Hopi Clowns Next to a Line of Dancers in the Long Hair Dance, 1912, courtesy Museum of the American Indian, Heye Foundation
Though the federal government wanted to suppress anything that kept Native Americans from assimilating into white culture, dancing seemed to be of special concern. Dances were central to many traditional rituals and ceremonies, and therefore, suspect. Continue reading
Admission Notes Showing Insane and Epileptics Co-Mingled
Susan Wishecoby was sent to the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians probably because of her epilepsy. She apparently did not know exactly what was wrong with her, and erroneously thought she was going to a hospital. She wrote many letters to the commissioners of Indian Affairs in office during her confinement, but they always referred her requests for discharge to Dr. Harry Hummer.
Wishecoby obviously got better, and worked with the attendants keeping the wards clean. After Commissioner Burke forwarded a letter of Wishecoby’s to Hummer, he replied: “She suffered from epileptic seizures, upon admission, but has not had one, so far as we have observed, for more than three years.” Hummer went on to say that Wishecoby had had delusions which were also in abeyance, and that her “irascible nature” was probably permanent. Hummer added that “her actions here are all that could be desired.”
After making such a case for her recovery, Hummer hastened to add: “…that she is endeavoring to convince us that she should be returned, and, when the restraints of this institution are removed, she may give way.” Then he got to the heart of the matter–she was of childbearing age. “If we are concerned only in treating this individual, we should probably discharge her. If we are concerned also in treating the future generations and preventing the increase of the number of cases of mental disease, we should pause and give this matter deep consideration.”
Records are incomplete, but the letters that remain show that Hummer wrote these words to the commissioner in July, 1925, and that Susan Wishecoby was returned home on September 14, 1925. The intervention of her brother and the reservation superintendent probably came into play, since references are made to them in additional letters around that same time.
An Epileptic Asylum in Abilene, Texas
One Treatment for Epilepsy
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Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Charles Burke
Native American dancing caused controversy for several reasons (see last post). Missionaries saw paganism or sexual immorality in dancing, and also considered it a hindrance to their efforts to convert Indians to Christianity; the Indian Office felt that traditional dancing impeded Indians’ assimilation into white culture. Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Charles Burke, had threatened action if dancing wasn’t sharply curtailed, and this was no idle threat. The Religious Crimes Code of 1883 gave agency superintendents authority to use force or imprisonment to stop practices they felt were immoral, subversive, or counter to government assimilation policies. Though all Native American dancing was denounced, government attention and a great deal of controversy eventually centered on the Pueblos and their dances.
By the time Burke issued his directives against dancing (Circular No. 1665 and its supplement) in 1921 and 1923, the changing times brought a bit of opposition he hadn’t anticipated. By the 1920s, a group of reformers, intellectuals, artists, and other non-traditionalists had begun to support Native American culture. They pushed back against Burke and others with an assimilation agenda, and eventually drummed up enough publicity and legal opposition to defeat some of the more outrageous demands of whites in power. They particularly used the guarantees of religious freedom as a weapon to defend native culture; both Pueblos and their white supporters emphasized that dancing was part of Native American religious ceremonies.
Squaw Dance at Pine Ridge Reservation, July 4, 1891, courtesy Library of Congress
Squaws Ready for Dance at Valentine, Nebraska between 1890 and 1910, courtesy Library of Congress
As time went on and more liberal views of Native American culture emerged in Congress, Burke and others of like mind began to lose power. Former Commissioner of Indian Affairs, John Collier, writing in his memoir, From Every Zenith, described a visit to a Navajo reservation in the late 1920s. During that visit, two senators, a government attorney, and the assistant commissioner of Indian Affairs, J. Henry Scattergood, danced the squaw dance with the unmarried Navajo girls.
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Dance at Zia Pueblo, New Mexico, between 1890 and 1910, courtesy Library of Congress
Missionaries trying to convert Native Americans to Christianity took particular exception to the traditional dances of native peoples. Some Christian denominations considered dancing immoral for anyone–whites included–but even denominations that might have tolerated a lively square dance typically found Native American dancing somewhat shocking. Whether it was the sometimes scanty apparel of participants, the exuberance of certain dances, or simple unfamiliarity on their part, missionaries often lumped all their objections into a universal condemnation. Native American dances were “degrading” in their eyes.
The Indian Office frequently backed missionaries in their assessments of Indian culture, and certainly did in this case. In the 1920s, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Charles Burke, issued two directives against dancing: Circular No. 1665, Indian Dancing (1921), and a supplement to it two years later. Eventually, the dancing controversy centered upon the Pueblos. They, as well as white supporters, contended that their dances were part of their religion and should be protected, while missionaries and supporters of assimilation argued that the dances were merely pagan rituals. The resulting clash over religious rights eventually sent a powerful message to the Indian Office.
