United States declared the operation of a fish trap in the waters of Annette Islands Reserve by a person, other than a beneficiary named in the act creating the reserve, to be unlawful, and sustained an injunction to that effect. The opinion of the Court, stating the history of the Metlakahtlans, cited five congressional documents; declared that "The emigration and settlement were not only acquiesced in but encouraged by executive and administrative officers of the United States, and subsequently were sanctioned by Congress"; and that "After their settlement and before the reservation was created, the Indians, under the guidance of a noted missionary [Mr. Duncan], adopted a form of self-government suited to their needs."

In the case of In re Duncan Estate (113 Wash. 165), decided on November 22, 1920, the Supreme Court of the State of Washington judicially reviewed the life work of Mr. Duncan, analyzed his last will and testament, and declared:

All right-thinking people must approve of the work done by Mr. Duncan, and sympathize with his desire that it should be carried on after his death

The friends of Mr. Duncan and his mission respectfully request that they be informed what disposition was made of a letter dated May 29, 1917, which, by order of the United States District Court for the District of Alaska, First Division, was sent to the Department of the Interior by the clerk of the court, enclosing the following report and recommendation of the United States grand jury in regard to the treatment of Mr. Duncan by the Bureau of Education:

We also believe that the treatment of Rev. William Duncan by the Bureau of Education is a subject for considerable criticism, and we believe it should be looked into by the proper authorities.

Because of the erroneous and misleading advice given to the Secretary of the Interior regarding Mr. Duncan's status on the islands, and, mainly, if not wholly, as a result of intrigue, propaganda, misrepresentation, suppression of facts, and faked petitions, the then Secretary of the Interior was deceived and finally induced and misled into lending the official sanction of the Department of the Interior to the schemes of the plotters and into ordering and authorizing a series of acts which have had the far-reaching effect of all but consummating the literal destruction of the Metlakahtla Christian Mission.

The details and evidence of the plot to displace Mr. Duncan and bring about the destruction of his mission will be presented in my address, which, with the permission of the Secretary of the Interior, is being revised, extended, and annotated to include a brief on the facts.

Very respectfully,

(Signed) M. A. MATTHEWS.

INDEPENDENT REPORT BY MARK A. MATTHEWS, D. D., LL. D.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The Rev. Mark A. Matthews, D. D., LL. D., is pastor of the First Presbyterian Church, Seattle, Wash., which, with its membership of more than 9,000, is the largest Presbyterian congregation in the world. He was moderator of the general assembly of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, held at Louisville, Ky., in 1912, and is recognized as one of the preeminent religious leaders of the day.

Dr. Matthews is also a member of the bar and learned in the law, and has distinguished himself particularly in the furtherance of the cause of civic righteousness by bringing to justice many notorious lawbreakers and other enemies of society.

Dr. Matthews is deeply interested in home and foreign mission work. He has an intimate knowledge of the Metlakahtla Christian Church and Mission and of the life work of William Duncan. At great personal sacrifice he has conducted independent investigations and is now voluntarily presenting the facts in the Metlakahtla case. HENRY S. WELLCOME,

Acting for the trustees of the William Duncan estate and other friends of Father Duncan and the Metlakahtla Christian Mission.

26465-39-pt. 35- -13

18539

EXPLANATORY NOTE

This extensive analytical report on the Metlakahtla case has been made possible through the deep personal interest of Dr. Henry S. Wellcome, for many years a close friend of William Duncan and one of the active supporters of the Metlakahtla Christian Mission.

Dr. Wellcome is acting for the trustees of the William Duncan estate and at the request. of other friends of William Duncan and his mission in the United States and elsewhere. Through the beneficence of Dr. Wellcome none of the funds of the William Duncan estate have been or will be expended for or in connection with the preparation and presentation of the case.

Documents from which excerpts are quoted are usually identified by dates and the names of the writers.

Congressional Record page numbers refer to the bound volumes unless otherwise stated.

For official positions of persons mentioned, see general index. For personnel of the Bureau of Education, see chapter XI, section 90. page 19520. Due to departmental reorganizations, the titles of official positions and functions of Government bureaus have been changed from time to time. By order of the Secretary of the Interior, effective March 16, 1931, the administration of education for natives of Alaska was transferred from the Office or Bureau of Education to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs.

Because of the ramifications and complexity of the intrigues disclosed, certain important documents are repeated in several connections for the convenience of the reader.

It is suggested that before reading the text of his report, reference be made to

(a) Sequence of subject matter, supra, page 18543.

