University of Virginia Library

NAMING THE INDIANS.
BY FRANK TERRY, SUPERINTENDENT OF U. S. BOARDING SCHOOL FOR CROW INDIANS, MONTANA.

THE system of proper names in vogue in America and in certain of the European states is, as we believe, well devised. It is so simple as scarcely to occasion remark. The name of some prominent ancestor gone, and, in most cases, forgotten, is handed down from generation to generation of his posterity, and each child, at birth receives this, through the operations of laws written and unwritten, as his surname. The parents place before this one or more names especially pleasing to them as the child's Christian name, and his designation is thereby rendered complete. It is a good system,

for it fixes the name of each individual after an unvarying fashion, and establishes the same practically beyond alteration. We are so accustomed to it from our youth up that it seems to us perfectly natural that it should be so. We cannot see how it could be otherwise than as it is. Furthermore, and what makes it more important, it is practically the only system known to American law, and it is impossible not to see that in all things, prominent among which is the transfer of property or the bequeathing of the same to heirs, trouble must come to those who disregard this system.

This system of nomenclature the government of the United States in its dealings with the Indian tribes has aimed to establish among them as one means the better to fit them for the privileges and advantages of American citizenship; and that this is a wise and humane act on the part of the government cannot be gainsaid. The Indian Department has continually urged this matter upon its agents, superintendents, and other workers "in the field." The command to give names to the Indians and to establish the same as far as possible by continuous use has been a part of the "Rules and Regulations" for years past. Hon. Thomas J. Morgan, during his incumbency of the office of Commissioner of Indian Affairs, issued the following circular letter, which I quote in its entirety, as it clearly and forcefully sets forth the government's view of the matter:

As allotment work progresses it appears that some care must be exercised in regard to preserving among Indians family names. When Indians become citizens of the United States, under the allotment act, the inheritance of property will be governed by the laws of the respective states, and it will cause needless confusion and doubtless considerable ultimate loss to the Indians if no attempt is made to have the different members of the family known by the same family name on the records and by general reputation. Among other customs of the white people it is becoming important that Indians adopt that in regard to names.

There seems, however, no good reason for continuing a custom which has prevailed to a considerable extent of substituting English for Indian names, especially when different members of the same family are named with no regard to the family surname. Doubtless, in many cases, the Indian name is difficult to pronounce and to remember; but in many other cases the Indian word is as short and euphonious as the English word that is substituted, while, other things being equal, the fact that it is an Indian name makes it a better one.

For convenience, an English "Christian name" may be given and the Indian name be retained as a surname. If the Indian name is unusually long and difficult, it may perhaps be arbitrarily shortened.

The practice of calling Indians by the English translation of their Indian names also seems to me unadvisable. The names thus obtained are usually awkward and uncouth and such as the children when they grow older will dislike to retain.

In any event the habit of adopting sobriquets given to Indians, such as "Tobacco," "Mogul," "Tom," "Pete," etc., by which they become generally known, is unfortunate and should be discontinued. It degrades the Indians, and as he or his children gain in education and culture they will be annoyed by a designation which has been fastened upon them and of which they cannot rid themselves without difficulty.

Hereafter in submitting to this office, for approval, names of Indian employees to be appointed as policemen, judges, teamsters, laborers, etc., all nicknames must be discarded and effort made to ascertain and adopt the actual names or such as should be permanent designations. The names decided upon must be made well known to the respective Indians and the importance of retaining such names must be fully explained to them. I am aware that this will involve some expenditure of time and trouble, but no more than will be warranted by the importance of the matter in the near future.

Of course, sudden change cannot be made in Indian

nomenclature; but if agents and school superintendents will systematically endeavor, so far as practicable, to have children and wives known by the names of the fathers and husbands, very great improvement in this respect will be brought about within a few years.

In line with the foregoing is the following further regulation on the subject by Dr. W. N. Hailmann,

General Superintendent of Indian Schools, which refers to Indian youth in the government schools:

Names by which pupils have previously been known should be retained as far as practicable. If an English name is given to the pupil, the Indian name of the father should be retained as a surname. Vulgar or otherwise offensive sobriquets, such as "Tobacco," "Mogul," etc., should be discountenanced and abandoned.

RULES NOT OBEYED.