My next post will further discuss the dancing controversy.
Corn Dance at San Felipe Pueblo, New Mexico, 1915, courtesy Library of Congress
Southern Plains Indian Social Dance, circa 1895
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Native Americans on Flathead Indian Reservation
White Americans often seemed to feel that Indian land was available for their own needs. In 1927, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Charles Burke, met with the Montana Power Company and white farmers to discuss a water project. They proposed to use land belonging to the Flathead Indians to build a water power site to create inexpensive electricity, but failed to invite Flathead Indians to the meeting. Representative Louis C. Cramton (chairman of the House Appropriations Subcommittee for the Interior Department) favored the action because it would help white settlers “hanging on by their fingertips . . . to share in the national prosperity.”
Activist John Collier and several powerful senators opposed the bill, saying it was detrimental to Indian interests. Collier wrote to President Coolidge to ask him to intervene in the Flathead project, but Coolidge never wrote back. Nevertheless, Congress defeated the bill, and in 1928, passed a bill that acknowledged Indian ownership of the rentals from the water project.
President and Mrs. Coolidge, courtesy Forbes Library
Charles Burke
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Commissioner Charles Rhoads, on left, courtesy Library of Congress
At the Canton Asylum for Insane Indians, superintendent Dr. Harry R. Hummer was far enough away from the Commissioner of Indian Affairs to avoid direct supervision. Hummer outlasted five commissioners: Francis Leupp, Robert Valentine, Cato Sells, Charles Burke, and Charles Rhoads before commissioner John Collier threw him out of the asylum and the Indian Service.
One advantage Hummer had–as did other superintendents elsewhere–was that locals wanted the asylum to remain open and running. Insane asylums represented huge boosts to local economies. Most towns or cities where asylums were located were quite happy about having them, and were proud of the work they did. Canton was no different. Locals enjoyed the employment and local contracts that came from the asylum and usually spoke of it quite enthusiastically.
When Hummer began to finally receive less than glowing reports, he managed to have some friends in Sioux Falls appointed as an inspection committee. They came through for him in a report to Commissioner Charles Burke early in 1929. “We went through the plant thoroughly from top to bottom and . . . found everything in first class condition.” The writer then concluded, “I consider Dr. Harry Hummer a wonderful superintendent of this institution and he has many fine employees.”
Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs
Sample Asylum Report, courtesy University of North Carolina
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Indians who couldn’t speak English were easy targets for whites who wanted their assets. A bit of mental deficiency only made it easier. Jackson Barnett was a retarded Indian in Oklahoma who received a randomly selected allotment (160 acres) around the turn of the 20th century. When oil was discovered on the land, the Indian Office appointed a guardian for him; the guardian very properly leased Barnett’s land for him and paid the oil royalties to the superintendent of the Five Civilized Tribes at Muskogee, Oklahoma.
Jackson was eventually worth over a million dollars, and in 1920, a white woman suddenly showed up on his doorstep and persuaded him to get into her car. She drove Barnett to Kansas and married him (against Kansas law), then drove to Missouri and married him again. She eventually got him to sign over half his money to a mission society, and half to her.
This woman and others concerned with Barnett’s estate met with Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Charles Burke, who gave his approval for their actions. Publicity eventually upset the wife’s plans and the courts threw out the contracts Barnett had signed. Burke was criticized for his actions, but he was exonerated of wrong-doing by the House subcommittee which investigated the case.
Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Charles Burke
Book about Jackson Barnett by Tanis C. Thorne
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The Meriam Report (see last two posts) faced a large bureaucracy and insular personnel. An Interior department report reprinted in 1926 (the same year the Meriam Commission began its survey) stated: “The two officials most directly charged by law with the administration of Indian Affairs, the Secretary of the Interior and the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, are sincere friends of the Indians and can be depended upon to guard and promote most faithfully every interest of our Government wards.”
Edgar B. Meritt, courtesy Library of Congress
The report* went on to say that there was considerable propaganda going on against the Indian Bureau, which was instigated by selfish interests. The writer, assistant commissioner, Edgar Meritt, attributed the selfish interests to land grafters. He added, “They are using the services of white agitators and some shrewd mixed-blood Indians who are willing to sacrifice the less fortunate of their own race for personal gain.”
*The American Indian and Government Indian Administration, Bulletin 12
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