What parallels does Pratt see between Indians and African Americans?
present place. No other influence or force would have so speedily accom- plished such a result. Left in Africa, surrounded by their fellow-savages, our seven millions of industrious black fellow-citizens would still be sav- ages. Transferred into these new surroundings and experiences, behold the result. They became English-speaking and civilized, because forced into as- sociation with English-speaking and civilized people; became healthy and multiplied, because they were property; and industrious, because industry, which brings contentment and health, was a necessary quality to increase their value.
The Indians under our care remained savage, because forced back upon themselves and away from association with English-speaking and civilized people, and because of our savage example and treatment of them. . . .
This ponderous Indian question relates to less than two hundred and fifty thousand people, numerically less than double the population of this city. They are divided into about seventy tribes and languages. Their plane of life has always been above that of the African in his native state. That they have not become civilized and incorporated in the nation is entirely our fault. We have never made any attempt to civilize them with the idea of taking them into the nation, and all of our policies have been against citizenizing and absorbing them. Although some of the policies now prominent are adver- tised to carry them into citizenship and consequent association and compe- tition with other masses of the nation, they are not, in reality, calculated to do this.
We are after the facts. Let us take the Land in Severalty Bill. Land in sever- alty, as administered, is in the way of the individualizing and civilization of the Indians, and is a means of holding the tribes together. Land in severalty is given to individuals adjoining each other on their present reservations. And experience shows that in some cases, after the allotments have been made, the Indians have entered into a compact among themselves to con- tinue to hold their lands in common as a reservation. The inducement of the bill is in this direction. The Indians are not only invited to remain sepa- rate tribes and communities, but are practically compelled to remain so. The Indian must either cling to his tribe and its locality, or take great chances of losing his rights and property.