6/12/2007:
As tension began to grow between Native Americans and US Government officials in Dakota Territory during the mid-1870s, a letter arrived in St. Paul, Minnesota addressed to Major James McLaughlin; a letter that would begin McLaughlin’s career as an Indian Agent. On this day in 1876, that fateful letter from Moses K. Armstrong completed its journey from Washington, DC and found itself in the hands of Major James McLaughlin.
In 1871, the United States Indian Service established the Devils Lake Agency at Fort Totten, with Major W. H. Forbes appointed as the first agent. Upon entering the US Indian Service that same year, James McLaughlin became Forbes’s assistant agent. Both men worked side by side until Forbes passed away in July of 1875. In a report to the Secretary of the Interior in 1876, McLaughlin wrote that Forbes’s death was a "severe loss," to the Indians at Devils Lake. A loss that contributed to the growing tension of the time, and was amplified by the absence of an agent.
Two months passed by before Paul E. Beckwith arrived at Devils Lake to replace Forbes. Life for Native Americans in Dakota Territory was unsettled at this time. This unease combined with uncertainty about Beckwith and fear of neglect led many Indians to leave Devils Lake for other Agencies, such as Standing Rock.
Nearly a year had passed after Forbes’s death, when on June 8th of 1876 the United States Senate confirmed the President’s appointment of a new Indian agent at Devils Lake. On June 9th, Moses K. Armstrong, the former delegate from Dakota Territory, wrote a formal letter to McLaughlin, informing him of his confirmation. "My Dear Sir," wrote Armstrong, "The Senate confirmed your nomination yesterday as Indian Agent at Devils Lake."
The good news reached McLaughlin on June 12, 1876, and was followed the same day by two telegraphs from Thomas Reedy, an official with the US Indian Service. The first telegraph read, "Beckwith is going as far as Fargo with family. When may we expect your answer," and the second telegraph read, "Will resend team from Totten to meet you,". Beckwith, who had been in charge of Devils Lake for a little less than a year, was leaving and Reedy was eager to know McLaughlin’s answer.
McLaughlin accepted the position, and on July fourth of 1876, Major James McLaughlin assumed the role as Agent at the Devils Lake Agency at Fort Totten.
In his letter to McLaughlin, Moses K. Armstrong wrote, "I leave (Washington, DC) tomorrow, now that your matter is over." But McLaughlin’s matter was far from over. Major James McLaughlin’s position as Indian Agent at Devils Lake was only the beginning of a successful career spanning close to 40 years, working to improve the condition of life for Indians, and attempting to ease the tensions between Native and White Americans.
By Ann Erling
Sources:
James McLaughlin Collection. Role One, 1876.
McLaughlin, James. Annual Report: Commissioner of Indian Affairs, to the Secretary of the Interior. 1876.
McCrady, Millington. Dictionary of American Biography. 1933.