Edited by Wassaja (Dr. Montezuma's Indian name, meaning "Signaling''. ) an Apache Indian.

Vol. 3, No. 2 ISSUED MONTHLY May, 1918

"A-Nl-SHI-NA-BWE E -NA-MI-AD"

Another Indian paper has come out ( '·A-ni­shi- -na-bwe E-na-mi-ad") Reserve, Wisconsin, edited by Father Philip Gordon of that place. It treats of the Indian's soul as well as his bodily welfare. W ASSAJ A has stood on the ground that it makes no difference whe1e the Indian's help comes forth, just so it is a help to free the Indians from the throttle of the Indian Office, and place them on the same level as other races to help themselves in soul, body and mind.

Father Gordon started up the "War Whoop,' but it was ostricized and not wanted, and so he urged WASSAJA not to let it die. We changed the name of the little paper to "WASSAJA," meaning "signaling" in the Apache language. We greet the "Chip" paper to our desk with j;,yful heart.

More Indian papers by the Indians the better. It shows the Indians are coming out to expresa themselves. We knew Father Gordon was not at home unless he had a medium to tell the public what ought to be done for the Indians. He realizes the •ouls of the Indians cannot be reached until they know they are free men and women. Keeping the Indians as prisoners and treating them as outlawed creatures does not save the soul of the Indians. That is what the Indian Office tries to do, and that is what Father Gorkon will endeavor to combat. Father Gordon believes that the souls of the Indians are as precious in the sight of God as king! and queen• and that the Indians' possibilities are just as good as any race on the face of the earth. Father

Gordon is sincere in his condemnation of the Indian Bureau and will do all In his power ·to help free the Indians. WASSAJA can only say, go ahead, YOU ARE IN THE RIGHT ROAD FOR GOD AND FOR YOtJR RACE.

HOW DO WE INDIANS STAND ON THE WAR?

No better patriots stand on the American soil than the Indians. Voluntarily we have fought for the Stars and Stripes in every war since Columbus landed. As a nation we have stood up and fought against all odds for our inherited rights . It is going on six hundred years and we have not stopped to light for the same cause.

True, we have been called savages because we . did light for our country a!'d home, yet we hope we will be better understood when we stop and consider as this war goes on to victory, for justice. It was the love in the hearts of the Indians that made them pull their bows against the invading foe1. Better understanding with the pale faces has made us cease the primitive fashion and now we are facing those who believe we ought not to be freed yet. As the country is lighting for freedom so are we lighting for our freedom.

Between live and six thousand of our young redskins have volunteered their blood for the cause of American freedom. Such grand and noble demonstration ought to cause every patriot to reciprocate such act by introducing a bill in Congress to have the Indians freed and bestow upon them their citizenship. Can we not see

2 WASS AJA "Wi\SSAJA"

Vol. 3, No. 2 MAY, 1918

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that if they are willing to lay down their lives for the cause of freedom, why should they not be a free n •ti on as all other nations are on the American soil? He who lays down his life for the cause of freedom, does he not deserve to be free? The man part of the Indian has shown in every way that he should be free and still AMERICA, "the home of the free," has with­held and kept him under bondage all these years. When you see brave Indian young men, march­ing aide by side in the ranks of the army, is not that enough to convince you that they deaerve freedom from the throttle of the Indian Bureau?

If we Indians are not afraid to fight for those who are enslaving us, do you suppose we would be afraid to make our own living by the sweat of our brow?

Freedom is ·implanted in every Indian's heart. These many years we have not murmured be. cause we believed that some day our freedom would be granted us. In the midst of freedom must we be slavr.s with the Indian Bureau hang­ing around our necks and sucking the very blood that ought to make the Indians strong and independent? Can the world picture any grander and nobler sp ectacle than to see six thousand young Indians fighting for the Hag that stands for freedom, equal rights, democracy, humanity and justice to the high and low, rich and poor of all races of all climes? When at the same time, their nation (the Indian•) are not free under the yoke of the Indian Office; have not equal rights unde~ the law of the United States; no voice is given to them in their own affairs or in the affairs of their home and country; they are treated as though they had no right to live and breathe the same atmosphere as the rest of the world and their trail is strewd with blood and in­justices of "man's inhumanity to m"n." Oh, God, help America to see the right at home a& well as abroad; to see might has enslaved the Indians; to see the Indians are nnt citizen•, and to see the INDIANS ARE NOT FREEi