One can contemplate only with pain the extent to which these reasonable requirements of the Indian Office have been disregarded by trusted servants in the field. While some have made earnest efforts to carry out the wishes of the Department in this particular, others have treated the matter as one of little or no concern. In many cases no attempt seems ever to have been made to systematize the names of the Indians, and in many others where such attempt was made the correct names for want of attention on the part of officers in charge, have been forgotten or permitted to fall into disuse. I direct attention to the records of allotments of lands among the members of the several Indian tribes as proofs that officials intrusted by the Indian Department with the carrying out of its instructions on this subject have been so derelict in this duty that the Indian people, even those who have made the best advances in civilization, are to-day a very poorly named race. In many cases long, unpronounceable Indian names have been retained, in others Indian names have been translated into English with the most unsatisfactory results, "vulgar or otherwise offensive sobriquets" have been countenanced, and a list is produced which should have no place upon record, local or national.

Such Indian agents and superintendents of Indian schools have not sought to impress the Indian people with the importance of having their names fashioned after the whites, consequently they have had in this direction the opposition instead of the co-operation of the Indians. In this thing, as in nearly all others, the Indians do not know what is best for them. They can't see that our system has any advantages over their own, and they have fought stubbornly against the innovation. Furthermore, these officials have not exercised due care to discover or select the correct family names, or when selected have not made sufficient effort to fix those names upon the members of the respective families.

The rough-and-ready frontiersmen who first came in contact with the Indians and had much to do with the naming of the older generations took no pains to discover and systematize the Indian names. They preferred to rename the whole race with the vulgar translations of the Indian phrases, or with familiar names of the English sort. Nor did they

choose to give this uncouth people such genteel names as Samuel, Robert, James, Peter, Richard, etc., the sobriquets Sam, Bob, Jim, Pete, Dick, etc., suiting their purpose better. Indian Bob, Siwash Jake, Mud Bay Sam, Packsaddle Jack, and Crackerbox Jim were considered good. It therefore clearly became the duty of the agents, in taking charge of the Indians, to correct all such abuses and to search out and assign to the Indians true and respectable

names. Instead, however, to this day in many places and by duly constituted authorities the practice of giving to the children for surnames these diminutives of English Christian names is allowed. Hence, we find everywhere such names as Harry Sam, Silas Bob, Lissie Pete, Hannah Ned, Maggie Bill, Tommy Jim, Cora Jake, etc. When, in the fall of '94, I took charge of the Chehalis school in the state of Washington, I found there an Indian youth who had been retained by my predecessor as an "apprentice." I should explain that the word apprentice, as here used, is the name of a position in the school. By consent of the Honorable Commissioner of Indian Affairs one of the larger boys, or girls, as a reward of good conduct, or as an incentive to assist in the discipline of the school and to take a leading part in the work, is paid a nominal salary, generally about five dollars per month, and is carried as an "apprentice." He is part pupil, part employee. When I met this boy I asked him his name. He hesitated, said he didn't know, but most people called him George Jim. I asked what his father's name was. He said he thought it was Sanders. Upon further inquiry I found the following to be the facts: The father of the boy is a Nisqually Indian by the name of Jim; hence, commonly known as "'Squally Jim." Therefore, the children were known as George Jim, Tom Jim, etc. But my predecessor had very properly discountenanced the name Jim as a surname, and had entered the children on the school roll by the more stately name of James—George Q. James, Thomas P. James, Benjamin S. James, and Mary James. I further found that "'Squally Jim" had signed a contract with the Post Office Department to carry the mail from Rochester to Lincoln Creek. I concluded at once that the name he signed to that document was the one he regarded as his correct name. I wrote the postmaster at Rochester. He replied that Jim had signed the contract as Jim Sanders. Immediately George Q. James became George Q. Sanders, a fact with which "'Squally Jim" was much pleased. There was also an apprentice girl by the name of Julia Jake. She had some sisters, Cora Jake, Jettie Jake, and Rebecca Jake; and their mother, who was employed as washerwoman at the school, was Linda Jake. I found that the girls were the daughters of Jake Benn, and that Jake had some brothers, to wit: George Benn, John Benn, and Dave Benn. It became quite clear to my mind that the family name was Benn Julia Jake at once became Julia Benn. But I experienced some difficulty in convincing certain of my subordinates (white people) that it was best to make these changes. And so throughout the whole Indian service one finds an immense amount of indifference to this question of names. A former attache of this school once wrote me in regard to "Peter Clams, the father of Joe Pete." Joe Pete (alias Joseph G. Peters) was formerly a pupil of Chehalis. As sure as he's born he would have been Joseph G. Clams had he re-entered the school during my administration.

