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takes in stepping on some of his own promises.   What step has the Government taken to base its rights for a claim to our reservation.  That is what the Red Lake Indians want you to make plain so that they can distinctly understand.

In our councils last night we made up our minds fully to place before you today in this session the minds of the Chippewas of Red Lake reservation in regard to your visit here among us. The western portion of our reservation is the most valuable piece of pro­perty that our reservation contains.   The reason we think that this is the most valuable piece of property we have is because there is no other land that we can call good farming land.   In the course of ten years there will hardly be a standing pine tree to be seen in the state of Minnesota₉ also the game and fur will be very scarce in the course of ten years.  It is all that the Red Lake Indians get their livelihood from and after the game is all gone out of the country, all the fur, we don't know what we are going to live upon.

We are sorry to state that we don't know of anybody that we can place any confidence in to help us out in our troubles, although we are wards of the Government. and the Great Father looks upon us as his children. You can easily see for yourself from the statement that we have placed before you what our treatment has been from former treaties.  This is why we are obliged to take this stand, we think that it is best to protect the rising generations.   We are told that we are looked after and protected by the Great Father as children and we therefore mean to touch upon the tender part of his heart.  That is why we have placed before you our grievances growing out of the past treaties, and we want our past grievances adjusted, at least some of them.   And we want to tell you that our leading men of the Red Lake Reservation have made up their minds that they are not willing to pledge their words for the cession of the lands that you have been