WHILE THE IRON IS HOT, STRIKE

When the world is fi ghting for freedom, equal rights 'and humanity, it is a poor policy to wait until after the war t:> ask for freedom, equal rights and ju•tice. Some Indians may have taken this advice, to wait until the war clouds roll

over before working to free their people. They' may have stopped work for the Indians and are head and foot over heels in the war work, thinking in that way they are working for the best interest of their race, when in fact, they are working for their selfish interest by manifesting their patriotism. The Indians' interest in their heart is so small that they cannot feel it, they cannot see it; it is lost sight of by exploiting their patriotism.

Promises are good enough, but nowadays we do n'ot think very much of them. In love, war and politics we can promise most everything and anything. Anything to win and then the promise is forgotten. In business the goods are wanted and not promises.

At this hour we may criticize Ireland in her stand for Home Rule before conscription takes her sons to fight for England. Ireland could de­mand Home Rule after the war is over. "No; she strikes while the iron is bot." While the atmosphere of America is saturated with patriotic righteous indignation for freedom, d~mocracy, equal ri.ghts and justice and against autocracy, slavery and tyranny. We, the Indians of America, should rise up and demand our freedom, our true citizenship, our equal rights, our justice in the sight of God and man by having a bill pass through Congress that will TOTALLY ABOLISH the Indian Bureau, as a useless appendag~. from the Governmental Department of the United States. We must not wait. We must strike while the iron is hot. If we wait until after the war, we will be taking our chances. If America is sincere in her exclamations to the world she should not hesitate one moment to give the aboriginal Americans their freedom, rights and justice by . abolishing the Indian Office and be- ' stowing upon them true citizenship and not a spurious citizenship and not wait until the war is over.

This ought to be the greatest object for every Indian and for every friend of the Indians to do-see that THE GOODS that America is fightmg for is delivered to the rightful owners of America-their freedom; their rights and their true citizenship. Oh, God, would that we all could strike while the war is raging and the very ground we stand upon is shaken by the roar of cannons and wait not until the heart grows cold and there is no intention to do what · is right for the Indian race.

The best time to get your money from a patient is when he is very sick. If you present your bill after he gets well, he will tell you "to go to the place where it does not snow." So Indians, strike while the iron is hot to have the Indian Office abolished which means your free­dom and true citizenship.

OUR DEBT TO THE INDIAN

It is genl!rally agreed that when Christopher Columbus discovered America he accomplished one of the great jobs of history. He made many things possible that have deeply affected our lives. First, of course, he afforded us all a

WASSAJA 3 refuge from old world conditions. We Rew in our severally respective ways from religious op­pression, from autocratic r ule, from militarism, from poverty amid property rights determined by feudalism. But when Columbus rolled the world over and proved that it had another half to it, he also discovered the Indian, a man of strange habits of life, especially in fighting as well as in diet.

The lndian'.s method of fighting has passed. It had a few successful revivals, such as Baddock's defeat, in encountering European military sys­tems, but war's machinery has made the Indian's au nature! method of belligerency quite obso­lete. But the lndian"a diet has not gone the way of his method of fi ghting. The foodstuffs that he conferred on us are making it possible to save the world for democracy. Maize, or corn as we call it, is being substituted in our consumption for the wheat capable of transportation to our allies. And now the Government has called upon us to utilize another plant that the Indian alone enjoyed when Columbus first descried the shores of San Salvador. It ia none other than the potato, which constitutes a great reserve of food. The Department of Agriculture wishes you to eat potatoes, and more potatoes, and still more potatoes, during the ensuing few weeks. Three times a day are said not to be too many times to munch the esculent tuber.

