Miscellaneous revenues, other than trust funds, deposited in the Treasury during the fiscal year 1941-Continued

Mr. GREENWOOD. That completes the statements, Mr. Chairman.

INDIANS' CONTRIBUTION TO THE NATIONAL EMERGENCY

Mr. JOHNSON of Oklahoma. Will you please advise the committee if the Indians in general are playing an important part in the present war, and what about the Indian Service? Is it making any real contribution? If not as yet, does it propose to make sacrifice to the war effort? I might say that most every other agency and department that has been before us heretofore has sought to show the Committee that if their agency did not function it would probably be the direct cause of losing the war. A lot of such agencies however, seem to feel that they should have appropriations as usual. Now seriously, is the Indian Service cognizant of the fact that we are at war?

Mr. GREENWOOD. Yes, very much so.

Commissioner COLLIER. There are one or two items I think we could well put in the record.

Mr. JOHNSON of Oklahoma. All right, let us have them.

Commissioner COLLIER. The Indians are in the armed forces as volunteers to a larger proportion than any other element of the population, according to our best information.

Mr. JOHNSON of Oklahoma. Where did you get that information? Commissioner COLLIER. We get our statistics from the Army. We have often made publicly the statement I have just made and have never been contradicted.

Mr. JOHNSON of Oklahoma. Is that a statement, or do you actually have such information?

Commissioner COLLIER. The reason is twofold, first because of the desire of the Indians to be in the war, and, secondly, that the Indians were not taken by the draft boards as readily as other people were taken, chiefly on account of the language difficulty. That caused the Indians who could not get in through the draft to get in through volunteering.

In addition, the Indians to an extent that would surprise most people are in the defense industries, far more than they were in the World War No. 1. That is because of the training they have had, especially in mechanical skills through the Indian C. C. Č. and other activities in the course of the last 7 or 8 years. The Indians everywhere have shown a great desire to help in all the ways that they can, as, for example, in the purchase of defense bonds with individual or tribal funds. They wish they were in the war more than they are. They seem to have an unlimited desire to assist. We have not heard from any quarter, from any Indians, criticism or resistence or lamentation about the hardships or anything else. They are showing a marvelous spirit. They showed just as good a spirit in the World War No. 1 when they volunteered and were not drafted at all.

I dare say that if the draft did not apply to the Indians we would have more Indians in the Army and the Navy than can be drafted or than the draft would have taken, no matter how it were applied.

Now, the Indian Service belongs in the war picture in the way that many of the other agencies that have custody of resources belong in the picture. We have a large volume of resources, oil, and range resources, and livestock, and we grow a good many crops. In addition we are working with a whole group of our citizenship, who love our country well. All of these physical resources are being operated to the limit, insofar as it can be kept within the limits of proper conservation practices.

Our western institutions are being used for direct war purposes, and that will take place much more largely in the months ahead, for vocational education on a large scale, and when evacuations begin and large numbers of wounded come back here the uses will be increased. A phase of what may be called direct defense or war work of the Indian Office will appear when you discuss the inter-American phase, at the point it comes in the bill.

Mr. JOHNSON of Oklahoma. That is an item in the bill?

Commissioner COLLIER. That is an item in the bill, and a very important one, inasmuch as the majority of the people in a large part of the countries south of here are full blood Indians.

Mr. JOHNSON of Oklahoma. Let us discuss that when we get to it. Commissioner COLLIER. I merely touched on that as a phase of our war effort.

We are making over our schools very rapidly to train more directly and more speedily for all branches of production and of Government need, and, in truth, our young Indians are being taken from us almost faster than we can graduate them into defense agencies and into defense industries. We really do live and think in terms of the Indians' contribution to the war. It is an important one, and it is a growing one, and the whole Service is adjusting itself to the fact that it is at

war.

(The following statement is submitted for the record:)

INDIANS IN THE WAR

Indians, the truest Americans, everywhere in the United States are deeply concerned and intensely occupied with the prosecution of the war for freedom From Alaska to Mississippi and from Arizona to Maine, the Indians are giving their lands, their savings, their skills and their lives in the service of their country. In large numbers exceeding the proportionate contributions of any other racial

group, including the white, Indians are enlisting in the Navy, the Marine Corps, the Coast Guard, and the Army.

In civilian war work they are equally zealous, and equally effective. Technical training of recent years has converted many Indian men from laborers to specialists. Natural gifts of precision, endurance, poise, and high intelligence add great value to their services. War industries are seeking Indian workmen in greater numbers than they can be supplied.

Prior to the Japanese assault at Pearl Harbor, Indians in the Army alone numbered 4,481, of whom approximately 60 percent had enlisted in either the Regular Army or the National Guard. The rate of enlistment has increased very substantially since we entered the war, but the complete figures for recent months have not yet been tabulated. Even before Pearl Harbor 1 out of every 10 eligible Indians between the ages of 21 and 35 was serving in the armed forces. One reason why the service of Indians in the armed forces is important is because of the special skills which are part of the Indian heritage. As scouts, runners, in signal work and in other fields, the modern Indian has demonstrated special aptitudes which are being recognized and utilized by their commanders.

