University of Oklahoma College of Law University of Oklahoma College of Law Digital Commons American Indian and Alaskan Native Documents in the Congressional Serial Set: 1817-1899 5-3-1888 Report : Claim of Pottawatomies of Indiana and Michigan Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.law.ou.edu/indianserialset Part of the Indian and Aboriginal Law Commons Recommended Citation S. Rep. No. 1194, 50th Cong., 1st Sess. (1888) This Senate Report is brought to you for free and open access by University of Oklahoma College of Law Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in American Indian and Alaskan Native Documents in the Congressional Serial Set: 1817-1899 by an authorized administrator of University of Oklahoma College of Law Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. .50TH CONGRESS, ~ SENATE. REPOR'.r lsi Session. \ { No.1194. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES. MAY 3, 1888.-0rderecl to be printed. Mr. DANIEL, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, submitted the fol­ lowing REPORT: [To accompany bill S. 2li6.] The Committee on Indian Affairs bas had under consideration Senate :bill 217u, eutitled "A bill :fnr the ascertainment of the amount due the Pottawatomie Iudiaus of Michigan a]J(l indiana," and respectfully re­ port that tbey have exa,mined the same aud recon:nnend that it be .amended by iuserting after the words ~' Pottawatomie Indians," in line 12, ,the following, "nor by the receipt iu full given by said Pottawato­ mies under the provisions of said resolution;" and that the }Jill so .amended do pass. · The bill reads as follows, with the vroposed amendment in italics, to wit: A BILL for the ascertainment of the amount due the Pottawatomie Indians of Michigan and Indiana. Whereas the "Bt1siness Committee" of tbe Pottawatomie Iudians of Michigan and Indiana., for thomsel ves, and in uellalf of all ot!Jer Pottawutotuie Indians of saicl .States, make ch1im against. the Uuited St.ates on acconut of various treat.y provisious which, it is alleged, have not l:een complied with: 'l'!Jerefore, Be 'it enctet .., cl by tlte Senate and House of Re1n:esentatives of the United States of Arnerioa in Cong?·e~:~s assembled, That the• Court of Claims is hereby authorizfld to take jurisdic­ tion of ~~1Hl try a.ll questions of rlitference arising ont of treaty stipulations wit.h the ·sai<l Pottawa.tomie Lndians of Michigan and Indiana, ancl to render judgment thereon; power is herel.Jy grauted the said court to review the entire question of difference de novo, an<l it shall not be e!'ltopp<,d by the joint resolution of Congress, approved twenty-eighth Jnly, eighteen huudred and sixty-six, entitled "Joint resolution for tlle reli1~f of cert aiu Chippewa, Ot.tawa,, and Potta.watomie Indiaus ;" nor by the ?'e­ ·ceipt in full given b.IJ said Pottawatomies und('r the p1·ovis·ions of said resolut·ion, and the At.torut·y-Generu.l is hereby directed to appear in behalf of t!Je Government, and if the said conrt shall decide against the Unite<l States the Attorney-General may, wit.hiu thirty days from t.be rendit.ion of the judgment, appeal the cause to the Supreme Court of the United States; and from any jndgmeut t!Jat may be rendered the said J>ottawH.tomic Iucliaus may also appeal to sa.icl Supreme Court: P1·ovided, That the .l:Lppeal of said Pottawatomie Indians shall ue taken within sixty days after the rendi­ tion of said jndgruent, and the said court shall give such cause precedence. Stw. 2. TIJ<tt Raid actiou shall be commenced by a petit.ion stating the facts on which said Pottawatomie Iudians claim to recover, and the amount of their claims, and said pet.ition nw,y be verified by any Jllemuer of said "Business Committee," or their anthorized at.t.orney, as to tbe exi:stflnce of s~ch facts, and no other statements '!leecl Le contained in said petiti0n or verification. The committee is of opinion that the court should not be estopped by the joint re~olution of Congress approved 28th July, 1866, for the rea­ ~ons set forth in the memorial of the Indians contained in House Mis. Doc. No.8, Forty fifth Congress, second session, and in the report of 2 POTTAW AT01-IIE INDIANS. the Commissioner of Indian .Affairs of April 6, 1886, written in response to Senate resolution of the Forty-ninth Congress, first sessiou. In brief, it appears from these documents, and from the appentled cor~ respondence, that estoppel by the resolution of 28th of July, 1866, woul<.l: work absolute injustice, aud thus could. not be designetl or knowingly permitted by the United States. ' The resolution of July 28, 1866, is to be found in the United States Statutes at Large, vol. 14, p. 370, anti is as follows: JOINT RESOLUTION for the relief of certain Chippewa, Ottawa, and Pottawatomie Indians·. Be it 1·esolt·ed by the Senate and House of Representatives tlj the United States of Lhnt?