United States. Office of Indian Affairs

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to W. B. Frye

President Roosevelt informs W. B. Frye that he has been designated as a committee member to compile a manual regarding United States Government transportation in accordance with the Committee on Department Methods. Roosevelt notes that Leonard H. Mattingly of the Treasury Department, S. T. Browne of the War Department, and Major Chauncey Baker of the Army will also be on the panel.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-11

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to C. B. Baker

President Roosevelt tells Major Baker that he has been designated as a committee member to compile a manual regarding U.S. Government transportation in accordance with the Committee on Department Methods. Roosevelt notes that Leonard H. Mattingly of the Treasury Department, W. B. Frye of Indian Affairs, and S. T. Browne of the War Department will also be on the panel.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-12-11

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Porter J. McCumber

Senator McCumber’s colleagues and the Office of Indian Affairs protested against the course of action suggested by McCumber. President Roosevelt will wait until fall before making a final decision.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-07-03

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Francis E. Leupp

President Roosevelt forwards a letter to Commissioner of Indian Affairs Leupp from William Malcolm Hazlett.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-10

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Michael E. Bannin

President Roosevelt offers Michael E. Bannin an appointment as Indian Commissioner. Roosevelt explains the availability of the position is due to current Indian Commissioner Maurice Francis Egan being appointed the Minister to Denmark.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-06-20

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Report upon the organization of the Department of the Interior

Assistant Secretary of the Treasury Keep, Comptroller of Currency Murray, and Chief Forester Pinchot provide President Roosevelt with a detailed report of the organization and operations of the Department of the Interior. The report highlights “grave defects” in the structure of the Department such as redundant job functions, an “abuse of letter writing” that impedes public business, and rampant inefficiency. The report recommends the dissolution of several divisions.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1906-10-22

Creator(s)

Keep, Charles Hallam, 1861-1941; Murray, Lawrence O., 1864-1926; Pinchot, Gifford, 1865-1946

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Clarence D. Clark

President Theodore Roosevelt expresses to Senator Clarence D. Clark his confidence in the judgement of Alice Robertson. Her recommendation of Inspector J. George Wright carries great weight with Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1904-04-04

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Lyman Abbott

President Roosevelt explains to Lyman Abbott the difficulties in appointing suitable “Indian agents” and reviews six affirmative steps he has taken regarding capital and labor.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-09-05

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William A. Jones

President Roosevelt instructs Commissioner Jones to implement George Bird Grinnell’s suggestions regarding Indian affairs.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-08-24

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Natalie Curtis Burlin

President Roosevelt thanks Natalie Curtis for the “interesting song” and will ask the Indian Commissioner for the permit Curtis desires.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-07-02

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to C. Hart Merriam

President Roosevelt requests that Dr. Merriam report on the condition of Native American tribes and their treatment by government agents in the West.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-03-31

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to John Shanley

President Roosevelt was pleased to appoint Mr. Carrigan an Indian Agent.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1903-03-19

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to George Bird Grinnell

President Roosevelt encloses a letter from George W. Reed that recommends the retention of Agent George H. Bingenheimer at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. Roosevelt requests George Bird Grinnell’s opinion on the letter.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-07-02

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Ethan Allen Hitchcock

President Roosevelt would like Secretary of the Interior Hitchcock to have the Indian Office reexamine their policy of stopping rations for Native Americans under certain conditions. Roosevelt has been convinced that the policy is being used too often, and under dubious circumstances.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-06-23

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to E. L. Bonner

President Roosevelt does not want Indian agents appointed as a reward for political service. There have already been several scandals in Indian Affairs and Roosevelt does not believe that the average politician is equipped to handle the peculiarities of the Indian office.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-04-22

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to Patrick J. Ryan

President Roosevelt is pleased to appoint Archbishop Ryan. Ryan was appointed to the Office of Indian Affairs.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-04-21

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Theodore Roosevelt to William Atkinson Jones

President Roosevelt believes that the grazing land on reservations should be held in severalty but would like to have the severalty for groups rather than individuals.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1902-04-15

Creator(s)

Roosevelt, Theodore, 1858-1919

Letter from Gifford Pinchot to Theodore Roosevelt

Gifford Pinchot writes to Theodore Roosevelt in Africa to provide a recap of current events. An investigation into Secretary of the Interior Richard Achilles Ballinger and the Forest Service will begin shortly. Pinchot believes that special interests control Congress and President William H. Taft’s administration, whose actions are characterized by “a most surprising weakness and indecision.” Taft has abandoned many of Roosevelt’s policies, and Pinchot sees a rift emerging between Taft and the more progressive elements of the Republican party. Pinchot sends his love to Kermit Roosevelt.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1909-12-31

Creator(s)

Pinchot, Gifford, 1865-1946

Letter from United States Civil Service Commission to Theodore Roosevelt

United States Civil Service Commissioners John Charles Black, John Avery McIlhenny, and Henry F. Greene oppose President Roosevelt’s order to allow Indians non-competitive consideration for messenger positions in the Office of Indian Affairs. Their main objection is that the order goes against both the commission’s conduct of orderly affairs and Roosevelt’s own prior instructions. The commission provides documentation showing that no rules provide for the noncompetitive consideration of Indians and expresses concern about taking race or color into consideration in the classification of service.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1908-02-01

Creator(s)

United States Civil Service Commission

Letter from Francis E. Leupp to William Loeb

Commissioner Francis E. Leupp informs William Loeb about a trader in the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota who has been taking advantage of Native Americans through his trading. Leupp asks Loeb to speak to President Roosevelt informally about the situation, especially because Egbert J. DeBell has spoken to South Dakota Senator Robert J. Gamble. Leupp requests that Roosevelt not interfere, or at the very least, reach out to Leupp for a report. Thus far, Leupp has informed DeBell that his trading license will be revoked in the coming months and has tasked two men, including Charles L. Davis, with looking into the DeBell situation and traders’ accounts in general.

Collection

Library of Congress Manuscript Division

Creation Date

1907-12-12

Creator(s)

Leupp, Francis E. (Francis Ellington), 1849-1918