The reaction of the pueblo of Santa Ana was typical of many Indian groups. Immediately after Pearl Harbor the Santa Ana Indians left their homes and went secretly to their ancient shrine. There, in their former home long since abandoned, the entire pueblo remained for one unbroken month in secret prayer. Their prayers were for the people of all the world. News of the pilgrimage became known only when the Indians sent word to the authorities that they intended to build a great fire at the conclusion of their ceremonies. They wanted the Army to know that this was a sacramental fire and not the result of sabotage or overt enemy action.

The pueblo of Zia engaged in prayer before the second Selective Service registration. Other groups have in much the same manner reacted to the catastrophe that has struck the world.

Indians of Jemez pueblo pledged themselves to utilize their lands to the very maximum to help win the war.

At the remote pueblo of Zuni, in New Mexico, the feeling of the Indians is exemplified by this paragraph sent in by the day-school principal:

"The Red Cross drive was announced from the housetop and in a blinding snowstown the canvassing started. Each household contributed and in each case the wheat, corn, or hay was ready when someone called. Very often there is more than one family in one house and each wanted to contribute. If a door was missed, word was passed on to call at that particular house. One little girl wanted to do her part, too. She whispered something in her mother's ear and then rushed in the next room and brought back a nickel. The family of Edgar Lunasee, who is in the Philippines and from whom no word has been received, expressed their willingness to help by donating $6 and two rings. Ike Wilson, an outstanding Navajo silversmith living in Zuni, solicited the Navajos working in the village and they responded 100 percent."

San Ildefonso pueblo, home of the famous pottery makers, Julian and Marie Martinez, has worked out a plan by which they can convert their crops, their pottery, and even livestock into Defense bonds.

At two large Federal Indian schools, located at Santa Fe and Albuquerque, N. Mex., students organized a defense club to assist in the sale of United States savings bonds and stamps. In joining, students also obligate themselves to donate typing, mimeographing, and any other office services necessary to assist the local county committee and the United Pueblos Indian Agency committee handling the sale of Defense bonds.

The first authorized tribal delegation from the Washington State Colville Reservation in over 50 years visited Washington, D. C., in December to determine, among other business matters, whether their tribal funds could be invested in Defense bonds. When the country declared war the delegation immediately acted to defer their prosecution of claims against the Government for loss of lands during the last 70 years. The Colville delegation pressed Bureau of Mines and Geological Survey officials to survey mining deposits on the reservation, several minerals of which are among those vital to defense production, the Indians pointed out.

Purchase of Treasury stamps and bonds by Indian groups and individuals has been considerable. A great many of these transactions do not come officially to the attention of the Indian Service because the purchases are made locally with funds not under Government control.

T

Of record in Washington are purchases of $1,270,000 in Treasury bonds from April 1, 1941, to the present. These are not defense bonds, but the money is, of course, available to the Government. The money for these purchases came from both tribal and individual funds from the sale of land, timber, oil and gas leases, and other sources.

Applications have been received from various tribes for the purchase of approximately $750,000 in defense bonds, but as the funds involved are already in the United States Treasury, nothing would be gained by the purchases. The Interior Department, therefore, disapproved the requests. The spirit of the Indians in making these requests provides further evidence of their patriotic spirit.

The Crow Tribe of Montana offered to the Government all of its resources and all of its man power for the prosecution of the war. The superintendent, himself a Crow Indian, has reported that approximately 70 men and boys of the tribe have gone into the armed services. This is a very large proportion of the eligible man power on the reservation. His son is among those who have already gone into the Army. Even the girls and women of the Crow Tribe are reportedly desirous of entering active military service. The superintendent stated that several women have already applied for enlistment and he seeks information as as to how such service can be arranged.

In Alaska, the Indians and Eskimos are making many contributions which for military reasons cannot be discussed. However, it is no secret that in a considerable area centering at Nome more than 300 women and children (and one man) are working day and night to fashion mukluks (skin boots) parkas (fur outer garments), fur caps, mittens, and fur pants for the soldiers. The Army has just ordered 5,000 additional mukluks. All of the work is being done through the Nome Skin Sewers Association, a ocoperative organized by the Indian Service under the provisions of the Alaska Act of 1936, a supplement to the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. Many natives are turning over their boats to the armed forces.

Also typical of the attitude of Alaska natives was the purchase of $110,000 in defense bonds, in a single transaction. Purchasers included 61 individuals, 31 native trading stores, 7 Indian corporations, the Nome Skin Sewers Association, and 5 reindeer company accounts.

In industry, special Indian skills, largely developed through training and experience received through Indian Service schools, the Indian Civilian Conservation Corps and the various technical branches of the Indian Service, are becoming increasingly useful in the war effort. At least 2,500 Indians are now regularly employed in vital war industries. A great many others are receiving special training in schools established by the Indian Service.

