Page:U.S. Department of the Interior Annual Report 1881.djvu/9

Rh shall deem it wise to do so, the concentration of the Indians on four or five large reservations, to be selected in different parts of the West, on which the different tribes shall be located; and if this shall in the judgment of the commission not be wise, then to recommend the concentration of existing small agencies, where that can properly be done, and the reduction of the area of others to dimensions proportionate to the number of Indians now located thereon.

I expected to transmit herewith a statement showing the acreage of each reservation, distinguishing between farming land, pasture land, timber and waste land, by comparing which with the number of Indians on each reservation, it would be easy to determine whether in justice to the Indians and in the public interest any of the reservations could be reduced in size. The necessary information for such statement has not as yet been received, but I hope it will be in the possession of the Department at an early day.

The tribal relation is a hinderance to individual progress. It means communism so far at least as land is concerned. It interferes with the administration of both civil and criminal law among the members of the tribe, and among members of the tribe and non-members. The Indians should learn both to know the law and to administer it. They will not become law-abiding citizens until they shall so learn. In my judgment it would be well to select some tribe or tribes among those most advanced in civilization, and establish therein a form of local government as nearly like, as may be, to the system of county government prevailing in the State or Territory in which the reservations are located, allowing the Indians to elect corresponding county officers having corresponding power and authority to enforce such laws of the State or Territory as Congress may deem proper to declare in force on each reservation for local purposes. Should the experiment prove successful it would, I think, be a long step forward in the path the Indian must travel if he shall ever reach full and intelligent citizenship. The ballot and trial by jury are tools to which Indian hands are not accustomed, and would doubtless be used by them awkwardly for a time, but if the Indian is to become in truth a citizen, he must learn to use them, and he cannot so learn until they are placed within his reach. It is better to move in the right direction, however slowly and awkwardly, than not to move at all.

DEFINITION OF CRIMES.

Further legislation is, in my judgment, necessary for the definition and punishment of crime committed on reservations, whether by Indians in their dealings with each other, by Indians on white men, or by white men on Indians. A good deal of uncertainty exists on these points, which should be removed. It is also important that the liability of Indians who engage in hostile acts against the government and our people should be declared more clearly and fully. During the