"DON'T KNOW."

A funny little incident is reported from the Apache reservation in Arizona. An Indian policeman rode up to the government school and delivered a little boy to the superintendent. "What's his name?" inquired the superintendent. "Des-to-dah," replied the Indian in Federal blue, as he rode away. "Destodah," mused the superintendent. "Queer name, ain't it? 'Max' will fit him very nicely for a 'first name.'" So the little fellow

was duly christened "Max Destodah." It turned out, however, that des-to-dah was the Indian word for "don't know." The policeman had simply said he didn't know what the boy's name was. It further turned out that Max was one of four brothers in the same school, no two of whom had the same surname. One finds many cases here and there where a name is not carried through the family. On the Chehalis reservation dwells Tenas Pete. He has two sons, Same Pete and Joe Peterson. Two brothers went from this reservation to non-reservation schools. Bruce Jack to Chemawa, Ore., Robert Jackson to Carlisle, Pa. If asked why I did not correct these names, my answer is that in the case of Tenas Pete and his sons their names are now fixed in the patents to their homesteads. Jack and Jackson were not under my control.

Translations of Indian names, as a rule, have been unsatisfactory, though there are exceptions. The case is reported from the Pawnee reservation, Oklahoma, of an Indian name Coo-rux ruh-rah-ruk-koo. He was commonly called Afraid-of-a-bear. The literal interpretation of his name, as given to me, is "fearing a bear that is wild." With this interpretation the agent proceeded to call the Indian Fearing B. Wilde; not a bad arrangement, if he had made a success of it. But he did not, for the allotment was finally made to the Indian's native name. But such names as Flying eagle, Pipe-chief, Crazy-horse, Yellow bonnet, Afraid-of-his-enemy, Walk-in-the-water, Rain-in-the-face, Bull-all-the-time, Keeps-his-head-above-water, No-hair-on-his-tail, Bob-tail-wolf-No. 3, Kills the-one-with-the-blue-mark-in-the-centre-of-the-chin, are ridiculous and should not be perpetuated. Such names are uncouth, un-American, and uncivilized.

As the Indian child grows he commits acts from time to time each of which gives him a new name. For example, he may see a bear and run screaming to the tepee. The folks all laugh at him, and call him Runs-from-a-bear. Later on he may become the possessor of an unruly pony which he fears to ride, and becomes known as Afraid-of-his-horse. Or, he may mount a horse from which another Indian has been thrown, and he then is spoken of as Rides-the-horse. Further on he becomes a great hunter and kills five bears, and they call him Five-bears, and when he slays another his name changes to Six-bears. He may perform a valiant deed in battle and ride his horse through the camp of the enemy, for which he is dubbed Charges-through-the-camp. During the conflict he may kill one of the enemy. If his victim is the only one slain he is called Kills-the-enemy. But if others fall the one he has killed must be described, as Kills-the-one-with-the-big-knee. If he braids in his hair a yellow feather which he has plucked from the tail of an eagle he may be called Eagle-tail, Eagle-feather, Yellow-tail, or Yellow-feather. If he gives it to his friend he will be named Gives-feather, but if he refuses to part with it his name will change to Keeps-his-feather. Or he may obtain his name from some other object. If he is accustomed to ride what is commonly known as a "calico" horse he may be called Spotted-horse, but if his horse has a short tail he will be known as Bob-tail-horse. The chances are that he will be known by all the foregoing names. His enemies in the tribe will continue to speak of him as Long-ears,

Runs-from-a-bear, or Afraid-of-his-horse, while his friends will call him Rides-the-horse, Six-bears, or Kills-the-enemy. For this reason it occurs that if you speak of the Indian in the presence of certain members of the tribe and call him Six-bears they will laugh at you and say: "That not his name; his name Runs-from-a-bear." But if you speak of him to certain others as Runs-from-a-bear they will scowl and say: "That not his name; his name Kills-the-enemy."

