Physical Characteristics.=All the American Indians, savage or semi-civil ized, possess the same characteristics. All have the same long, lank hair, black as a raven's wing, brown or copper-col ored complexion varying to almost white, heavy brows, dull sleepy eyes, seldom ex pressing any emotion, full and com pressed lips, salient and dilated nose. The head is square or rounded, flattened or vertical occiput, with high cheek bones. In demeanor the Indian is haughty, taciturn and stoical.
Wars.—The early history of this coun try is full of accounts of wars with the savages who have always resisted to their utmost the encroachments of the "pale faces." The most important of these conflicts were The Pequot War (1637) ; King Philip's War (1675) ; Wars of the Six Nations; Black Hawk War (1832); and the Seminole War (1835-1839).
Of the more recent conflicts with the red men, was the Modoc War in 1872. The Sioux War broke out in 1876. In 1890-1891, brief troubles again arose be tween the Sioux and the Government and some severe fighting took place in South Dakota. In 1898 there was an uprising in Minnesota.
The Indians within the United States who are still under tribal organization oocupy a peculiar position. They are not, strictly speaking, a part of the body politic, but are regarded as a "do mestic dependent nation." They are conceded the right to regulate their do mestic affairs, but this right has been re stricted in several ways. Well ordered governments have been developed by the tribes formerly known as the Five Civ ilized Tribes, the Cherokees, Chickasaws, Choctaws, Creeks, and Seminoles. Each has its own executive, legislature, and judiciary. In 1887 Congress passed an
act providing that Indians residing on lands allotted to them in severalty should be considered citizens of the United States without being naturalized. This conferred citizenship to about 10, 000 Indians, to whom allotments had al ready been made. By an act passed in 1911, the property of the Five Civilized Tribes was allotted in severalty and the work of distributing the lands and of selling unallotted lands for the benefit of the members of the Cherokee Natidn, was practically completed in 1914, and the tribe had ceased to exist as a political unit. The allotment to other tribes also continued in the years following, until they are now practically all citizens. The lands of these tribes are situated chiefly in Oklahoma, and oil and other minerals have been found in such quan tities as to make the members of the tribes who are the owners of the land, extremely wealthy. They receive royal ties from all oil and other leases granted on their lands. The Indians of these former tribes have reached a compara tively high standard of education. There are about 20,000 enrolled in the public schools of Oklahoma.
Reservations of other tribes of Indi ans are scattered throughout the country but are chiefly found in the Middle and Far West. Among the most notable of these are the Navajo tribes in New Mex ico and Arizona, and the Pueblo-Indian Reservation in New Mexico. There are also reservations in Oregon, Montana and Washington, and other States.
1920 there were nearly 37,000 Indian , farmers who were cultivating over three-' quarters of a million acres. There were about 300,000 Indians in the United States in 1920.