And when you are consuming corn and pota­toe• in their many forms, and helping to preserve democratic institutions in this world, don't for. get that it ia "lo, the poo1 Indian"' who made your dietetic patriotism possible. You chaRed him into the remote corners of the New World and let him emerge only to play football or appear in Wild West shows .. In return he ·has given you the food that thus becomes the gastrono· mic means of continuing civilization.-The Civ• cinnati, (Ohio,) Times-Star.

MEETING OF INDIAN FRIENDS

Washington, D. C., January 23, 1918. HON. CATO SELLS,

Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Washington, D. C.

DEAR MR. COMMISSIONER:-By direction of the Conference of Friends of

the Indian, meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, January 21 and 22, we have pleasure in presenting to. you herewith a copy of the resolution by the Conference.

We are glad, also, personally to inform you of the hearty appreciation expressed by members ot the Conference of the progress made by the lnolian Office under your administration, and of your earnest and successful labors for Indian ad­vancement. Very sincerely yours,

THOS. C. MOFFETT, ROBT. D. HLL, W. W. CARITHERS S. M. BROSIUS,

DENNISON WHEELOCK. -"American Indian Y. M. C. A. Bulletin."

Won't that kill you~ Truth will leak out. It is something like condemning the Indian Office system and then turning suddenly, as the wind changes, praising the fellow that does the greas­ing and tinkering with the Indian Machine of the "progress," "earnest and successful labors for the Indian advancement." It is either a sincere ex­pression or it is not. If they are sincer<', they are poor judges of human nature, but the Indian would see into it quickly and say, "HEAP FRIENDS." That tells the whole story. They have doing bi'.isiness together for years. They must stick together whether they are wrong or not. They believe in policy and they play policy with each other at the expense of the Indians' dependent condition. For this resolution they will get a salute from the_ hired man who greases the Indian M achine and they will come together and put their heads together to ascertain how many hundreds of years it will take, by the law of evolution, b efore the Indians can · become competent to be true citizens.

oo·-o00·-·o·-·oo·-·o·-·oo·-·oo i CORRESPONDENCE i 00•-•00•-•0•-•00•-.,•0•.-000•.-ooO · MY DEAR EDITOR :-

April 29, 1918. Your paper, the WASSAJA, comes regularly

to hand, thanks to Mrs. Smith, of Cincinnati, Ohio. While the writer is free and an Ainer­ican, your valuable paper has been a re,·elation to me in regard to the condition of the Indians . . And the hope is held that WASSAJA will soon be able, through your instrumentality. to entirely overcome the machinations of the Indian Bureau, which is certainly a political scheme to keep ' them in subjection. Until your useful paper . came to hand, one was of the opinion that the franchise had long ago extended to the Indian, so you can see that you are at least doing a work of enlightenment with the small paper at your command. But though unable to help the paper along financially, the writer having suffered a · atroke, my heart is surely with you in your great work. ·

Much might be said, but as you are already on the right track- publishing a newspaper-let me assure you that success will eventually perch upon your banner. A small paper overcome the capitalists and made the trade unions as strong as they are today. Respectfully, * ·* *

"LET MY PEOPLE GO"

He who attacks and ridicules the little pamphlet, "Let My People Go," does not harm anybody but the one who tries to weaken or. misrepresent the high principlfl of the author on which "Let My People Go' had its birth. No amount of dirt throwing on "Let My People Go' will ever alter its object of freeing the Indian race. It will stand the test to eternity. It takes faith in

4 WASSAJA the Indians and not in the Indian Office to believe what "Let My People Go" has to say. It believes in the public to keep the Indians above water more than than the Indian Bureau, that doe9 not want the In­dians to learn to swim. It does great harm to the Indians' advancement to think that there is no one in the world but the Indian Bureau to help and look after the Indians. Just as though there is no hope for the In­dians only in the Indian Bu~eau system! Get a copy of "Let My People Go" and learn the truth on Indian mattera. It is only 10 cents a copy. Send _your order today.

