Severality Act/Dawes Act (1887)

The first page opened with a poem, “Good Advice,” followed by a fictional account of a conversation titled “Two Carlisle Boys at Pine Ridge Talk Over the Sioux Bill,” in which two former students, Zack and Tim, discuss the merits of signing the Severalty Act which had been presented to the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe. It concluded on the fourth…

The first page opened with a poem, “Grasp the Nettle,” followed by a reprinted letter to Superintendent Pratt from Conrad Roubideaux (Sioux) titled “Conrad Didn’t Give Up the Ship,” in which he described the hardships of finding work on the reservation. Page two included news that Pratt was out West soliciting signatures for the Severalty Bill…

The first page opened with a poem, “The Golden Keys,” followed by a letter from Richard Davis (Cheyenne) who lived in West Grove, PA and ran a dairy farm there. There was an article called “No Wonder Indians Get Along Slowly,” and news from Joseph Schweigman (Sioux) at the Rosebud Agency titled “Willard Married.” The second page featured “The…

Richard Henry Pratt responds to a letter from Lucius Q. C. Lamar, Secretary of the Interior, with information about two Nez Perce students, Luke Phillips and Samuel Johns, who became ill during their second term of enrollment. Pratt notes that he believes in many cases it is better to retain students at Carlisle then send them home where he…

Richard Henry Pratt requests that William Freeman Vilas, Interior Secretary, place the $8,000 balance Congress appropriated for dividing the Sioux reservation be placed to his credit in New York.

Richard Henry Pratt requests authority to use the extra $500 remaining in his appropriation for sending Alfred John Standing and a female assistant to recruit students in Michigan.

Pratt also notes that a former student who could have served this role returned home in order to look out for his own interests in regards to the land in…

Richard Henry Pratt forwards two articles by Elaine Goodale, Supervisor of Education among the Sioux, to Thomas J. Morgan. Pratt comments that Goodale fought the work of the Sioux Commission and is also opposed to off-reservation schools as they deprive parents of a say in their children's education, instead promoting school which would give…

Richard Henry Pratt discusses the case of Chester Cornelius with the Office of Indian Affairs. Pratt notes that Cornelius purchased a section of land under the Severalty Act with the intention of renting it out to support himself as he enrolled in a commercial school in Poughkeepsie, New York. However, the agent has now indicated he cannot rent…

Richard Henry Pratt discusses a request from Richard Davis to establish a system of permanent records of marriages, births, and deaths of Native Americans who hold allotted lands as well as the adoption of non-Native surnames for them in order to avoid confusion in matters relating to their lands.

Note that Davis' recommendations do not…

Judge J. R. Lewis of the Northern California Indian Association rebuts a claim by Richard Henry Pratt regarding plan for allotting land to members of Nations in Northern California. The letter was forwarded by Senator Thomas Bard.

Superintendent John Francis Jr. requests information and copies of regulations regarding the leasing of Indian allotments. Acting Assistant Commissioner of Indian Affairs C. F. Hauke informs the Commissioner how the land allotment process works and forwards regulations.