WARDS OF CANADA

Evening Post, Volume CXI, Issue 154, 30 June 1926, Page 3

WARDS OF CANADA

INDIANS' ADVANCEMENT HEALTHY SIGNS OP PROGRESS. (Special to "Tha Evening Post") VANCOUVER, 2nd June. Eapid progress is being made by the Indian wards of the Government of Canada in fitting themselves to meet the new conditions of life amid which they are placed, and their social outlook is immeasurably improving. Tho material development and prosperity of tho Indians is no more markedly reflected than in the better homo conditions apparent on every hand in Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Housing conditions are so greatly improved that they compare favourably with those of the newer white settlers, while tlie change in attitude towards education and hygiene is a cause of satisfaction to the Government and the surrounding communities. ■ BETTER HOUSING CONDITIONS. The Indian tepee, which, during the earlier development gave way to the log shack, has now almost entirely disappeared, its use being limited to seasonal hunting trips. The log cabin is rapidly giving way, in turn, to dwellings of lumber and lath and plaster, and those log cabins that are still being built are finished with shingle roofs and gables. The newer types of home are substantial and commodious, with two or three bedrooms, a kitchen, a dining-room, and a living-room. The houses are well furnished and well kept, showing by their sanitary appearance the fruits of frequent visits by travelling nurses. The barnyards of these farms also bear evidence of the change now taking place. Poultry, pigs, cows, and sometimes sheep are kept, indicating that the Indians now see that there are decided advantages for them in this kind of farming. HOSPITALS AND SCHOOLS. The development of a new attitude among the Indians toward doctors and medical attention is causing gratification to the Government. Four hospitals, with full staffs, and four travelling nurses are maintained in the Indian reservations in Western Canada. An increasing use is being made of the hospitals, while the work of the travelling nurses is also showing good results. Each succeeding year the number of Indian boys and girls attending the schools set apart for them is increasing, showing the realisation of the older generation of the value of education. A few years ago many of the Indians were quite opposed to sending their children to school, but the fact that many of the younger group of parents are "graduates" of the schools on the reservations is helpful in keeping attention # focused on education. Tho Canadian Indians have advanced rapidly in recent years, and, aa there are 110,000 of them, the Government is giving close attention to their needs.