Hence it will be seen that the Indian names are nothing, a delusion, and a snare, and the practice of converting them into English appears eminently unwise. It is certain that the name on the rolls at the agency is the interpretation of only one of the Indian's several "names." A short Indian name in their own vernacular, or a syllable or two of a long one, if euphoneous and pronounceable, as they

usually are, will answer quite well for a family name, but the translations are never satisfactory, and cannot be too strongly condemned.

Following is the complete roll of pupils at the Crow Agency Boarding School, Mont., reported by my predecessor for the quarter ended June 30, 1896:

BOYS.

• Homer Bull-tongue.
• Edson Fire-bear.
• John Adams.
• Frank Hairy-wolf.
• George Washington.
• Lafayette Corner-of-the-mouth
• Tommie Gardner.
• Jimmie Shell-on-the-neck.
• Hartford Bear-claw.
• Hugh Ten-bears.
• Robert Picket.
• Barkley On-the-other-side.
• Percy Stops.
• Walter Young-jack-rabbit.
• Eric Likes-the-horse.
• Eugene Long-ear.
• Antoine No-hair-on-his-tail.
• Moses Comes-in-the-day.
• Joe Kills-with-his-brother.
• Barney One-goose.
• Herbert Old bear.
• Blake White-bear.
• Otto Rides-the-horse.
• Prescott Comes-in-a-day.
• Mortimer Dreamer.
• Albert Chief-child.
• Clinton Fire-bear.
• Harry White-bear.
• Irvie Comes-out-of-fog.
• James G. Blaine Buffalo.
• Levi Yellow-mule.
• Charlie Robbinson.
• Arthur Bay-wolf.
• Henry No-shin-bone.
• Morris Shaffer.
• Howard Yellow-weasel.
• Fletcher Bird-shirt.
• Willie Bends.
• Elmer Takes-a-wrinkle.
• Benamin Hillside.
• Norman Record.
• Portus Keeps-his-feather.
• Lee One-blue-bead.
• Frank Gardner.
• Guy Bad-boy.
• Robert Yellow-tail.
• Charley Record.
• Max Big-man.
• Victor Three-irons.

GIRLS.

• Fannie Plenty-butterflies.
• Kittie Medicine-tail.
• Alice Shoots-as-he-goes.
• Maggie Broken-ankle.
• Louisa Three-wolves.
• Helen Comes-out-of-fog.
• Mabel Hunts.
• Mamie Reid.
• Lillian Hunts.
• Louise Enemy-hunter.
• Agnes He-says.
• Ruth Bear-in-the-middle.
• Floy Hairy-wolf.
• Bertha Full-mouth.
• Eva New-bear.
• Lottie Grandmother's-knife.
• Rosa La Forge.
• Jessie Flat-head-woman.
• Sarah Three-irons.
• Anna Wesley.
• Carrie Wallace.
• Mary Old-jack-rabbit.
• Clara Spotted-horse.
• Ida Wrinkle-face.
• Minnie Nods-at-bear.
• Lucy Hawk.
• Anna Medicine-pipe.
• Nellie Shell-on-the-neck.
• Olive Young-heifer.
• Edith Long-ear.
• Susie Leider.
• Isabel Lunch.
• Bessie Crooked-arm.
• Irene Mountain.
• Stella Wolf-house.
• Jennie Wesley.
• Hattie Wallace.
• Esther Knows-his-gun.
• Lena Old-bear.
• Ada Sees-with-his-ear.
• Martha Long-neck.

Said one of the teachers to whom I spoke of the preposterous names in this list: "We speak only their Christian names; they seem to be ashamed of their other names." Ashamed of them? I hope, indeed, that they have sense and decency enough to be ashamed of such names!

Kittie Medicine-tail will not be a pupil during the current year, for on July 4, 1896, she entered the holy bonds of matrimony with Bear-goes-to-the-other-ground. On the following day Nellie Shell-on-the-neck was united to Bird Bear-in-the-middle, and Fannie Plenty-butterflies married Charlie Ten-bears.

