USA > Iowa > The Mesquakies of Iowa : a summary of findings of the first five years > Part 2
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The population will continue to increase. The commun- ity is young-almost half its members are under 18. As medical services become more available to the people, deaths will occur later in life and the rate of increase will inevitably turn still further upward.
The community is permanent and growing. But white men almost invariably consider Indians to be vestiges of once-mighty populations, vestiges which will inevitably eith- er die out or be lost in the stream of American life. These notions are apparently not true for Indians of the United States generally; the population of Indian communities across the land is steadily and rapidly rising and those figures do not include those Indians who as individuals leave the reservations and cease, in effect to be Indians.
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The Mesquakie population is increasing -Photo Des Moines Register
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And those notions are certainly not true when applied to the Mesquakies.
But those false notions affect the actions of white men in their dealings with Mesquakies. If Mesquakies are held to be in the process of an inevitable absorption into the larger society, then the Mesquakie community is seen, in effect, as a second-rate white community that has not yet "arrived." Similarly, Mesquakie individuals are measured one against the other in terms of the distance they have traveled toward the white man's ways. Within that frame of thought, the only actions which enter the minds of sym- pathetic white people are actions designed to hasten the alleged, inevitable change.
Mesquakies often resent such actions. For one thing, most Mesquakies do not consider the change itself as an unmixed blessing. But more importantly, such actions in- dicate clearly to Mesquakies that the white men remain blind to the merits of the heart of the Mesquakie ways.
The people are winning their struggle for the survival of their community and their ways but they have only be- gun their struggle for acceptance. It is unfortunate that every white Iowan could not sit unseen and watch the mirth of a "squaw-dice" game or watch the solemnity of a cere- monial adoption. If that were possible, the struggle for acceptance would be won already.
III FIVE AREAS OF DISCONTENT
Life for Mesquakies is rich in ways the white man can but dimly appreciate. That is not to say the people do not have their normal share of everyday problems. Those prob- lems are like the problems of many white villages and towns but the unchanging heart of Mesquakie ways and the posi- tion of Mesquakies as a minority group create special di- mensions. Any solutions must be in terms of those special factors.
1. Health and Medical Services
The most important need of the community, in the eyes
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of the Mesquakies themselves, is an improvement in the present medical services. It is an uncomplicated problem, one that could be resolved with little expenditure of time or money.
At present the federal government spends about $7,000 a year for health services to the community. There is a physician under part-time contract and the federal govern- ment has arrangements with hospitals for the care of Mes- quakies without means to bear the expenses of their hos- pitalization.
But the present system falls short in three ways. First, in event of emergency illnesses, the necessary medical at- tention is more often than not lacking or too delayed to prevent death or serious disability. There were five infant deaths in the seven months between September, 1952 and March 1953; of these deaths, two could have been almost certainly avoided.
When an infant is ill, its mother can hardly be expected to judge the seriousness of the illness. It happens, there- fore, that the contract doctor is often called in cases where there is no true emergency. The doctor's practice is large and the demands on his time limitless. It is expectable that he will often refuse to make dubious emergency calls in cases where a real emergency exists. Mesquakies often in- terpret such refusals as indifference to their welfare.
The second shortcoming is an almost total lack of medi- cal education. Past and present efforts in connection with Red Cross home-nursing training programs have contri- buted greatly but those efforts have scarcely begun to fill the need.
The third shortcoming of the present system concerns the old people. The older members of the community are, more often than not, cared for by their families. But in cases where there are no relatives or where the relatives are themselves penniless, the old people must make a pain- ful choice. They may choose to remain on the settlement and live out their last years in deplorable circumstances (this is the choice which is most often made) or they can
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apply for admittance to a public institution and live those last years in a totally alien world, removed from the fa- miliarity of their people and their home.
A small clinic, with a full-time nurse and five or six available beds for emergencies and for the aged would be an adequate solution.
Government buildings, now unused, could be made avail- able and would require but little repair. Perhaps the tribe could manage to provide the costs of food for the aged who would live at the clinic. The tribe could not provide the money necessary for the initial furnishing of the clinic nor could it provide the wages of the nurse for the foreseeable future.
Such a clinic would make available immediate emer- gency treatment. The nurse would be in a position to judge the seriousness of the illnesses and the doctor, on the word of the nurse, would of course attend to true emergencies. The element of security that parents and patients would feel on receiving this immediate attention in the place of the present, to them apparent, indifference would in itself have significant effect. Also, the aged could be housed in the clinic where sufficient heat and nourishing food would be available to them and they would also be close to the people they know and trust. And finally, the nurse would be able to spend part of her time supervising health educa- tion, working through the women's groups of the com- munity.
