What the Indians of the Northwest Thought of Their White Brothers

(by Mrs. M. E. Plassmann - Hysham Echo Nov. 12, 1925 & August 16, 2013)

When the pioneers of Montana came here to mine, and finally made it their home, it never occurred to them that others might claim the land they chose to occupy, and they were consequently indignant that the Indians opposed their coming. Did not all of this territory belong to the United States, having been purchased with good money from its lawful owners on the other side of the Atlantic? What just claim did the Indians have to it? They led a nomadic life and made no effort to improve the country, or to take from it the treasure it contained.
Had an English sailor planted a flagstaff somewhere on the shores of Japan in the days when that empire was closed to foreigners, and claimed the land for his sovereign; had the British ruler then sold Japan to the United States, we should have been quite as much entitled to it, as we were to the land of the Northwest Indian tribes.
I remember hearing, when a child, the argument advanced, that the policy of making treaties with the Indians, or in any way recognizing them as owners of the land where they dwelt, was a mistake “They make no use of the land; they do not cultivate it, but simply roam over it and take the wild animals,” it was said, although several tribes east and west DID live in villages, and raise vegetables and corn. Had they not done so, our pilgrim Fathers would have starved that first terrible winter. It is a matter of history that the Indians provided them with corn; taught them how to cook it, and how it could be made more palatable by the addition of maple syrup.

The Wrong Impression

The pioneers considered the Indian filthy, indolent, treacherous, cruel, and some even went so far as to say he was destitute of courage. At any rate, all were agreed that an Indian “had no rights a white man was bound to respect.” Our government acted on the same hypothesis, but was more politic. It made treaties with the Indians to gain time. When the lands granted by these treaties were craved by the whites, the treaties became inoperative, and were regarded as mere scraps of waste paper.
A common expression current in Montana’s infancy among white men was the often quoted, “there is no good Indian but a dead one,” and the pioneers acted on that principle,frequently in self defense.
Ethnology teaches us that the races of mankind are in possession of similar traits, but differ mainly in the stage of development reached, the most civilized still retaining many of the primitive traits.

The Indians’ Opinion of Whites

It is interesting then to learn what the Indians thought of us, and this recent writers have made it possible to know. The Indian’s opinion might be condensed and given in my own language, but it would fail to make the impression that is to be derived from reading an accurate report of what was said. For such a report, I am indebted to a recent work of an Indian, Dr. Charles A. Eastman, and entitled, “Indian Heroes.” Most of the orators quoted by him are of the Sioux Nation, as is Dr. Eastman, and they fought either in Montana, or on its borders.

Red Cloud Denounces Whites

In 1862 the Northwest tribes began to see they were doomed to extinction unless they united against the white invaders. Red Cloud, one of the leading chiefs of the Sioux, was emphatically opposed to making any further terms with the whites for this reason:
“Friends,” he said in a council met to consider the question, “It has been our misfortune to welcome the white man. We have been deceived. He brought with him some shining things that pleased our eyes; he brought weapons more effective than our own; above all he brought the spirit water that makes one forget for a time old age, weakness and sorrow. But I wish to say to you that if you would possess these things for yourselves, you must begin anew and put away the wisdom of your fathers. You must lay up food, and forget the hungry. When your house is built, your storeroom filled, then look around for a neighbor whom you can take at a disadvantage, and seize all that he has. Give away only what you do not want; or rather, do not part with any of your possessions unless in exchange for another’s.
“My countrymen, shall the glittering trinkets of this rich man, his deceitful drink that overcomes the mind, shall these things tempt you to give up your homes, or hunting grounds, and the honorable teachings of our old men? Shall we permit ourselves to be driven to and fro - to be herded like the cattle of the white men?”
The sarcasm of this speech was best understood by the hearers, as he compared the white and Indian social customs. All Indians were not equal in wealth, but no Indian could go hungry if any of the tribe had food. When game was killed, all shared it. In a later speech made on the Little Rosebud, Red Cloud spoke as follows:
“We are told that Spotted Tail has consented to be the Beggars’ Chief.” This was in reference to the report that Spotted Tail favored compromising with the government and was opposed to attacking Fort Phil Kearney. Spotted Tail was regarded as a traitor, and met a traitor’s fate, being shot by one of his own tribe. Red Cloud continued:
“Those Indians who go over to the white man can be nothing but beggars, for he respects only riches, and how can an Indian be a rich man? He cannot without ceasing to be an Indian. As for me, I have listened patiently to the promises of the Great Father, but his memory is shot. I am done with him.”

Sitting Bull’s Bitter Speech

Sitting Bull was still more bitter in his denunciation of the white man, when he replied to Spotted Tail at the Powder River Council. He said in part:
“Behold, my friends, the spring has come; the earth has gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of their love. Every seed is awakened, and all animal life. It is through this mysterious power that we, too, have our being, and we therefore yield to our neighbors, even our animal neighbors, the same right as ourselves to inhabit this vast land.
“Yet, hear me, friends! We have now to deal with another people, small and feeble when our fathers first met them, but now great and overbearing. Strangely enough, they have a mind to till the soil, and the love of possessions is a disease in them. These people have made many rules that the rich may break, but the poor may not! They have a religion in which the poor worship, but the rich will not. They even take tithes from the poor and the weak to support the rich and those who rule. They claim this mother of ours, the Earth, for their own use, and fence their neighbors away from her, and deface her with their buildings and their refuse. They compel her to produce out of season, and when sterile she is made to take medicine in order to produce again. All this is sacrilege.
“This nation is like a spring freshet; it overruns its banks and destroys all who are in its path. my brothers, shall we submit, or shall we say to them: First kill me, before you can take possession of my fatherland!”

Spotted Tail’s Downfall

The foregoing was the sentiment of most of the leading Indians, but a few thought and spoke differently, For example, Spotted Tail, at the Powder River Council, won the ill will of his people by this speech.
“Hay, hay, hay! Alas, alas!” Thus speaks the old man when he knows that his former vigor and freedom is gone from him forever. So we may exclaim today. “Alas! There is a time appointed for all things. Think for a moment how many multitudes of the animal tribes we ourselves have destroyed! Look upon the snow that appears today - tomorrow it is water! Listen to the dirge of the dry leaves, that were green and vigorous but a few moons before! We are a part of this life and it seems that our time is come.
“Yet, note how the decay of one nation invigorates another. This strange white man - consider him, his gifts are manifold! his tireless hand, his busy brain do wonders for his race. Those things which we despise he holds as treasures; yet he is so great and so flourishing that there must be some virtue in his philosophy. I wish to say to you, my friends: Be not moved alone by the heated arguments and thoughts of revenge! These are for the young. We are young no longer; let us think well and give counsel as old men.”
The conclusion of this speech, says Dr. Eastmen, “was greeted with ominous silence,” but from this and the others given, we have the power granted us “to see ourselves as others see us.” Further comment is unnecessary. Print this post