Picture and quote from Our Own Country, by James Cox, St. Louis, MO, published 1894, pages 12 - 14.
"While in the Dakota region acquaintance will be made with members of the Indian police force of the government. Our camera has secured excellent portraits of some of these "preservers of the peace," and incidentally has enabled the subscriber to "Our Own Country" to see side by side Indians in various grades of civilization. In the illustration on page 12 there are in the foreground two remnants of the fading race" who are clothed and in their right minds, with a costume resembling in every detail that worn by the white settler and citizen. In the center of the group "Red Shirt" and "Bear Eagle" are depicted in a garb which is somewhat of a compromise between the traditional blanket and more conventional clothing. A great difference will be observed in the way in which the hair is cut and combed. The most difficult task of the teacher consists in convincing the Indian of the comfort and cleanliness of the modern style of cutting the hair, and it is a discouraging fact that of the thousands of Indian children who pass through training schools, but a few hundred can resist the temptation of letting their locks grow in tangled dirtiness after their return to their tribes."
No comments:
Post a Comment