We are tired of Indian Agents who come here for
the sole purpose of exploiting us. Give us a man who has his nest egg some
where besides Indian Reservations, A man with noble purposes who has some
insight, some principle, a teacher who will look after the interest of the
ignorant and the illiterate ones. Some of us can read and write fairly well,
but legal jargon goes way over our heads, such lingo we cannot hope to
understand, and we cannot afford to hire lawyers to untangle such mystic wording.
That is why we need an Agent with some ability and a few “scruples.” Give us a
chance to buy cattle on the long time loan plan, say 5, 8, 10 years at not more
than 5 per cent. 3 or 5 head of cows to each family is enough, with
restrictions on the sale of young female stock, a dual purpose cow like the
milking short horn would be best because its ruggedness could stand our harsh
climate. This would give us a chance to get on our feet and to use the grazing
for our own benefit, raise the grazing rent on sheep from twenty five cents to
two dollars an acre, according to the grade of hay land, and raise the price of
hay to nine dollars a ton in the stack. This will give us a chance to live.”
-The Sacred Buffalo Vision by Robert J. Juneau and Robert C. Juneau
pg.154
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