September 26
Paiute Indian Willie Boy becomes
a fugitive.
In Banning, California, a young Paiute man
known as Willie Boy shoots a Chemehuevi Indian,
William Mike, and runs away with his 14-year-old
daughter Carlota. The murder launches a widely
reported manhunt that makes Willie Boy into a
folk hero. Chased by a posse that includes Indian
trackers, Willie Boy kills Carlota and then, in the
middle of a skirmish with his pursuers, shoots
himself. In 1969 the legends surrounding Willie
Boy will become the basis of the counterculture
film Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here, starring non-In-
dian actor Robert Blake in the title role.
1910June
The Omnibus Act creates “competency
commissions.”
To help open allotted Indian lands to non-Indi-
ans, Congress passed the Burke Act (see entry for
MAY 8, 1906). Originally allotments were to be
held in trust by the government for 25 years, dur-
ing which time the land could not be sold. The
Burke Act allowed the secretary of the interior to
eliminate the trust period on lands whose owners
were deemed “competent” to conduct their own
affairs.
The Burke Act, however, required that Indi-
ans apply for competency, and very few did. As
a response, Congress enacts the Omnibus Act,
which allows the government to end the trust
period on allotments owned by “competent” Indi-
ans, whether they want it removed or not. Under
the law, “competency commissions” are sent to
reservations to search out “competent” Indian
landowners. Within two years, these commissions
will take more than 200,000 acres of allotted land
out of trust, sometimes without the knowledge of
the Indians who own it.
1911The Boy Scouts of America promotes
instruction in Indian lore.
Founded in 1910 by Washington lawyer James E.
West, the Boy Scouts of America merges with two
other youth organizations—the Sons of Daniel
Boone and the Woodcraft League of America—
both of which focus on teaching non-Indian boys
a romanticized view of Indian legends and lore.
Based on these programs, the Boy Scouts institutes
a highly popular Indian Lore merit badge, which
constitutes one of the first organized attempts to in-
struct non-Indians in Native American history and
culture.Choate v. Trapp protects Oklahoma Indian
allotments from taxation.
The Choctaw and Cherokee of Oklahoma take
the state to court when it attempts to collect taxes
on their allotments. In the case of Choate v. Trapp,
the Supreme Court finds that the allottees are still
wards of the U.S. government and therefore exempt
from state taxes. Oklahoma’s effort is one of many
challenges the state’s assimilationists have made to
the terms of Allotment set forth under the General
Allotment Act (see entry for FEBRUARY 8, 1887).Soldiers force Hopi students to attend
school.
U.S. troops are called in to capture Hopi children
from the village of Hotevilla and take them to the
Shonogopavi Day School. The experience further
embitters traditionalist Hopi, who founded Hote-
villa five years earlier when they were dispelled from
the village of Oraibi by tribe members more accom-
modating to the growing white presence in their
lands (see entry for SEPTEMBER 6, 1906).AugustYahi Indian Ishi comes out of hiding.
An Indian man about 50 years old tentatively
emerges from the foothills near Oroville, in north-
ern California. He is the last surviving member of