Description
This collection of correspondence, agency reports, field notes, and
photographs was compiled by Evander M. Sweet, Jr., Inspector of Indian Services
for the BIA from 1915 to 1921. Much of the material consists of Sweet's
inspection and investigative reports prepared for Indian reservations and
agencies in Arizona, California, Idaho, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and
Washington.
Background
Evander M. Sweet, Jr., a Southern Methodist preacher, began his ministry
in Oklahoma during that region's first years of statehood (1907-1914). He
represented Protestant churches there in a successful drive to place an
amendment in the State Constitution restricting the use of alcoholic beverages
among Native Americans. From 1915-1921 he was an Inspector with the US Bureau
of Indian Affairs. During these years, Federal appropriations for Indian needs
were dramatically decreased in an effort to force Native Americans from
reservations into the mainstream of American life. By 1920 the deterioration of
the quality of Indian life was so apparent that the need for reforms was
evident. Sweet's investigation reports cover a wide range of Indian complaints
and provide a valuable picture of Indian-White relations under the Dawes Act.
Sweet was terminated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs in 1921 and became an
agent for Pacific Mutual Life, eventually moving to Stockton (Calif.) where he
remained active in Methodist affairs.