It would be desirable that the clinic be so set up that it truly "belongs" to the people. That would have to mean that a tribal body would have to have the right to hire and fire the nurse and to enter into contract with the attending physician. It is of course presumed that the nurse and doc- tor will be subject to the licensing requirements of the state.
The common factor running through the shortcomings of the present system is that modern medicine remains, in the eyes of the Mesquakies, fundamentally the "white man's" and therefore is a part of the whole white world which so often creates trouble for Mesquakies. Until the medical
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care offered Mesquakies comes to be seen as their own, no service offered by outside agencies will solve this health problem in that basic dimension.
Education
Each year 125 to 135 Mesquakie children attend grade school in the federally-operated school in the community. Another 25 to 35 attend the eighth grade and high school in nearby Tama under government contract with the Tama school board. Both schools are offering good education to the children.
But the Mesquakies feel that educational facilities are seriously threatened by an alleged, imminent federal "dump- ing" of this responsibility. The problem in this area is not to correct an imperfection primarily, although minor im- provements are possible, but rather to preserve good and wanted service. The discontent here is that the present facilities are felt to be threatened.
The first education, in the sense white men think of the word, was offered to Mesquakies in 1880. A school was built by the federal government and, since the government did not have the legal right to employ force, attendance was voluntary. The student body never exceeded 10. In 1898, soon after authority over the Mesquakies was re- sumed by the federal government, a boarding school was built in nearby Toledo. Attempts were made to make at- tendance compulsory and there resulted a bitter conflict, both within the tribe and between the tribe and the govern- ment. After a number of years, the people made a rather sudden about-face and from that time on they have felt the education of their children to be highly important. A new school was built in the community in 1912 and the To- ledo school was converted to a sanitorium. The school again moved to new quarters on the settlement during the late 1930's.
Intermittently, through the last 15 years, there have been attempts to close the grade school and have Mesqua- kie children attend nearby public schools. In the early 1930's arrangements were made with Montour, a community
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8 miles west, but Mesquakies resisted sending their children there and after 3 years the school on the settlement was re-opened.
Mesquakies feel quite strongly that their community should continue to have its own grade school. Educators, if familiar with Mesquakie ways and with the relations between the Mesquakie community and nearby towns, would agree. In the first place, 75% of Mesquakie children can- not speak English when they first enter school and the language never ceases to be a learned second language. But more important, Mesquakie ways are fundamentally non-competitive. Mesquakie children avoid putting them- selves above fellow pupils by reciting at every opportunity. White teachers who teach only Mesquakies soon come to learn this and adapt their teaching techniques to the Mes- quakie notions of proper behavior. But white teachers, teaching mostly white children and only a few Mesquakies would tend not to become aware of the reasons for this "strange" behavior. Hence Mesquakie children would seem to compare unfavorably with the white children. The chil- dren, both Mesquakie and white, would not fail to catch their teacher's judgment and that would undermine the self-confidence of Mesquakie children.
There is every indication that Mesquakie children do very well in their own school and that they acquire an edu- cation equal to that of children in Iowa's rural schools gen- erally. There are likewise a number of indications that this level of performance drops sharply when the children enter Tama High School. That drop is undoubtedly a result of the tensions and misunderstandings experienced by the pu- pils in their relations with their teachers and with their white fellow-students in spite of the sympathetic and under- standing efforts of the educators.
The sending of Mesquakie children to the white high school is probably justified by reasons of economy and for the experience the Mesquakie young people do get there, both good and bad, of the white world. But it is wholly necessary that the initial, fundamental education of these children be provided in their own school, with fellow Mes- quakie children and under teachers who have adjusted their
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teaching methods to the needs of the Mesquakie pupils.
There are two minor shortcomings of the present edu- cational system. The school facilities are overcrowded but this is a simple matter; and there is at present, no oppor- tunity for the pupils to get the beginnings of the skills they will need in their future jobs.
The single major imperfection of the present system is like the situation in respect to health: Mesquakies have absolutely no word in the running of the school. The school "belongs" to the white men. Concrete steps should be taken by responsible officials to give responsibilities to the tribe and it should be the aim of those officials that in the future the tribe receive the same responsibilities school boards normally have.
Educational expense is the bulk of present federal ex- penditures in this community. Each year $40,000 to $45,- 000 is spent. If a school tax were charged against the Mes- quakies, it would amount to about $3,000. The county or the state could not reasonably be expected to make up the difference between that tax and the school expenses. Mes- quakie education, hence, is an item that will continue to be subsidized for the foreseeable future. If the subsidy were to be stopped, the Mesquakie school would have to close and a normal school tax would be assessed. That would mean that the level of Mesquakie education would undoubt- edly drop.
