Indians of North America

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Myall

President Roosevelt admits he was mistaken after seeing several quotes that William Myall sent him. Roosevelt appears to have said that Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were introduced to the eating of dogs by Native Americans, but cannot find a quotation that directly attributes this to them. Roosevelt briefly mentions his own experience eating dog at Native American feasts.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-11

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to James Rudolph Garfield

President Roosevelt directs Secretary of the Interior Garfield to carry out the recommendations of Commissioner of Indian Affairs Francis E. Leupp. The War Department should be given ample time to have sufficient troops on the ground.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-11-03

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to David Decamp Thompson

President Roosevelt invites David Decamp Thompson to write to him at any time. He agrees that he should assent to the proposed Oklahoma constitution even if he feels it still has some defects. Roosevelt sees Thompson as one of the real forces for good in the country.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-09-27

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Lyman Abbott

President Roosevelt explains to Lyman Abbott the process of selling Rosebud reservation land. Roosevelt’s agents wanted to sell the land for $5 per acre, however, they decided to sell for $4 and $3 to settlers. There is still a lot of available land for sale. They want to ensure that Native Americans receive as much money as possible while still settling as many homesteaders too.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-02-26

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to James Gibbons

President Roosevelt has received Cardinal Gibbons’s letter and cannot do as Gibbons desires regarding a policy by Commissioner of Indian Affairs Frances E. Leupp. Roosevelt supports Leupp’s policy but regrets that information was not shared with Gibbons properly. Roosevelt asserts that he always acts in regard to what the Native Americans want, particularly in regards to their Catholic schools. He says a new petition will need to be written if Gibbons wishes to have action taken.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-11-08

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Maurice Francis Egan

President Roosevelt asks Maurice Francis Egan to forward his letter to T. A. Daly for him. Roosevelt wishes to meet with Egan when he returns from Panama about Commissioner of Indian Affairs Francis E. Leupp and “our Indian friends.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-11-05

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Francis E. Leupp

President Roosevelt sends Commissioner of Indian Affairs Lepup papers relating to the charges against Governor of Oklahoma Frank C. Frantz. He requests Leupp’s help investigating charges concerning Frantz’s conduct as Osage Indian Agent.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-18

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Samuel A. Harper

President Roosevelt thanks Samuel A. Harper for his letter but chastises him for requesting more insight on Aaron Burr when Roosevelt is busy with a myriad of current affairs.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-09-12

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Ethan Allen Hitchcock

President Roosevelt has heard from Senator Robert M. La Follette that the bill Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock is currently considering will do “great injustice” to a number of Native Americans, and asks Hitchcock to report whether this is a large enough issue to warrant vetoing the bill. Roosevelt has also heard that an assistant of Tams Bixby, of the Dawes Commission, took a leave of absence to brief a law office, and says that if this is accurate “not only should the assistant be proceeded against, but it seems to me that Bixby should be required to show cause why action should not be taken against him.”

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-20

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Robert M. La Follette

President Roosevelt provides Senator La Follette with an update on the matters he had contacted him about in relation to the Indian appropriation bill. Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock believes he has the power to settle the Mrs. Lou Bumgarner matter equitably, and that there is no reason to fail to sign the bill. Hitchcock also ordered an immediate investigation into the other matter that La Follette mentioned to Roosevelt concerning the conduct of an assistant of Dawes Commissioner Tams Bixby.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-21

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Norman B. Wood

President Roosevelt was recently presented Norman B. Wood’s book, Lives of Famous Indian Chiefs, by Illinois Senator Albert J. Hopkins, and he thanks Wood both for the book and for its dedication to Roosevelt. Roosevelt is interested in Native Americans, and is looking forward to reading the volume.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-06-11

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William B. Hoggatt

President Roosevelt tells Alaska Governor Hoggatt that he believes that ultimately it will be impossible to leave the reindeer under the care of the educational department, and that they will have to be supervised by the government in some degree. He hopes that there will eventually be large herds of reindeer belonging to both Native Americans and white settlers, but “what is necessary ultimately may not at all be the right thing at the moment.” Roosevelt proposes leaving the matter unchanged for the moment so Hoggatt can study the situation and make recommendations.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-04-23

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Howard Allen Bridgman

President Roosevelt tells Howard Allen Bridgman that the editorial he sent Roosevelt is entirely false, and has asked Commissioner of Indian Affairs Francis E. Leupp to communicate with Bridgman. In the meantime, Roosevelt also tells Bridgman the facts surrounding the schooling of Native Americans, and how funds are sent either to Catholic schools or government schools.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-04-14

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt Frank Basil Tracy

President Roosevelt appreciates Frank Basil Tracy’s letter about the Moro fight. He will be admitted by the usher Major Charles D. A. Loeffler, a Civil War veteran. Loeffler once shared his experience of attacking a Comanche camp and how sorry he felt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-03-17

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edward S. Curtis

President Roosevelt suggests to Edward S. Curtis that when he publishes his book, he may wish to contact Natalie Curtis to write up the songs and music of the Native Americans, as she has made a noteworthy study of them.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-02-07

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Francis E. Leupp

President Roosevelt informs Commissioner of Indian Affairs Leupp of his recent discussion with Senator Nelson W. Aldrich, who had been misinformed about Leupp’s work by Father W. H. Ketcham. Roosevelt gave Aldrich three summary statements regarding the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, which he lists. These include intolerance of fraud concerning Native petitions, enabling expression of Native opinions, and providing an equal financial basis for education at government and church schools.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-01-25

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Francis E. Leupp

President Roosevelt believes Commissioner of Indian Affairs Leupp’s regulations for the disposal of moneys for Native American schools does not carry out “in one or two particulars” the intent of his February letter to Secretary of the Interior Ethan Allen Hitchcock. In that letter, Roosevelt asserted that certain moneys could be used to support Native American schools that were affiliated with Catholic or Protestant schools. The law against using public moneys for such schools applies only to public funds, and not funds controlled by Native Americans themselves. Roosevelt notes that while funds are held in trust for use of this purpose, some treaty funds may have been improperly used to pay for these schools, and instructs Leupp to cease payment to the schools from these funds at the end of the fiscal year.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-12-23

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Edward S. Curtis

President Roosevelt praises Edward S. Curtis’s work. Curtis’s documentation of Native Americans through photographs is an extremely important undertaking, as the native peoples are beginning to assimilate into the broader culture of the United States and lose some of their unique cultural traits.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-12-16

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Ethan Allen Hitchcock

President Roosevelt asks Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock if Clinton Rogers Woodruff should represent the Yakima Indians.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1905-05-27

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to George Worthington

President Roosevelt asks Bishop Worthington to write to Commissioner of Indian Affairs Francis E. Leupp about the matter. Roosevelt supports Leupp’s idea to allot the funds currently held for the tribes to individuals, as that would help alleviate the question of money either being provided or not provided for various religious schools.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-12-10

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919