-half of
Minnesota, and are now gathered on reservations within their ancient territory.
Although well known linguistically and in the pioneer history of the west, they
have yet to be studied form the ethnologic point of view. Their language was
reduced to writing some sixty years ago and has now a considerable literature.
Nearly all the men of the tribe are able to conduct personal correspondence in
their own language. They have a special fondness for parade, and eagle-feather
war-bonnets are practically particularly numerous in this delegation. Among
those in attendance were several men of prominence, but no generally recognized
chiefs. Their tipis, some of which are tastefully decorated, were set up in a
circle, following the old custom of the plains tribes. The Watopana,
'paddlers', or Assiniboin, are an offshoot from the Yankton Dakota and speak
their dialect. Their range was north of that of the Dakota, extending across
the Canada boundary. They now number about 1400, gathered on two reservations
in Montana, besides a small number in Canada. They brought with them a fine
specimen of the old-style heraldic tipi.
"The Crows (Absaroko), numbering now about 2100 on a reservation in Montana,
occupied the Yellowstone country , west of their heralditary enemies, the
Dakota. Although predatory in habit, they have never been at war with the
whites, but on the contrary have usually furnished a contingent of scouts for
the government service in the various Indian campaigns of that region. They
have marked tribal characteristics, which would well repay study, as they are
practically unknown to the ethnologist. The most prominent man of the
delegation was White-swan, a former scout and the sole survivor of the Custer
massacre in 1876, in which notable engagement he was shot and hacked almost to
pieces and finally left for dead, but managed to save his life by covering
himself with the blanket of a dead Dakota. With his hearing destroyed by blows
of the tomahawk, his hands crippled by bullets, and his whole body covered with
enduring scars, he is still able to tell the story in fluent sign language.
"The Siksika, or Blackfeet, known to ethnologists through the researches of
Grinnell, are an important tribe numbering about 6000, in various sub-tribes
and bands, formerly ranging over the whole country from the Yellowstone to the
North Saskatchewan. Nineteen hundred of them are now gathered on a reservation
in Montana, the rest being in the adjacent Canadian province. Associated with
them are two smaller tribes, the Arapaho Grosventres and the Sarsi. In
physique the Blackfeet are among the finest men of the plains, tall and well
built, with erect pose and steady countenance. Those in attendance at the
congress belonged to the Piegan division, and brought with them an old-style
ornamented skin tipi.
"The Omaha, Ponka, and Oto, closely related Siouan tribes, numbering,
respectively, 1170, 820, and 350, originally had their settlements along
Missouri river in eastern Nebraska, under the protection of the powerful
Pawnee, who claimed the whole Platte region. Occupying thus a subordinate
position, they have never been prominent in tribal history, although in
ethnology they are among the best known tribes of the west, owing to the
extended researches of Dorsey, La Flesche, and Miss Fletcher. The Omahan, or
Omaha, have given their name to the exposition city. The word signifies 'up
stream', as distinguished from cognate tribes formerly living farther down the
river. They are also the originators of the picturesque Omaha dance, now
common to most of the plains tribes. They reside on a reservation about sixty
miles northward from Omaha and within the limits of their original country.
Most of them now live in frames houses, but others still prefer their oldtime
earth-lodge. Some of the Ponka also are on a reservation in northeastern
Nebraska, but the majority with the Oto, have been removed to Oklahoma.
"The allied Cheyenne and Arapaho, who call themselves, respectively, Dzitsistas
and Inuna-ina, both names being about equivalent to 'our people', were
represented by a large delegation from Oklahoma. Typical buffalo hunters of
the plains, they yet have traditions of a time when they lived in the east and
planted corn. The Cheyenne number in all nearly 3500, of whom 2000 (southern)
are on a reservation --now thrown open to settlement--in western Oklahoma, the
remainder (northern) being on a reservation in Montana, excepting a few living
with the Dakota or Sioux. Their tribal 'medicine' is a bundle of sacred arrows
in the keeping of one of the southern bands. They are a proud, warlike people,
who have left a strong impress on the history of the plains. The Arapaho,
numbering in all about 1800, are also in two divisions, the larger body living
with the Cheyenne in Oklahoma, while the northern division resides with the
Shoshoni on a reservation in Wyoming. The Grosventres of Montana, formerly
associated with the Blackfeet and numbering now about 700, are a detached band
of Arapaho. Unlike their allies, the Arapaho are of accommodating temper,
disposed to pattern from our civilization, while the Cheyenne are strongly
conservative. Their 'medicine' is the 'flat pipe', in the keeping of the
northern division. As yet there has been no extended study of either of these
interesting tribes, although some good linguistic work has been done among the
Cheyenne by the Mennonite missionary, Petter. The two tribes are devoted to
the ghost dance and are considered the most expert sign-talkers on the plains.