Recreation
There is no recreation center in the Mesquakie com- munity but the problem has been partially solved by the people. Mesquakie veterans of World War II have formed an American Legion Post and have built, with the financial help of the tribe, a meeting place. On Sunday evenings the building is open to everyone and Mesquakies of all ages gather. The building is small and inadequate for the whole community but 50 to 100 people are always present on those occasions. Sometimes there is a special event like a party for a departing or returning serviceman; always there is "Indian" dancing, "squaw-dice" games, and general merri- ment. The veterans were thinking in the summer of 1953
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of ways to get a building which would be large enough for everyone. There are unused government buildings which could be remodeled to serve this purpose.
The Mesquakie community, like all communities is sub- ject to divisions and conflicts within the group. Besides this, the community is living in subordination to a larger society which believes itself superior and in such instances the minority group often comes to half-believe in the larger group's superiority too. For both these reasons, the com- munity needs every opportunity to get together to feel its unity and bolster one another's spirits. Hence recreation plays a vital role, more than mere diversion, for the mem- bers of the Mesquakie community.
Welfare Aids
Mesquakie individuals are eligible for the same welfare aids as other Iowans. The sole special arrangement at pres- ent deals with Tama County's share in these expenses; that share is assumed by the state in the case of aid to dependent children and old age assistance.
Payments to Mesquakies for welfare purposes add up to roughly one-tenth of the payments in Tama County while the Mesquakie population is about one-twentieth. That heavy case-load is viewed as a possible threat by county officials and taxpayers since they have no effective guarantee that this load will not be forced on them. Annual payments to Mesquakies total about $28,000. The county's potential share would be $7,000. At present the county's expense is only $1,200 and this is being paid under protest. The anxiety county officials and taxpayers feel is one of the main factors which create tensions between the Mesquakie community and the surrounding white towns.
It is only because the present set-up does create these tensions that the arrangement is an area of discontent. The problem is to arrive at a relatively permanent arrange- ment which is no longer a possible threat to the county and which is just to Mesquakies.
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The Community's Income
To all outward appearances, this is a poor community but in some ways these appearances are deceptive. The community's income is low (earned annual income averages some where between $1,000 and $2,000 per family) but the effects of this are lessened by three factors which are pe- culiar to this community as compared to white towns; Mes- quakies are relatively indifferent to many of the material needs which demand such a large share of the income of the average white family. Mesquakies have no personal expense in connection with their land; there is no rent or mortgage and the tribe pays the taxes on all the land by leasing a part of it. And, finally Mesquakie notions of generosity make it unnecessary for an individual to lay up a nest egg in anticipation of the next crisis; if there is a death, Mesquakies give a bit of money to the family to help them, or if a man is out of a job temporarily, his relatives help him out unquestioningly as they would be helped if the situation were reversed.
So while the community is poor, it is not eking out a bare subsistance in "grinding poverty." Mesquakies, like everyone, want more money. But the problem is not as pressing as it might first appear.
The Mesquakies are a community of laborers. This is a matter of choice on the part of the people. They have never taken to farming or business enterprise. Whatever increase in income does come about in the future will spring overwhelmingly from increased job opportunities and the acquiring of additional skills in industrial work.
Today there is a shortage of work within a radius of 20 miles and, as a result, Mesquakies commute daily or weekly to jobs up to 100 miles away. There are about 150 workers in the community of which about 70% are em- ployed, part-time or full-time, throughout the year. There are Mesquakies presently employed in Marshalltown, Cedar Rapids, Waterloo, Des Moines, Davenport, Moline, Rock Island, and other nearby towns.
Throughout the history of the Mesquakie community in Iowa it has often been assumed by interested white men
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that the community's basic income should be derived from farming. This is an unsound notion for two reasons: the land is marginal and could support no more than four or five families even if farmed maximally and most Mesqua- kies are simply indifferent to farming. Once there were about 1,000 acres under cultivation but shifts in the course of the Iowa River increased the flooding and the depression made farming unprofitable so Mesquakies came more and more to rely on wage labor. Today about 350 acres are cultivated and farming is an important income for only four families. No great improvement could be effected without undertaking the expensive task of straightening the course of the river to reduce flooding. With this ex- penditure, and assuming a maximum increase in farming, the overall picture of the community's income would still not be substantially altered.
The present trend is overwhelmingly in favor of wage labor as against farming. Undoubtedly Mesquakies' wage income will continue to rise as more and better jobs are opened up. Undoubtedly, too, there will be an increase in farm income but despite that increase the proportion of the community's income derived from farming will probably be less in the future than it is today.
During the depression, a small cannery was built and operated under WPA funds for the use of the Mesquakie families. This helped stretch the limited money incomes. The cannery still exists and should be reopened. It is diffi- cult to estimate the cost of repair and the cost of replace- ment of equipment. Such expenses may or may not be within the means of the community. The reopening of the cannery would make it economically worthwhile for families to cultivate larger garden plots. On-going operating expenses could probably be made by the assessment and sale of a percentage of the goods canned.
