Show cherokees try to save IRLa race former lords of mountains and vales now reduced to small reservation KNOWN FOR THEIR CULTURE oklahoma lawyer Is wo working aking to prevent extinction of tribe by pooling lands cherokees prosper under his hi direction 0 0 heres here an interesting story i about the cherokees do you ou think they got a square deal f 0 new york the average american looks upon the indian as a legend a 9 picturesque myth and forgets that he Is a human being mill the same longings disappointments and heartbreaks heart breaks os as the white man the intrusion of the early Awe american settlers seems so much a thing ot of tin that we cannot comprehend indians still foster t a bit bitterness terne tor for the loss of their camp campfires fires their dome domestic itic heart hearths lie artlis hs their valleys mountains and LA reams occasional there arises among us some one who wins the conti confidence dence of these tribal people such a man Is eugene L graves a lawyer and the largest individual oil 01 and gas royalty owns own in oklahoma for IS 18 years he be has given his time and energies to fighting the battles of the cherokee indiana In indians diani once a strong nation covering the rich plains ot of the south and middle west now kow they have been reduced to one small band living in an area less than two thirds that of rhode island acts as their adviser mr graves Is the authorized delegate and representative of the nighthawk in oil all its dealing with the united states government and outside private interests he also acts in the paternal capacity ot of adviser and as a sort of court of last appeal in personal affairs the nighthawk society la the fraternal political industrial agricultural and financial nucleus of the tuu full indians of the cherokee tribe which his tn in all the others have in bind adopted the ways of the white bite loan an it husir b be understood said eald mr graves that the cherokees Chero keea are not the blau blanket ket type of indian but a highly sifted gifted and extraordinarily civilized people with intellectual literary and artistic attainments it Is believed that they have descended from the incas incao and there Is a legend that they represent five of the ten lost tribes of israel the cherokee to ocr finest specimen of humanity duda during my IS 18 vears ears among them 1 I he have yot y ot to discover that one ot of them has a vicious habit habil they are healthy bodied and healthy minded as as children they do not know whet what it Is to break their word in IM the united statts states cream cleared d the cherokee commission for the of abolishing the tribal govern vienta and opening the territories to white rett settlement lement after 15 years of pleadings against this plan an agreement was ans made by which the government ol 01 the Ce cherokee nation came to a end tin on march 3 1000 1906 in 1908 uke the united states government decided to divide dirle the land upon which the cherokees Chero hees were living and allot to each indian his bis share many of the cherokees unfamiliar with the he white mans way of doing doans business forfeited their holdings by one technical mistake or another they eonald not understood understand the system of taxation and many farms were confiscated some of the indiana indian influenced fluen ced by while set hers derst sold nold their farms tor for a few all it ver dollars Iri pressed by brave fight at that point mr graves in how did I 1 beccone b elnine interested in tho the Cheroke eal lie he replied in answer aner to a question about eighteen years apo ago I 1 stid amt down to oklahoma to look after some nome of my holdings and met diet the famous full blooded cherokee Cne smith nod and wat wa impressed by the brae light fight lie was waking making against the government just prior to the final agreement of 1900 lie ile tried to prevent vent the dissolution of the cherokee nation ue he nas a philosopher preach ing to t hib hl cawn kind the time old br gan in union there la Is streng tin when the government wa was 4 assigning the grants of 0 land refused to take big allotment and nd was put 1 in jail he finally agreed to a passive nonresistance non resistance aad vaas ft as released things were in a pretty bad shape with the cherokees when I 1 suggested an idea to them why not pool their interests their lands and posses possessions and develop them HS as one cue huge holding immediately the members of the saw the point the Keet nowah in addition to its fraternal function was as organized upon a mutual business and financial tin ancla basis in which the members were to share equally in the losses and gains arising from the development develop mett t t f their agricultural industrial and mineral resources the members practically put them thein under the guardianship of mr graves and he has tin s represented them in all matters concerning their welfare the cherokees have prospered and been happy |