Show indians indian s gaining on death rate show increase of 1144 in year osage tribe richest people on face of earth washington like his old friend the buffalo the american indian Is making a comeback come back figures recently announced by the bureau of indian affairs show our american in dlan population la Is now a gain of 1144 over last year not only last year but for thirty years the redmon have steadily been gaining on their death rate says a bulletin from the washington D C headquarters of the national geographic society today there are six indians per square mile on reservations which comprise an area not much smaller than that of till all new england according to the best estimates available there was an average of only one indian for every three square miles when white people first came to american shores it if only two thirds of the united states were occupied by redskins red skins shIns at the present reservation population rate there would be 12 indians in the united states today thousands died of plague massasoit Massa gave the pilgrim fathers fathe rs corn but the fact Is that massasoit md and his kith and kin lived tor for the most part by product of the chase deer buffalo bear and rabbit were their pork and beef and berries and nuts their potatoes even verdant america could not support an immense population living in tills this fashion the total indian population at the time columbus landed at san salvador Is set at about it if all the tribes from the pacific to the atlantic and from the gulf cult to the great lakes had bad assembled at one great meeting they would have made up a community not so large as detroit and only a few thousand greater than cleveland or boston white mens guns decimated some tribes disease dissipation and epidemics which came with the white men spread death more surely smallpox small pox epidemics swept through the western tribes three times between 1781 and 1837 with more fatal results than the influenza plague of 1918 A peculiar fever killed indians in califor nia and oregon in one year cy by 1880 the indian population had been re deuced to therefore the present pop population illation represents an increase ol of nea nearly aly in thirty years richest people in world one american indian tribe today Is if the richest people on the face of th clr eart earth b beneath the lands of the osage indian tribe in oklahoma oil was discovered their wells produce 1 50 worth of oil annually and uncle sam who handles the business for his red brother brot lier distributes to each member of the tribe from to each year in 1022 more than barrels of oil were produced on osage lands partial adaptation to the white mans ways and care by uncle sam are responsible for the increase in indian population the redman may still be a hunter but a visitor to a reser res atlon will find the redskin useful as well as noble lie ile Is often a rancher dairy farmer gardener loav caa er pottery maker rug maker poultry ralser raiser typist bookkeeper miner guide and lie he even clips coupons indians now in the movies out of the ruin of indian civilization more than tribes have been salvaged sa 1 caged these tribes are lod ed on nearly reservations varying from tiny rancher las in california to the great navajo reservation in arizona and new mexico larger than the state of maryland the bureau of indian affairs Is their guardian it Is a government by itself having a cabinet of six commissioners and undertaking all encompassing activities typical of which are a probate court trust company public roads commission orphan asylum town building and operation of a philanthropic risso association clation bank mid and employment agency recently the re dinall once more daubed himself with garish war paint dressed himself in all his feathers and hit the war path the path led to hollywood and the indians broke into the movies uncle sam gave permission for the Shosho nl and arapaho tribes of the wind river reservation in wyoming to go to the movie city to be used in the making of pictures |