Wisconsin School for the Deaf - Tattler Yearbook (Delavan, WI)

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THE MOHAWK BOY’S EDUCATION By Esther WW-mnnn Ilcfor© the white man rattled in A-mt-rica. the Indian , who m ,mcd ut will ull over the land, didn’t have u no to choo) to iri't an education n w do today. Wr attend school so wo can (coin how to make a living and to- happy uiuj helpful; but Mother Nature seemed to a to the Mohawk boy, ■nd “I tow you my gentle red children. You do not need to work; I will give you civerything you wml ’’ Mother Suture wu a very kind t -ocher, they thought. .uni (die taught them many thing . The Mohawk hoy n wr naftf ed to 4udy hi IttMtW about the beautiful true and (lower nnd remembered well cuirnu uni t l'hor. Ii'urned, TUl wui hecau - he loved them. 'The Three 8i tcn» . corn, (Uuxh, and bcun . which the Indian used a- food, he knew how to plant and cultivate. Mother Nature i • very kind to mo. hv thought to him elf, she I the h el pci of the Great Spirit.” There was no Sunday School for him to leurn about the Grout Stdrit. In fact, he didn’t know what Sunday meant; yet hi mother taught him to give thank for the many wonderful thing which he receiv'd. VV hav - a Thant -giving l)ny once a year, hut the Mohuwkj hud one ix time in that length of time, for they thought one wn» not enough. The need of being grateful wax impressed upon them very early in life dust u we are taught to thank God for our hlcmiinjt . the Indian children ware told to give thunk to the Great Spirit for their . A part of hi education, too. Wn to learn to run font, o that some day hr could carry itte -•age from one village to another. On thi jour ney the mmeager, not only took in the heuuti-ful Bight , hut had an opportunity to make the acquaintance of other tribe . Ono of the duties of thi Mohawk runner wa» to coll many tribe from the Five troquoi» Nation to attend a council. At thi meeting won the Mohawk boy with hi parent . While there, btudde Irnrnlng a grout deal, he enjoyed letting hi« old friend , watching the beautiful dunce presented by th Indian , and hearing fine tong . Perhnp a new sachem, in place of the one who had recently died, win to lie appointed. The boy learned what u »iohem’« duty was; heard oil nhout the good deeds the sachem hud done; of hi bravery his love of truth and honesty; how he with wisdom had guided tho peoplo; how kind he had hhray been to the old and the young, and how willing to help all in difficulty. The Mohawk boj would say tu himself as he listened. I Hhnll try to be braver and more thoughtful than I have ever been before, I •hall not forget wluit I have heard . It wu» hi desire to be n chief whctl he grew up. 1 not thi thi? wuy that studying the live of Abraham Lincoln, George Washington ami ••tiler great 'talesmen, affect u»? itooks the Mohawk never read; however, (hey could record event by aiTnnging bend a certain way in belt of wampum. To remember what the different arrangement of the beud meant wo very difficult nnd took m great deal of practice. The message that were curried from place to place were on wampum belt . Athletics was not left out of their There were many games and portx. Foot race between men of the different tribe , trial of skill with bow and arrows, and gnnu j of bull for both old nnd young. The bail a a i mode ot wood nnd the bat which wax D ili hud a curved head. The javelin game wax '.he Mohawk' favorite. The javelin wu« a long • ick of maple or hickory sharpened at one end. It won thrown at a ring a it rolled on the ground. Some wore very skillful in playing this game which they thoroughly enjoyed. Learning to make ropes, tub und barrel out of bark, nnd arrow head of flint was also a pirn of th - Mohawk' education. In hi graceful canoe, which he made himself, he went to the places; where tho fish wore sure to be for he had learned where they wore, und hud achieved great okill in fishing. Hr knew, too. howto hunt bird , squirrels nnd other animal . The haunts and habltu of hi feathered friends und animals that ran wild in the forest ho knew from A to 7. During the gold winter month he and hi father wore obliged to hunt animal for food. With hi anowshoefe he could travel quite fast. He must be brave. Bravery was considered the mo t important thing for him to learn. If he muni gu hungry because he and hi father could not nccure enough food, it would not do for him to complain. It wo a disgruce for a Mohawk boy to bo cowardly and to whine. Numerous legends were told to him, many of which he knew perfectly. The one about the Pleiades he loved specially. Often when he would lie on the ground to study the earth, the sky. the beautiful moon und the atari , this legend would come to mind. It was us follows: Once the place in tlie haaven occupied by the Pleiades, the •even star together, waa empty. Then, down on the earth were raven little Indian boys, who were good friends und had many hnppv time together. After their fenst of com ami boon one of the children would stand on a mound nnd sing while —21— N 1 N E TEEN THIRTY- F I V E

