Excerpt from Annual Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs: To the Secretary of the Interior for the Year 1879 Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith the Annual Report of the Indian Bureau for the year 187 9. During the year there has been a steady and manifest progress in civilization which has had no parallel in any previous year in the his tory of Indian civilization under this government. The spirit of progress cannot be said to have pervaded all tribes alike, or with equal force; but, as a whole, the Indians of the country have taken a long stride in the right direction toward complete civilization and eventual self-sup port. The most decided advance in civilization has been made by the Ogalala and Br'ule. Sioux, and their progress during the last year and a half has been simply marvelous. They have manifested an excellent disposition and shown commendable zeal in carrying out the plans of the government for their benefit. It is no longer a question whether Indians will work. They are stead ily asking for opportunities to do so, and the Indians who today are willing and anxious to engage in civilized labor are largely in the major ity. There is an almost universal call for lands in severalty, and it is remarkable that this request should come from nearly every tribe except the five civilized tribes in the Indian Territory. There is also a growing desire among Indians to live in houses, and more houses have been built, and are now in course of erection, than have been put up during any previous year. The demand for agricultural implements and appli anoes, and for wagons and harness for farming and freighting purposes is constantly increasing, and an unusual readiness to wear citizens' clothing is also manifest. The loss of the buffalo, which is looked upon by Indians as disastrous, has really been to them a blessing in disguise. They now see clearly that they must get their living out of the soil by their own labor, and a few years' perseverance in the beneficial policy now pursued will render three-fourths of our Indians self-supporting. Already very many tribes have a surplus of products for sale. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.