Bob-tail-wolf-No.-3, Creeping-bear, and Standing-in-water are policemen at the Cheyenne and Arapahoe Agency, Oklahoma. Wounds-the-enemy, Joseph Black-spotted-horse, Thomas White-horse, Elizabeth Burnt-thigh, James-in-the-camp, are employees at the Cheyenne River Agency, South Dakota, and Joshua [illustration omitted] Scares-the-hawk, The-man-No.-2, John Makes-it-long, Puts-on-his-shoes, Dennis Brings-the-horses, belong to the police force at the same agency. In the list of attaches of the Fort Belknap Agency, Montana, we find such names as these: Hailstone, Thunder-pipe, Gone-high, Otter-robe, Wetan, Lame chicken, No bear, Skunk, Lizard, The Bull, Shaking-bird, Three-white-cows, etc.

Some Indian names, on the other hand, are too long and unpronounceable for practical use. At the Devil's Lake Agency, North Dakota, they are trying to perpetuate such names as these:

• Sunka ho waste.
• Waanatan.
• Ecanajinka.
• Tiowaste.
• Wiyakamaza.
• Iyayuhamani.
• Wakauhotanina.
• Tunkawwayagnani.
• Wasineasuwmani.
• Eyaupahamani.

No Christian names are given. And at the Colville Agency, Washington, such names as these:

• Grant On hi.
• Jim Chel quen le.
• Mack Chil sit sa. Tom e o.
• Lot Whist le po som.
• Alex Sin ha sa lock.

The plan resorted to in some quarters of discarding the Indian names altogether and fitting the Indians out with names that are purely English has not worked well, for those selected in many cases are names illustrious in American history, and this has caused the Indians to become the butt of many a vulgar joke. William Penn, Fitzhugh Lee, David B. Hill and William Shakespeare are policemen at the Shoshone Agency, Wyoming. Only a short while ago it was reported that on an Indian reservation in New Mexico William Breckenridge arrested

John G. Carlisle for being drunken and disorderly. It would no doubt surprise the reader, and no less so our Honorable Secretary of the Navy, should I say that I have seen George Washington, John Quincy Adams, Franklin Pierce, Rip Van Winkle, Allen G. Thurman

and Hillary Herbert engaged together in a game of shinney. Yet this interesting spectacle I have gazed upon; and I have been the enforced witness to a severe spanking administered to James G. Blaine.

OVERNAMED RED-FACES.

Furthermore, faulty as the names of the old Indians are, the bad matter is rendered much worse when the off-reservation schools take it into their hands to rename the children that come in with names entirely different from those of the parents. In 1893 seven girls went from the Crow reservation to the industrial training school at Fort Shaw, Montana. In the first column below are the names of the girls when on the reservation; in the second column are the names recognized at Fort Shaw school:

• Clara Bull-knows. Clara Harrison.
• Beatrice Beads-on-ankle. Beatrice B. Hail.
• Katie Dreamer. (No change.)
• Lilian Bull-all-the-time. Lilian Bomfort (intended for Bompard).
• Susie Bear-lays-down-plenty (alias Crow). Susie Folsom.
• Minnie Reed. (No change.)
• Blanche Little-star. Blanche Brown.

I think no one will question that the names given the girls by the able and successful superintendent of Fort Shaw are better than the reservation names. It is also a satisfaction to know there are men in the Indian service who have correct tastes in this matter. But it should be borne in mind continually that tampering with their names will yet cause these children endless litigation, perhaps loss, when the question of inheritance of property comes up. When old Bull-all-the-time dies Lilian Bomfort must convince the court that she is his daughter and entitled to his land. The fact that she does not bear his name takes away the strongest evidence in her favor. The fact that at any time previous to marriage she bore any other name than his will at least complicate the case. Changes of names should originate on the reservations. The parents' names should be revised first.

HOW INDIAN NAMES MIGHT BE MADE.

In the early English and contributing tongues all names were phrases, expressing some peculiarity of the person or giving his location, but the ideal English surname of to-day is a meaningless word of from one to three syllables. It would be an easy matter in constructing names for Indians to make them conform to this ideal. It is best to obtain the family name by an arbitrary shortening or working over of the Indian name, for thereby a name is procured which in English is meaningless and, generally, euphoneous. Such names could have been fixed early in the history of the Indian service, if the men in charge at that time had taken the pains to do it. And, while I do not wish to censure the men now in charge at the various schools and agencies, all of whom have come in since the above mistaken schemes of Indian naming were set on foot, I may say that in some places it is not too late even now to make changes either forward or backward to the method indicated by the Department. Wherever change can be made it should in the interest of decency and humanity be done. It is certain that the system, or, rather, want of system, of names now in vogue on many of the reservations, as shown above, will yet cause the Indians great trouble in

the inheritance of property. Such trouble has come already to certain tribes. It will come to the others by and by.