·ica in Cong 'res.~ assembled, That the Secretary of the Interior be, and be is hereby, anthor­ ized and directed to pay to the Cb.ippewa, Ottawa, anJ Pottawatomie.Imliaus, of Michigan, in pursuance of au agreement and corupromis1~ made witb. the ~ottawato­ mi.l3 nation of Indians so named and designated by the treaty of eighteen h nndred aucl forty-six with t.he United States, the snm of thirty-nine thousand dollars in full of all claims in favor of said Michigan Iuuians either against the United States or said na­ tion of India.ns, past, present, or fnture, arising 011t of auy treaty made with them or auy "!.>and or confederation thereof, and t.he annnity now paid to them is to be restoretl and paid to said nation in the ftJture. Said sum of t.hirty-niue thousand dollars is to be paid out of funds of said Indians, by the United States now held in t1·nst for said nation, drawing interest at the rate of five per centum, which amount is hereby ap­ propriated; said payment to be made per capita direct to heads of families, adults .. and guardians of minors, as is now required by Jaw in reference to annuities, by the· proper agent of the Goverument. ' It is not disputed that the sum provided for was duly paid. Are­ ceipt in full was given therefor, and without the asseut of Congress. there the matter ends. But notwithstanding said payment and said re­ ceipt the very fact is that a large sum is really still due the Pottawat­ omies, and the evirlence of the fact is too plain and unmistakable to be disregarded. In his lrtter of .April 6, 1886, Ron. J. D. 0 . .Atkins, Oomrnis:Sioner of' Indian .Affairs, say8 : I have caused an examination to be made of said claims as set forth in the memo­ rial contained in House Mis. Doc. No.8, of the Forty-tifth Congress, second session, and find that the said claims are well founded; also, tha.t said claiws have been re­ ported favorably to the honorable Secretary of the Interior for reference to Congress. at sundry times, namely, June 3, 1872, February 3, 1877, January 14, 1881, March 29, 11:582, and January 26, 11:584. • Supperadde<l to these fa,-orable reports is that wherein thPy are quoted and those which are here exb1bited in letters appended hereto, from the Secretary of the Interior and the Commissioner of Indian Af­ fairs. Under such a showing the reque~t to submit the matter to the­ adjudication of the Oonrt of Claims seems to your committee to be just and reasonable, and in the opinion of your committee should be granted .. Secretary Teller's letter to Ron. \V. B . .Allison, of February 27, 1883~ a cop~- of which is also appended, is an aduitional confirmation of the· righteousness of this claim . .lVlis. Doc. No.8, Forty-fifth Congress, secontl session, is hereto ap­ pended to be printed as a 'part of this report, there being no copy on :file in the office of the Uommissioner of Indiau .Affairs, and there being· need of it for reference. The explanation of the receipt by the Indians "in full" on payment of the $39,000 is found tllereon, .and may be briefly summed up as follows: Under the foregoing resolution of July 28, 1R86, as is explained by the Pottawatomies, an agent of the Government was dispatched with $39,000 to pay the Indians in full. The Indians were poor, and greatly distressed by mortgages and. debts incurred in expectation of receiving what the Government .had POTTAWATOMIE INDIA:N~. 3 acknowledged to be due. They had commenced churches and school­ houses; and their farms and improvements would be lost witllout helP' from the money due them. When the agent offered $39,000, in full of a debt, they were greatly surprise<l and alarmed. On both sides ruin seemed inevitable. The agent of the Government refused to confer with the Indians. He had but one duty to perform-pay the money anti take their receipts. The Indians were then advised by friends and counsel, and a Mr. Johnson, minister of tl1e Gospel, who was under­ stood to i)e present to aid Mr. Smith, the agent, by appointment 9f the Government, that their acceptance of the money could not have the .effect to prevent the payment of alt just balances due them, as they only accepted it upon the express condition of their protest; that this advice of_ friends, counsel, and Mr.