R.V. Belt had brief correspondence letters with Carlos Montezuma during the end of the nineteenth century. Belt, who served as acting commissioner during the later 1880’s and early 1890s, corresponded with Montezuma regarding Montezuma’s inquiries about obtaining a physician’s position on a reservation in the United States. Most of the correspondence between Montezuma and belt was kept very short, as Belt merely directed Montezuma to the best course of action, or simply clarifying some of the questions posed by Montezuma in his letters to the Bureau of Indian affairs. Like other “acting Commissioners” during the time period, Belt shared similar views regarding the assimilation and reservation process, but he was very adamant about sticking up for Montezuma and made sure that his voice was heard. While acting as Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Belt played a large role in trying to re-assign Carlos Montezuma to a new work location after Montezuma had experienced difficulties in previous places. One thing that I was unable to find that I would like to know is more in depth knowledge of Belt’s personal beliefs. He acted very respectfully and professionally to Carlos, which makes it seem as if he was in favor of living alongside the Indian, but It would be nice to have more evidence to back this.v