BATTLE AT WHITE EARTH

· The greatest battle ever waged against the In­dian Bureau is being acted on White Earth Res­ervation. Wheel within a wheel is against the General Council that is trying to get a fair hear­ing in their complaints. It is a very hurd thing for the Indian Bureau to allow legal rights on the part of the Indians. They still want to rule .the Indians without their knowledge of anythmg. That has been the way the Indian Bureau has carried on Indian affairs for these many years. The supposition has been that the Indian is not capable of transacting his own affairs, and there­fore, the hclian Bureau must do it for him. No

,Indian or tribe has ever come in their way, to tell them, as the General Council is doing at White Earth.

It is a question whether the Chippewas of Min­nesota or any tribe of Indiana have any rights to the laws of the country that governs other peo­ples. The Indian Bureau must consider that this country has changed and the Indians have changed with it. They can no longer treat the Indians as they did in the past. Even though the Indians have been handicapped by the ruinous system of the Indian Office, they must remember, some of the Indians have grown up to manhood, and they mubt cease treating them as outlawed creatures of non-entities. The Indians must have a voice in their own affairs. Voicing the ln.Iian rights, we have come out in the open to the effect that the Indian Bureau will be the greatest Indians' foe to light against, before the Indian can be a free man, and it is coming to pass as we have stated again and again. .

Can we Indians help in NOT AT ALL, UN­TIL WE WIPE THE INDIAN BUREAU OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH.

Anyone who wishes to know about what the Chippewas are doing at White Earth, should get copies of "The Tomahawk," White Earth, Minn., and read for yourself. Thia is the time all In­dians should know what is going on. For the Indians, it is a transformation age. The war brings us (Indians) closer to our rights. It is just the time to get our rights, because this country is warring for liberty, equal rights, humanity, democracy and justice. Oh, it is awful, to think that man is so unjust. To think that the Indian Office system is eo strong that it can use Indian employes to work against the best inter.est of their

race; to think that corrupt system can dominate over the Indian race. T he worst part of it is that those who claim to be friends of the Indians they are not heard, they are not seen; they are mum. The Indians have no name for such pre­tended friends. All they do is to clinch their lingers before your eyes ·and suddenly spring them out and turn away from you, it means "you are no good." In this particular case of pretended friendship it would mean "you are a hypocrite."

So, at least, the Indian must light his own battle alone. The sooner he realizes this, the better it will be for him. We used to depend upon the Agents, on the Inspector., on the Indian Bureau and on the Washington Father, but now, we must depend upon ourselves.

White Earth Indians are in position to make the initiative move. The "Chip" pappooaes have grown up as men to attend their own affairs, and are going at it, in a business like manner, by hav­ing attorney a in their behalf. The idea of the In­dian Bureau selecting attorneys for the Indians, when they are the interested party in the case, is illegal. Who ever heard of such doings, only those who work in underhanded way, to take ad ­•vantage of the opposite party. It is all wron11 and should not be tolerated. THE INDIANS ONLY WANT FAIR PLAY AND IT IS TIME THAT THEY SHOULD GET IT.

KEEP THEIR MIND OFF THEIR DOOM

The Indians on reservations are frenzied with patriotism and loud.praises for loyalty to the Washington Father and work for the war. It is the finest and most pleasurable thing for the employee to work on the minds of reservation Indians. Soothed they (Indians) forget they are i'\)bondage and being deceived, to a degree, they a'T ; tickled to say ,that Washington (Indian Bureau,) is,• a fter all, a very kind and considerate father, regardless of what WASSAJA may say to the contrary.

Here is the Society of American Indiana, head over heels in the work for the war and so are the societies of like object. We can excuse them, but for Indians to drop lighting for the freedom of their race and take up the light for the freedom of races across the big water and light for those people who have held them in bondage. It looks as though lncians are "tin soldiers" moved by political machinery. Criticism of the war is far from our heart. If these organizalions are sincere about freedom, equal rights, de­mocracy, humanity and justice, why in the name of God are they not hitting the metal, while it is hot for the Indian race} There can be no better time to pass a bill through Congrtoss, to free the Indians than at this very hour. This country would disgrace itself were it to hesitate upon the very thing they are lighting for. It is a greater disgrace for us who claim to be friends of the In­dians, to stop and sit down, fold our hands piously until the war of freedom rolls over. That is not patriotism, that is not loyalty; that is "cam­ouffage1-making believe when it is not.