The Fate of Yukon Indians, 1900

It will doubtless happen with these Indians as it has happened with every other aboriginal race that has come in contact with what we are pleased to term civilization. Civilization will ultimately wipe the Indians out of existence. This is the whole story in a nutshell, and it is apparent that the Indians themselves have a very well defined notion that such will prove to be the case. They see the land, which they considered their own, taken away from them without even their permission being asked. The game, upon which they have been accustomed to depend very largely for subsistence, is being driven back into the mountains, and when the game has all disappeared the Indians see nothing ahead for them but extinction.

The case which Silas advances on behalf of his tribe is a strong one, and the points are remarkably well taken. Silas has a number of innate ideas of right and wrong which lead him to believe that there should be some law of compensation applicable in the case.

Formerly the Indians owned all the ground, all the fish and all the game. Now they own nothing. Then they could do as they pleased, with no one to interfere with them. Now they are liable to arrest for any breach of the law, just as a white man.

How they could lose all they once possessed and get nothing in return is something they cannot comprehend. The case is worth consideration from the authorities. Whether or not the Indians possess any legal rights in the premises, there are certain moral obligations involved which should not be overlooked. If there is any danger of actual want among them, the matter should be promptly looked into and relief granted.