Chapter 11 - Montana Historical Society

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tain their cultural traditions in the face of change, the government’s goal was to tear apart tribal traditions and replace them with Euro-American practices. Secretary of the Interior Columbus Delando made this goal clear in 1872: “It is our duty to coerce (force) . . . [the Indians] into the adoption and practice of our habits and customs.” Agents Controlled the Reservations Each reservation had an agent, appointed by the commissioner of Indian affairs. The reservation agent managed the tribes’ limited budget and controlled how the money was spent. He also set the rules for the reservation, and he could arrest people or withhold food rations if they broke those rules. The tribes owned the land, yet agents had almost complete control over life on the reservation. Some agents worked hard to help the Indians on their reservations. Peter Ronan, a longtime agent on the Flathead Reservation, for example, tried to keep the railroad from cutting timber on the reservation and to keep white farmers from taking Indian land. However, most agents did not know very much about the Indian people they were supposed to be helping. Many agents came from far away and stayed for only a short time. Often they did not have enough knowledge, money, or supplies to do the job. And some were simply dishonest. They stole money from the tribes, sold tribal food for their own profi t, or used tribal resources for their own gain. On the more established reservations, like the Flathead Reservation, people had developed farms, ranches, and sawmills over several decades. Their economic independence gave them power to resist some government control. But on the poorest reservations, people depended on government annuities. The government agents could often control people by withholding food and supplies. Forcing a New Way Even honest agents thought they were helping Indians by forcing them to abandon their traditional cultures and to adopt mainstream (majority) American culture. Agents pressured tribal members to change their FIGURE <strong>11</strong>.7: Hunger defi ned life on the reservations. That may be why these Blackfeet women are peering into the government slaughterhouse on beefslaughtering day in 1887. 1 1 — T H E E A R L Y R E S E R V A T I O N Y E A R S 2 1 3
FIGURE <strong>11</strong>.8: Blackfeet tribal members listen to a presentation on growing wheat at the Midwinter Fair in Browning in the 1920s. 2 1 4 P A R T 2 : A C E N T U R Y O F T R A N S F O R M A T I O N social customs, dress in European-style clothing, live in rectangular houses, become Christian, send their children to school, and learn farming and ranching the Euro-American way. Agents often outlawed Indian religious ceremonies like the Sun Dance. They discouraged give-away ceremonies, a traditional practice of honoring the Creator by giving away food, blankets, horses, and other forms of wealth. If people performed their traditional practices or religious rituals, they could lose their food rations or be arrested. They also were not allowed to leave their reservations without a pass. The reservation system tore apart tribal leadership. Each tribe had long-established traditions for earning leadership roles. But reservation life made it diffi cult for young men to become leaders in the traditional way because they could not count coup (earn respect by performing acts of bravery during a battle), host a Sun Dance, or complete other traditional requirements for leadership. Reservation agents sometimes selected their own “chiefs” and refused to deal with strong Indian leaders who disagreed with them. By removing the Indians’ traditional leadership, the government made it harder for people to make decisions. Tribal members knew they needed to make changes to survive. But they did not always agree on how fast things should change, and in what ways. These disagreements sometimes caused serious confl icts within the tribes. For example, on the Blackfeet Reservation, one group pushed for economic development projects like oil development and irrigation, even
Page 1 and 2: FIGURE 11.1: Reservation Scene, by
Page 3 and 4: FIGURE 11.2: Confi ned to reservati
Page 5: “I Am Given Little Food” “We
Page 9 and 10: FIGURE 11.11: Northern Cheyenne far
Page 11 and 12: “ There were dead horses everywhe
Page 13 and 14: “ It has become the settled polic
Page 15 and 16: FIGURE 11.18: Crow Indian policemen
Page 17 and 18: “ Our belongings were taken from
Page 19 and 20: FIGURE 11.21: This beaded bag, crea
Page 21 and 22: FIGURE 11.24: Creative use of stitc
Page 23: Credits The following abbreviations

Chapter 11 - Montana Historical Society

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