During the summer of 1894 I was connected with the service on Klamath reservation, Oregon, and received instructions from the agent, Maj. D. W. Matthews, to go personally among the Indians on the eastern end of the reservation and obtain from them as nearly as was possible their correct names, ages and other facts. I was directed to exercise the greatest care in the matter. The allotting agent was on the ground, and it was important that the

names be had just right in order to save the Indians trouble in the transfer and inheritance of lands. I was to ascertain, if possible, what each Indian regarded as his correct name. Failing in this, I was to construct one out of his Indian name, or otherwise. By all means the name of the father was to be retained for all his descendants. I realized that this would be a difficult task. I knew the Indians well and was aware of much confusion in their nomenclature, but this I attributed to the correct ones having fallen into disuse. As I conceived it, therefore, my mission was more to revive than to revise their names.

When I started on my tour I went first to Modoc Camp, and at once encountered Modoc Ike, who was one of the reservation policemen. He told me his name was Isaac Taylor, and I entered it so on the corrected roll. Then Horace Modoc, the schoolboy, became Horace Taylor. I next found Old Duffy. He had a son on the lower end of the reservation who was called Arthur Tupper and another son in the Yainax school known alternately as Watson Tupper and Watson Duffy. He also had two grand-daughters at Yainax—Ellen and Effie Robinson. The girls got their cognomen from their mother's father, Mark Robinson, and I retained it. As Duffy had but one name and that of his son Arthur was quite well established I added the name Tupper, so that he became Duffy Tupper. Watson remained Watson Tupper. I found that Jim Sconchin and Peter McSconchin were cousins. The father of Jim was chief of the Whiskey Creek Modocs, true to the United States during the Modoc War. The father of Peter was the Sconchin who, with Captain Jack, Boston Charley and Shacknasty Jim, was hanged by the military at Fort Klamath for the massacre of General Canby and Rev. Thomas, members of the Peace Commission during the war. Peter was with the rebellious band that shot a hundred soldiers from the crevices of the lava beds on Tule Lake, for which he was banished to the Quapaw reservation in the Indian Territory, but had returned. While on the Quapaw reservation he received the name of McCarty, which he, on his return, combined with Sconchin. I let him keep the three names, so that he became Peter McCarty Sconchin. Modoc Billy was found to be William Hutcherson, father of Homer and Anna Hutcherson of Yainax school. Modoc Scott, a policeman, was found to be Scott Davis. Whiskey John was found to be John Whiskin, Pitt River John became John Pitt, and Little John became, by act of Agent Matthews, John Little. Billy Turner, brother of Henry Jackson, one of the wealthiest Indians on the reservation, became, by his own choice, William Turner Jackson. Old Mosenkasket has three sons quite prominent on the reservation—viz., Henry Brown, Harrison Brown, and Dick Brown. At the suggestion of Major Matthews the old chief became Mosenkasket Brown. Tall Jim was mad the moment I mentioned my business to him. He denounced the name, as it was never his. I had been informed previously that he was dissatisfied with it. He said his correct name was Frank Lynch. As he had no brothers, and no mischief could ensue from the change, I said to him: "Very well, Jim, if you wish to be called Frank Lynch you may;" and thereupon Elmer James and Edith James of the Yainax school became Elmer James Lynch and Edith Lynch, respectively.

I shall not trespass upon the patience of the reader by relating all the discoveries and changes made. Enough have been given to show the painstaking necessary to the performance of this work, and to establish the claim that great negligence and indifference have been shown this very important subject. What is true on the Klamath reservation is true on nearly all reservations. I have said that one contemplates this with pain. One is astonished that men supposed to be intelligent, earnest and honest should treat a matter so grave with such exceeding unconcern—that men intrusted with the weal of this independent and confiding people, familiar as these men were with civilized methods, knowing that the subject was of great moment, should commit, or stand idly by and allow committed, this careless trifling with the nomenclature of a great race like the aborigines of this Continent.