He made these selections of his land for himself, daughter, and also for a son who was born later. As I have said, those were the finest or some of the finest lands upon that reservation, and he used them successfully. He died in 1927. From the date of his death until January of this year his wife and his children did not receive one cent of the money that was distributed to the members of the tribe; whatever was taken from the lands went to other parties. I am representing those children. Their mother is a full-blooded Indian but belongs to a different tribe and therefore has no rights of her own in that tribe at Palm Springs except what she takes through inheritance from her husband. But all of the decisions, of uniform standing, unchanged and uncontradicted, either as departmental law or law defined by the courts, vest her as an heir to those lands. During the years of 1935 and 1936 I was in close touch with the affairs of those tribes, and the first thing that occurred to my mind was that there were children who were being robbed of what belonged to them. They did not get either their money that was to be distributed or the use of the land to which they were entitled. I had occasion to be called to a meeting of the Chamber of Commerce of the city of Palm Springs. I went there and was called upon to speak. I have been told that one of the men about whom I am to speak said I had treated him unfairly at that time and place. I want to repeat now what I said there and give him an opportunity to meet it now, if he so desires. I said then and there, when I was called upon: The moneys of this tribe are being spent by the committee and those who are working with them under the direction of a white man, and he is advising them and causing them to commit extortion, theft, and dishonest acts. That man is here present in this room, and his name is Purl Willis. For 2 years that I know of he was acting in that capacity, and the moneys of the tribe were not accounted for in any manner, and he advised those Indians, and I heard him advise them, that they could take those moneys and do with them as they pleased; that they were under no responsibility to the Indian agent, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, or anybody else. Perhaps, Senator Thomas, you remember his making a statement at the Palm Springs meeting, when you were present, to the effect that the Indian agent, Mr. Dady, had gone to the bank, made photostatic copies of those checks, that he had no right to do so, and that he was wrong in doing it. He told me that both the banker and Mr. Dady ought to be prosecuted for doing that. My contention in reference to that is this: That every cent of money that arose out of those circumstances arose out of tribal lands held in trust by the Government of the United States, which in the first instance was property of the United States, and anyone who either directly took that money or conspired with others to cause it to be disbursed or used in a manner improper, or to deprive of it the people who were entitled to it, was violating the laws of the United States and was in conspiracy so to do when he was acting in concert, as was done there. The attention of the committee is called to the title of the lands belonging to the Palm Springs Indians. It is patented to them in trust with a right to the fee which upon the expiration of the trust shall be conveyed to them. There are some 55 allotments of irrigated land, and the mountain land is a watershed for the reservation lands. As to the allotted irrigated lands the watershed is appurtenant to it, as it also is to the other reservation lands that are grazing lands when the water is permitted to reach it. A little human interest, free from graft or official arbitrariness, would make the Indians of Palm Springs well to do. They could, with what they have, meet every requirement of good living, and where they violate the laws of the State or the United States they should be made to understand that they are subject to prosecution and punishment. They enjoy the comforts of civilized life as well as all other people, but they have not learned how to acquire it. The most disgraceful home on the reservation is that of the daughter of Pedro Chino. He is past 100 years of age, and his daughter is about 72. The allotments that Pedro Chino has, if made use of at all, would furnish them all with plenty, besides building a decent home. Instead of being assisted, they are prevented from doing what could be done with little aid. The Palm Canyon, which is to be taken from them, brings to the band more than $10,000 a year and furnishes much work for their needy members. They have expended many thousands of dollars in its care and development. They have a property right there of which they should not be despoiled. The CHAIRMAN. Judge Sloan, it is now 11:40. It is obvious that we cannot dispose of this case today. While the matter is fresh in our minds, Senator Frazier and I would like to hear from the opposition on the legal phase you have raised before the committee. You may have permission, however, to insert in the record such. further statement or documents as you desire. (The matter referred to is as follows:) Remarks Adopted dau. of nos. 2 and Single; son of no. 1. Mother. Mother. (Town lot. Died since selection Irrigated.. made. Dry.. [Town lot.. Irrigated Dry. (Town lot. Irrigated.. [Dry.. (Town lot.. Irrigated. Dry [Town lot.. Irrigated.. [Dry. Town lot. Irrigated.. Dry.. (Lot 47, sec. 14, within 16 feet (A tract in SW4NW4 14 (lot (Lot 60, sec. 14, within 16 feet [Lot 61, sec. 14, within 16 feet Irrigated. Dry Irrigated.. (Town lot.. (Sister of nos. 18 and 21. (Dry.. (Subject to sec. 24, Federal All sec. 22 reserved May 18,1921, Irrigated..All sec. 22 reserved May 18, (Subject to sec. 24, Federal Irrigated..All sec. 22 reserved May 18, Town lot. Single (Sister of nos. 18 and 20. (Dry.. Widow. 5 Husband. Husband of 1921, Federal Power Commission project no. 171 |