The 1889 bill (Congress) was known officially: “For the Relief and Civilization of the Chippewa Indians.” There is both sarcasm and irony in that phrase, which only those of us who know what kind of “relief and civilization” the Chippewas have received since the bill was passed, can appreciate. At the time White Earth reservation was created, a treaty was made with the Ojibwa bands, March 19th, 1867. It was the Government’s intention at the time this solemn treaty was signed, to encourage progress in industry, and to permanently locate the Ojibwa upon farms. With so laudable a purpose in view, one of the provisions of this treaty was as follows: Any Indian who brought under cultivation ten acres of land, was entitled to a fee simple patent, or deed, for forty acres additional, and so on up to 160 acres. This encouraged many Indians to become industrious and they brought under cultivation many tracts of land. In 1887, under the Dawes Act, the holdings of agricultural land were limited to eighty acres. After the “Relief and Civilization” act of 1889, Gus Beaulieu, a French-Canadian-Indian politician, and others became very active in and about White Earth reservation. A Mr. Darwin S. Hall was appointed Chippewa Commissioner and became interested in Mr. Beaulieu’s projects. Whatever the original purpose of this act, it was used by venal white men to get hold of the Indians’ land. Previously the land had all been in a reservation and could not be touched. Now it was coming under the control of individual Indians and might be sold. The Indians could not be thrown neck-and-heels off their reservation, although I suppose certain interested persons of northern Minnesota would have adopted that happy expedient were it possible. Some kind of legislation must be enacted whereby the wolves could enter the flock, if not entirely disguised, at least so covered that the shepherd of the flock might have some difficulty in differentiating between the sheep and the wolves. So it came about that the “Clapp Amendment” was passed as a rider to the general Indian appropriation bill. The Clapp amendment in substance, provided that any mixed-blood Indian could dispose of his property, but full-bloods and minors could not. If either Senator Clapp or Congressman Steenerson ever endeavored to put an end to the abuses resulting from the passage of this legislation their efforts have failed to accomplish results. I never heard that anyone in Congress tried to remedy the evils following the passage of these bills. Two of the missionaries, Rev. Felix Nelles of Pine Point and Rev. Aloysius Hermanutz of White Earth, wrote to the Indian Office, protesting that the Indians were being swindled out of their property. But Father Felix reports to me by letter that so far as he is aware neither the protest of himself nor his superior, Father Aloysius, had any effect.