The North American Indians
By I. H. Evans
A FEW years ago, the central western portion of the United States was a vast plain, inhabited by nomadic tribes of Indians, who lived by hunting, fishing, and raising a few cereals and vegetables. Now these Indians are located on reservations. The government has established schools among them, providing suitable accommodations for many of the Indian boys and girls, and is offering a thorough training in the English language. Many of the Indians have already become industrious farmers and stock raisers, while others are making a success of their business undertakings. The vast majority of the Indians, however, have retained their nomadic habits, and choose to remain in the condition in which they have been reared. Strong Religious Tendencies
The Indians have strong religious tendencies. They still tenaciously hold to the customs, religion, and traditions of their ancestors, and it is very hard to persuade them to conform to the teachings of Christianity. Upon a recent itinerating trip among Indians in Arizona, we were deeply impressed with the great need of mission work among the Indians. More mission stations must be established among them. While a few have accepted the gospel, the majority are still in an unsaved condition. One difficulty that has confronted missionary endeavor in behalf of the Indians, is the utter lack of a written language, and of Christian literature. But the Christian church must undertake larger things than it has yet undertaken in behalf of the 350,000 Indians in the United States, besides more than 100,000 scattered throughout Canada. We owe this people a great debt; and while the church seems slow to help them, there is at the present time a tendency to strengthen greatly the work carried on, and to increase it largely in the near future. THE United States census for 1910 shows 13,515,886 foreign-born people in this country. And to this number may be added 32,243,382 white persons in the nation whose parents—one or both—were born abroad. This gives us a grand total of 45,759,268 foreigners and near foreigners within our borders. A great missionary field is thus afforded, and a great responsibility devolves upon us.