"From their reservation in western Montana came a delegation of Flatheads
(Selish), the historic tribe of De Smet and Ravalli, accompanied by several
Spokan (Sihqomen) and Coeur d' Alene (Kalispiel), the three tribes being
closely associated and cognate, speaking nearly similar Salishan dialects and
having the same dress and general appearance. Despite their name, the
Flatheads do not, and never did, have flat heads. This paradoxical statement
is explained by the fact that the Indians of the Columbia region, most of whom
formerly compressed the head by artificial means, considered their heads thus
treated as pointed, and contemptuously applied the term 'flat-heads' to their
neighbors in the mountains, who had not the custom, but allowed the skull to
retain its natural shape. The early travelers adopted the name without
understanding the reason of its application, and thus it came that the one
tribe which despised the practice was supposed to be above all others addicted
to it.
"The men wear their hair turned up from the forehead, somewhat after the manner
of the Crows. Their color is not the coppery brown of the eastern Indians, but
rather the creamy yellow sometimes seen among the Pueblos, which might be
described as Mongolian were not that term so liable to misconstruction. In
temper they are good-natured and fond of pleasantry, here again resembling the
Pueblos rather than the stern warriors of the plains. They formerly occupied
the tangle of rough mountains at the extreme head of Missouri river, subsisting
more by roots and berries than by hunting, as they were cut off from the
buffalo country by their powerful enemies, the Blackfeet. They had houses of
bark and reeds, as well as the skin tipi. In 1841 the heroic De Smet began
among them that work which continues to be the most successful in the history
of our Indian missions. In 1855 they were gathered on a reservation, where the
confederated tribes now number about 2000, besides about 670 Spokan and 500
Coaur d' Alene on the Colville reservation in Washington.
"The Hochunkara, or Winnebago, formerly having their territory in southern
Wisconsin about the lake that bears their name, were represented by a
considerable delegation under a sub-chief, Blackhawk. They speak an archaic
and strongly marked Siouan language, but had their alliances with the
Algonquian tribes rather than with their own kindred to the westward. In dress
and physical characteristics also they resemble the eastern Indians, wearing
the turban, the beaded garter, and the short breechcloth, and having the
compact heavy build of the agricultural tribes of the timber region. Living
remote from the buffalo country, they subsisted principally on corn, wild rice,
fish and small game. Their houses, still in common occupancy on their
reservation, are of the wigwam type, of woven rush mats upon a framework of
poles, much resembling the wigwam of their former neighbors, the Sauk.
Friendly, but conservative, they have a rare mass of ethnologic lore which yet
remains to be studied. They number now about 1150 on a reservation adjoining
the Omaha in northeastern Nebraska.
"The historic Sauk and Fox were well represented by a large delegation from
Oklahoma and a smaller party from the band now living in Iowa. These two
tribes, calling themselves respectively , Sagiwuk and Muskwakiuk, names of
somewhat doubtful interpretation, are practically one people, speaking closely
related dialects of one language and having been confederated from a very early
period. They were prominent in every Indian movement of the lake and upper
Mississippi region from the beginning of the French and Indian war until their
power was broken by the result of the Black-hawk war in 1832. Their territory
lay on both sides of the Mississippi, in Iowa and northern Illinois, having the
cognate Potawatomi and Kickapoo on the east, the Winnebago and Dakota on the
north, and the Iowa on the west. With all of these, excepting the Dakota, they
maintained a friendly chief of the Black-hawk war, and Anamosa in the same
state commemorates an heroic mother of the tribe who swam the Mississippi with
her infant tied upon her back to escape a massacre in which nearly two hundred
men and women, and children of the Sauk fell by the bullets of 1600 American
troops. The younger daughter of Anamosa accompanied the delegation.