Approximately 2,500 Navajo Indians were employed in the construction of the vast $11,000.000 Army ordnance depot at Fort Wingate, N. Mex. Of the Indians, Capt. Evan M. Johnson, constructing quartermaster, said: “They have proved exceptionally capable and steady workmen." In the first days of Navajo employment on this project, construction officers were amazed at the speed, efficiency, and enthusiasm of the Indian workers. In that vast semidesert area, the builders were surprised to find so many skills and such wide versatility among a people still viewed as backward, if not primitive.

In many aircraft factories Indians are being employed in such numbers and with such success that the supply of available workers has lagged behind the demand. Some aircraft plants have placed standing orders with Indian Service superintendents for as many Indian boys or men as can be supplied. Airplane plants at Wichita, Kans., and Tulsa, Okla., are employing the Indians trained in the Indian schools and Civilian Conservation Corps organizations in the Oklahoma area. Eighty Haskell students and approximately 150 Indian Civilian Conservation Corps trained men are employed there.

Airplane manufacturing plants in southern California have employed approximately 200 Indians.

A total of 736 Indian trainees are enrolled in 43 Civilian Conservation Corps national defense training courses. At least 75 percent of those who have completed earlier courses are now employed in defense industries. Defense courses are also being carried on in the Indian schools. Between 700 and 800 have gone from these schools into defense employment.

Shipyards in Seattle and in the San Francisco area employ about 75 Indians. Fifteen former Civilian Conservation Corps Indians are working at Shasta Dam in California. Various other defense industries account for employment of former Civilian Conservation Corps, Indian Division, enrollees, among them shipyard

welders, signal operators, airplane welders, working at Navy ammunition dumps, lumber mills, and on the construction of military roads.

The following Indian Service schools conduct national defense training courses: Chemawa School, Chemawa, Oreg.; Chilocco School, Chilocco, Okla.; Flandreau School, Flandreau, S. Dak.; Haskell Institute, Lawrence, Kans.; Phoenix School, Phoenix, Ariz.; Sherman Institute, Riverside, Calif.

At Haskell Institute, which is fairly typical, the following courses are given: Welding, auto mechanics, carpentry, electricity, machine shop, painting, plumbing, power-plant operation, institutional cooking.

The following national defense training courses are given by Civilian Conservation Corps, Indian Division: Aircraft welding; auto mechanics; carpentry; general mechanics; motor mechanics; operation, care and repair of trucks, tractors, and autos; radio maintenance and repair; repair and maintenance of automobile equipment; welding; woodworking.

A few incidents of Indian civilian activities as reported in the press are worthy of record:

"Impressed by pictures of famine conditions in Poland, the little Supai Indian Tribe, numbering about 200, which lives in the isolated Havasu Canyon, has plowed up the whole bottom of the canyon, and farming machinery is being packed down a tortuous trail on the backs of ponies to help along the warproduction effort.

"The Chippewa Indians of Michigan, numbering 1,000, are now formally at war with the Axis, pledging in their formal war declaration, to "stand by Uncle Sam to the end as we always have.' They further declared: 'We are standing once more shoulder to shoulder with our white brothers as we did with George Washington at Valley Forge and in every war for liberty.'

"The California Indians, at odds with the Federal Government since 1850, have patched up their differences and will support the United States in its war against the Axis. The Mission Indian Federation, with 3,000 members from 30 reservations, telegraphed President Roosevelt and Governor Olson 'a message of loyalty and readiness to serve our great Nation.'

"If enemy parachute troops land anywhere in northern Arizona and attempt to disrupt vital transportation and communication lines connecting the midwest and the Pacific coast, cowboys and Indians will ride side by side to apprehend them. One hundred and fifty cowboys, in 3 troops of 50 each, will be supplemented by 500 Navajo Indian horsemen who have volunteered for home defense duty."

Indian Service hospitals are training Indians as hospital orderlies. The Indian Extension Service is encouraging Indians to raise more of their own food than ever before, and to utilize their lands to raise food and other crops essential to the war effort. Indian women are being trained in truck driving, first aid, and in nutrition. Indians on many reservations are being organized in civilian defense work, particularly in areas where parachutists might cause damage to transportation or communication lines. Indian lands, hospitals, buildings, and Indian Service personnel and facilities are being inventoried by Indian Service field officials in preparation for any possible emergency use.

Mr. JOHNSON of Oklahoma. I am glad to have that statement, and seriously let me say that I served with many full-blood Indians and part Indians during World War No. 1 in France. I saw them in action in the front lines, and I was deeply impressed with their valor and courage. There were no better or braver soldiers than were the

American Indians.

SOIL AND MOISTURE CONSERVATION OPERATIONS

What benefits, if any, are the Indians receiving from the soil and moisture conservation operations which were transferred, I believe, last year from the Department of Agriculture to the Interior Department?

Commissioner COLLIER. That money goes to the purpose for which it always went before it was transferred to us; that is, the work of conserving the soil and moisture on the ranges. The Indian lands in years gone by had become very badly eroded. They were among