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THE INDIAN OF TODAY By Chnrlottn llnlpcrin The purpose of this OMoy is to present a picture of the Red Man as he is in the present era, and to show what jurat pro gres alone some lines hi race has made since the advent of the white man into his midst. Whether this progression has served thr Indian to his advantage or not renutinn to he seen. The fact that there an1 a many Indians in the United State , now. as there were in 1804, prove that Indian arc far frotn being a “vanishing n»cc’ anil (hut the introduction of various health and sanitation mnunirei has aided in preserving this race. The foundation of any civil is cd people is education, ami. over since the In dians have romc under the control of th government, th establishment of missions and then of Federal institution in Indian territories has boon the keystone of the program for thr Indians Two types of schools, Itoarding und duy. hove boen established, and modem methods of tesehing are employed. Facilities fur the initrue-tion of various vocational trade in th. .•• school make the outlook for the future generation) of Indian. considerably brighter. Vocational guidance and placement is given erjou- attention, an I n great many Indian upon graduation from these schools, puss directly from school into the economic world. Ktni-curi iculur n c t i v i t j e , whirh i»i«l in the development of good citizens, are also stre-wed In the hop , that the young r generation of Indium, may : eive their country in other ways beside breaking laws. What have the people of tin United State done to solve the problem of helping the Indinm eam their own living in our civilization? Tlir answer Is Very little”. The Indium who now earn their own living are mainly those who e way of eurning it wiu not dcvtroyod by the pre--sure of white clvilxation. Many of them, especial-ly in the Southwest, depend Inrgely upon the salos of their handwork as a means of tuiatonanco. Many of the Indian iribt have been com pelied to submit to one of the most demoralizing Influences to which any people could be subjected. The government hm destroyed their mean of subsistence, ami has moved them to restricted reservations when it fe« d« and clothe them at the expense of the taxpayers of the nntion. Thii seems to instill into thr Indian , a profound conviction that the government owes them a living, and. as a consequence, it relieves the men of all u ii c of personal responsibility. Time and time again, Indian leader have bogged the government to keep liquor away from their people. Tbunkenesa il ls caused a lot of trouble in Indian families and communities. This is only another instance in which the white man ha succeeded In lowering the standard of the Indian’s way of llviug, for liquor wa- introduced by the white people. Evidence u! u tends to show that vurioui. disrates with which the Indians are afflicted now were introduced by white people. Tuberculosis and smallpox, e.penally, have taken their toll of red meiiV live- and were brought to them by the whites. No immunity hai been built up u-guinsi tuberculosis, und iu a result, the death rate from this dlronw incroa’ « yearly. The government ha established sanitarium where patient . can l«e treat i] for thi. tdeknesa, In th olden time each tribe of Indians wa-force:) to protect it elf ngainst the encroachment of rival tribes. Therefore the tribe rcarod warrior und if an Indian boy achieved his ambition of becoming a great fighter, hi' name wa ro-knowned for getieratinmi to come T« da the only e.lmnce of Indian youth in war time is to be u buck private in the United Status' army. Many white refur - to have unylhing to do with Indians arc bad. The assertion, that Indians do not keep them«eivr-5 chan and arc diseased, is commonly made. People who investigate UNUnlly find that the l»n»i» of the t mu bio b that the Indians cannot afford tin clothe and living conditions that make for cleanliness Perhapi if the government had used different method of giving the Indian- an opportunity to earn their living, moral conditions would In better. In conclusion, let me my that the result of the impart of white civilization upon the Indians has been, that native Indian ambitions, initiative, und rrqionnibility have been largely destroyed. Indians have little chance for leadership in constructive channels, as community oontiment and public opinion among them huvo been Inrgely ••liminuted n an impelling moral force. Many ne-tivitien by the government in behalf of the Indians, although conducted with the best of in tenuous, hare tended to di rupt and to destroy rather than to strengthen and develop the life of the Indian of today. —20— T II E T A T T L K K

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iho others danced. One night they made nn agreement to have a bigger feast than ufiunl. Each boy was to bring something. The plan which they mndo, their parent didn’t approve of. This made the children very end. However, one little boy took hi place on the mound and nan while the other arranged themselves around him and began to dance. A their disappointment left them, they grew lighter and lighter until they no longer touched the ground. Higher and higher they row till they reached thr very heaven , where they were changed into seven little star which formed the Pleiades. The palest Ktor of the seven i the little singer who became homesick for hi old p'ace on the So we cr that without lK oka an education was acquired by the Mohawk: enough to meet hi need as he roamed the forests. Though we have schools and books, let u» learn a lesson from the Indian boy and be more observing »o we can gain knowledge from what we see independent of our school and books. —22— T META T T L E R