"The Sauk have always been agricultural, and they wear the turban and
characteristic moccasin of the eastern tribes. Their beaded work is especially
beautiful, and like the Winnebago they weave fine mats of rushes with which
they cover the framework and carpet the floors of their long, round-top
wigwams. They brought with them sufficient of these mats to set up several
wigwams, which are entirely different in shape and structure from the conical
tipi of the plains tribes. In person they are tall and strongly built, with
faces indicating they hold fast their forms, legends, and complex social
organization, and are today probably the most interesting study tribes of the
whole existing Algonquian stock. They have a syllabic alphabet, apparently the
work of some early French missionary, by means of which they keep up a
correspondence with friends on their various scattered reservations. The same
vehicle could doubtless be used in recording their songs and rituals. The two
tribes now number together about 970, of whom 500 are in Oklahoma, nearly 400
in Iowa, and a small band in Kansas. Some work has recently been done by Prof.
W.J. McGee in the Iowa band, which is composed chiefly of Muskwaki, or Foxes.
"With the Sauk there came also several of the cognate Potawatomi (Potowatmik),
and four Iowa (Pahoche), the latter being a small Siouan tribe, now reduced to
260, formerly living, in alliance with the Sauk, in central Iowa, which derives
its name from them.
"The Pueblos were represented by a delegation of about twenty men from Santa
Clara pueblo on the upper Rio Grande in New Mexico. As is well known, the
Pueblos substitute one of our most distinct and interesting native types, but
owing to the fact that the agent who made up the delegation was instructed to
send only men, it was impossible to make any showing of such characteristic
industries as bread making, pottery making, or basket weaving. As Santa Clara
is one of the smallest of the pueblos, and only a short distance from the
railroad and the town of Espanola, its inhabitants have been so modified by
contact with white civilization that they have almost forgotten their
aboriginal arts and ceremonies. Being unable to carry on any of their native
industries or to participate in the ceremonials of the other tribes, the Santa
Clara men confined their effort chiefly to disposing of some cheap pottery of
the sort made for sale to tourists at railway stations.
"The 26 existing Pueblo towns of New Mexico and Arizona, with some transplanted
settlements near El Paso, Texas, have altogether a population of about 11,000
souls, representing, according to our present knowledge, four different
linguistic stocks. Three pueblos have more than one thousand souls each, while
Santa Clara has but 225. The type is too well known, from the researches of
trained investigators, to need any extended notice here. The Santa Clara
Indians belong to the Tanoan stock. They call themselves Owino, and their
village Ka'pa, a name which seems to contain the root pa, water. They are
aware of their relationship to the people of the Tuaayan village of Hano, which
some of their old men have visited. Nearly all have Spanish names in addition
to their proper Indian names. They elect a governor, or chief, every year.
Their present governor, Diego Naranjo, with the last ex-governor, old Jose de
Jesus Naranjo, accompanied the party, the former bearing as his staff of office
an inscribed silver-headed cane presented to the pueblo by President Lincoln in
1863.
"A small but notable delegation was that of the Tonkawa, who call themselves
Tichkan-watich, 'indigenous people', a title arrogated by half the
insignificant little tribes known to ethnology. Although the mere remnant of a
people on the verge of extinction, the Tonkawa are of peculiar interest from
the fact that, so far as present knowledge goes, they constitute a distinct
linguistic stock, and are the only existing cannibal tribe of the United
States, while historically they are the sole representatives of the Indians of
the old Alamo mission, whose most tragic incident had its parallel in the
massacre that practically wiped out their tribe.
"Living originally in southern Texas, the Tonkawa experienced all the
vicissitudes that come to a vagrant and outcast people until they were finally
gathered, in 1859, on what is now the Kiowa reservation, having their village
on the south bank of the Washita, just above the present Anadarko. The other
tribes, which hated them for their cannibal habit and for the assistance which
they had given the troops in various border campaigns, took advantage of the
confusion resulting from the outbreak of the rebellion to settle old scores,
and joining forces against the Tonkawa, surprised their camp by a night attack
on October 23, 1862, and massacred nearly half the tribe. Since then their
decline has been rapid, until there are now but 53 left alive, on lands
allotted to them in eastern Oklahoma. Some excellent studies have been made
among them by Gatschet, who determined their linguistic isolation. Their
chief, Sentele, alias Grant Richards, a former government scout, accompanied
the party.
"The celebrated tribe of Apache, who call themselves Nde, 'men', was
represented by two delegations, numbering together about forty persons, viz:
some White Mountain Apache from San Carlos reservation in Arizona, and some
Chiricahua from Fort Sill, Oklahoma, where they are now held under military
restraint. With the former there were also some Mohave, a distinct tribe of
Yuman stock.