There are three other minor sources of income: The income from a tribal fund, held in the United States Treas- ury, is distributed to some Mesquakies, generally children, semi-annually; payments are about $5.00. The annual Mes- quakie pow wow is not primarily an economic effort but it
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Recreation is more than mere diversion -Photo Cedar Rapids Gazette
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presents an opportunity for Mesquakies to earn $25 to $30 each once a year. Many Mesquakie families derive a bit of income from the manufacture and sale of souvenir items but the time required for manufacture is out of all propor- tion to the money that can be gotten for the articles.
On the whole, it can be said that tribal income is a rel- atively minor problem, and a problem that can be expected to largely take care of itself as Mesquakies continue to ac- quire new industrial skills.
That is not to say the community will ever be very prosperous. Mesquakie notions of generosity fortunately make personal wealth unnecessary for a full and secure life in this community. And Mesquakie notions about the immorality of one Mesquakie putting himself above an- other prohibits the personal competitiveness which is re- quired for prosperity as the white man knows it.
A Postscript
It is part of the nature of man, apparently, to dwell on the shortcomings of his life. This tendency pervades the thinking of both Mesquakies and whites throughout the history of the Iowa Mesquakie community and to no lesser extent today. It is a bad tendency because it leads to the impression that somehow the side-by-side existence of the two groups, Mesquakie and white, is a very great problem. That, it certainly is not.
The areas of present Mesquakie discontent are in no instance deep, fundamental conflicts of interest. They are but the inevitable minor "kinks" that must always crop up in the course of imperfect human history.
Nor are these areas of discontent of major magnitude when compared with the positive aspects of Mesquakie life. It requires, however, on the part of both Mesquakies and whites, conscious effort to keep these "problems" in their true perspective.
When you come right down to it, the greatest "prob- lem" the Mesquakie community has is to get people to stop looking at the community life as if there were something basically wrong with it.
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IV. RIGHTS AND DUTIES
Indians are not, as is generally supposed, "wards" of the government. According to the late Benjamin Cohen, national authority on Indian Law, wardship is a fiction that has been invented by government officials to justify inter- ferences in Indian groups' affairs when such interferences have no Congressional authorization. Cohen maintains that wardship has never had a legal basis and that it is clear from recent court rulings that the courts today have rec- ognized the fact. Indians are citizens of the United States and of the States in which they live. As such they have all the rights and responsibilities shared by other citizens. Cohen goes on to say that existence of a federal budget for American Indians and a federal bureaucracy serving In- dias no more makes the Indians "wards" than do the federal expenditures and bureaus serving veterans or women or children or labor or seamen.
The essence is this: there are special laws benefiting Indians and there are special laws disenabling Indians. Some of these laws are good and others bad; all are legal. But in all other areas, those areas not explicitly provided for by acts of legislatures, Indians have the same rights and responsibilities as all citizens.
The special laws relating to Mesquakies are four. First, the federal government assumes financial and administra- tive responsibility for two community services, education and health. Second, the State of Iowa assumes a share of those costs of Social Security benefits which would nor- mally be borne by the county under the federal Categorical Aids program. Third, there still remains a state law which forbids sale of alcoholic liquors to Indians (similar to the recently-repealed federal law). Fourth, Mesquakies, as in- dividuals and as a community, pay all federal taxes and all state taxes but they are exempt from some county taxes, most importantly the school tax.
In all other areas Mesquakies have the same legal rights and responsibilities as other citizens. However, in some instances, especially dealing with state services to citizens, these rights have never been established by usage.
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"Dependency" Through Different Eyes
The Mesquakies themselves have shifting and conflict- ing feelings about their relations with the federal govern- ment. On the one hand, they have grave misgivings as to their ability to cope with all the complexities of full re- sponsibility for their community and are fully aware that, financially, they cannot bear their own weight. This feel- ing is generally voiced as, "The government promised to take care of the Indians forever-we do not know how to do these things." At the same time, Mesquakies resent the constant irritant of an outside force having full authority to decide matters affecting Mesquakie welfare. They often say, "The government doesn't care what we think-we're only Indians."
White men-government officials and private citizens- have similarly mixed feelings. On the one hand there is the feeling of guilt and a desire to correct past wrongs in dealings with the Indians. On the other there is the belief that continued special treatment of Indians is unjust to taxpayers and harmful to the Indians themselves.
No aspect of present-day Indian affairs is less under- stood and more important than these complex relationships and habits of thought which have generally been called "dependency" or the Great White Father complex. The in- complete understanding that is possible today, however, indicates that an important distinction be made: Mesqua- kies are today financially dependent upon the federal government in that there are federally-financed services to the community, and Mesquakies are administratively dependent upon officials of the federal government for the running of those services.
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