(b) Table of contents, which contains an analytical, topical arrangement by chapters, sections, and subsections, supra, page IV. Metlakahtla, sometimes erroneously spelled Metlakatla is pronounced Mět-lå-käht'lå, the ä in käht being pronounced as a in cart, and the å in lå as a in sofa. Tsimshean is pronounced T'sim'she-ǎn'. M. A. MATTHEWS.

18540

INDEPENDENT REPORT ON THE METLAKAHTLA CASE

(By Mark A. Matthews, D. D., LL. D.)

CHAPTER I. PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

SECTION 1. A COMPREHENSIVE STATEMENT OF THE CASE

Federal grand jury recommends investigation. Father Duncan's notable place in mission history. Occupancy of Annette Islands lawful and sanctioned by Congress. Mission seized by Bureau of Education without a hearing or any legal process. Officials of Department of the Interior prevent carrying out of Father Duncan's last will and testament. Act creating Annette Islands Reserve administered contrary to intent and policy of Congress. Mission still crippled by unlawful usurpation. Evidence documentary

The Metlakahtla case has never been brought before the courts, but is a matter which is being presented to the Government for appropriate action.

FEDERAL GRAND JURY RECOMMENDS INVESTIGATION

On May 29, 1917, by order of the District Court of Alaska, there was forwarded to the Department of the Interior a copy of the report presented by the United States Grand Jury at the special May 1917 term, held at Ketchikan, Alaska, which, among other things, stated:

We also believe that the treatment of Rev. William Duncan by the Bureau of Education is a subject for considerable criticism and we believe it should be looked into by the proper authorities.

This communication from the judicial branch of the Government has not as yet received the consideration of the Secretary of the Interior.

FATHER DUNCAN'S NOTABLE PLACE IN MISSION HISTORY

Who was William Duncan, the founder of the Metlakahtla Christian Mission, and what was the treatment to which the Federal grand jury referred?

William Duncan, a lay missionary affectionately known in the annals of Christian missions as Father Duncan, was a recognized genius in educating, training, and uplifting primitive peoples, and his place in the history of missions amongst the North American Indians is thus authoritatively stated in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, thirteenth edition, volume 14, page 478:

The martyrdom of the Jesuits among the fierce Iroquois, the zeal of Duncan at Metlakahtla, the fate of the Spanish friars in the Pueblos rebellion of 1680 under Popé, the destruction of the Huron missions in 1641-49 and of those of the Apalachee in 1703, the death of Whitman at the hands of the Cayuse in 1847, are but a few of the notable events of mission history. *

William Duncan was born in Yorkshire, England, on April 3, 1832, and died at Metlakahtla, Alaska, on August 30, 1918, after 61 years of continuous missionary service amongst the Indians of the North Pacific coast of America.

The first 30 years of Father Duncan's notable and very fruitful missionary career were spent in British Columbia, the remaining 31 years being devoted to the continuance of his work in Alaska, where on August 7, 1887, on Annette Islands, he founded the mission village of New Metlakahtla, and there reestablished his world famous nonsectarian and self-supporting Metlakahtla Christian Church and Mission.

OCCUPANCY OF ANNETTE ISLANDS LAWFUL AND SANCTIONED BY CONGRESS

The use and occupancy of Annette Islands by William Duncan and his mission colony were lawful and sanctioned by Congress, which set apart Annette Islands Reserve for their exclusive use, and here he built a model mission village with extensive buildings, improvements, and accessories; and, with his own funds, erected industrial plants by means of which he supported and made the mission selfsustaining.

MISSION SEIZED BY BUREAU OF EDUCATION WITHOUT A HEARING OR ANY LEGAL PROCESS

On divers dates set forth in the record, without a hearing and without any legal process, the United States Bureau of Education, acting under the orders of a former Secretary of the Interior who had been grievously deceived and misled both as to the law and the facts, unlawfully seized and despoiled the above-mentioned property of the Metlakahtla Christian Mission, and of the missionary, the late William Duncan; and the Department of the Interior still illegally holds this property in its custody.

The seizures were accompanied by acts of wantonness and ruthlessness in a campaign of vandalism and frightfulness.

OFFICIALS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR PREVENT THE CARRYING OUT OF FATHER DUNCAN'S LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT

In the midst of these inexplicable outrages, committed while attention was distracted by the World War, William Duncan, the venerable missionary, died with a broken heart, and his last will and testament, devising all of his property for perpetuating his mission and his benevolent life work, remains unexecuted because of the illegal acts of agents and officials of the Bureau of Education, and of other officials of the Department of the Interior in upholding them in their wrongful and unlawful course.

ACT CREATING ANNETTE ISLANDS RESERVE ADMINISTERED CONTRARY TO INTENT AND POLICY OF CONGRESS

Under the administration of Annette Islands Reserve by the Commissioner of Education, the affairs of church and State have been