"From their connection with the border wars of the southwest and through the
researches of the late Captain Bourke, the Apache are so well known as to
require no extended notice here. A part of the great Athapascan stock, they
have fought their way through hostile tribes from Yukon river to the Rio
Grande, finally establishing themselves in the mountain region of southern
Arizona and New Mexico, whence they made unceasing forays in all directions
until their name became the synonym of all that was savage and untamable. Form
the nature of the country in which they lived, and their inherited capacity for
enduring hardship, they proved the most dangerous foes against whom our troops
were ever forced to contend. Since their final subjugation , and since a
native intelligence and solidity of character that bid fair to place them in
the front rank of self-supporting tribes. It will be remembered that they are
first cousins of the Navaho, the most successful stock raisers and most expert
weavers in the United States. They number nearly 5000, all now on San Carlos
reservation in Arizona, excepting the Chiricahua band of about 300, held as
prisoners of war at Fort Sill. They have no central organization, but are
subdivided into a number of bands, each under its own chief.
"The White Mountain delegation was under command of the hereditary chief,
Go-zhazh, 'Jingling', known to the whites as Josh, of pleasing features and
manly air. They wore the dress of their tribe, with flowing hair, red turban,
close-fitting buckskin legging, and characteristic turned-up moccasin. The
women have their hair cut across the forehead. Nearly all the men had tattooed
upon their foreheads resembling the rain and cloud symbol of the Hopi. The
Mohave had the same dress and general appearance. They brought with them their
native baskets and dance costumes and set up their round-top canvas wikiups
after the style of those on the reservation.
"The Chiricahua, the last Apache band to go on the warpath, were finally run
down and compelled to surrender to General Miles in 1886. As the people of
Arizona protested against allowing them to remain longer in that territory,
they were deported bodily to Fort Marion, Florida, thence after some time to
Mount Vernon barracks in Alabama, and at last to Fort Sill, on the Kiowa
reservation, Oklahoma, where under a few years of good management they have
developed from miserable savage refugees to prosperous farmers and stock
raisers, quite a number being enrolled and uniformed as United States Scouts.
The delegation was a picked one, and included Naichi, 'Meddler', the hereditary
chief of the band, a man of soldierly air and figure; Geronimo, the old war
captain, a natural leader of warriors, but withal a most mercenary character,
with one or two foot-racers and experts in native arts, and several women, with
two infants in cradles. Being under military control, they were housed in army
tents. The exiles devoted their time to good advantage, making baskets, canes,
and beaded work for sale, and found much pleasure in meeting their old friends
from Arizona and exchanging reminiscences.
"Some tribal ceremonies were arranged, but were discontinued...Among those
given were the noted ghost dance of the plains tribes, the mounted horn dance
of the Wichita, and the unique and interesting war dance and devil dance of the
Apache, the last being performed at night by the light of a fire, with a clown
and other masked characters, after the manner of the Hopi or Moki dances.
There were also foot-races by picked runners from several tribes.
"The Kiowa camp circle--a series of miniature heraldic tipis in buckskin, with
the central medicine lodge and all the necessary shields, tripods, and other
equipments to make it complete--was brought from Washington and set up within a
canvas corral of eighty feet diameter. This presentation of the old camp
circle of the plains tribes is a complete reproduction, on a small scale, of
the last great sun-dance camp of the Kiowa Indians, just previous to their
signing of the historic treaty of Medicine Lodge in 1867, by which they gave up
their free life and agreed to be assigned to a reservation. It is the property
of the National Museum, and was prepared on the reservation under direction of
the Bureau of American Ethnology, every miniature tipi and shield having been
made by the hereditary Indian owner of the original.
"Under an arrangement between the exposition management and the Bureau of
American Ethnology a special fund was appropriated for securing portraits of
the Indian delegates. The work was done by the exposition photographer, under
the supervision of a member of the Bureau, according to a systematic plan, the
Indians being photographed in costume in tribal groups and singly, in bust,
profile, and full length, resulting in a series of several hundred pictures
forming altogether one of the finest collections of Indian portraits in
existence. The negatives are now in possession of the Bureau. At the same
time the Indian name of each individual was obtained, with its interpretation,
and some points of information concerning the tribe, with brief vocabularies of
each language.