T.J Morgan and Carlos Montezuma exchanged several letters including topics ranging from minor needs or wants from Montezuma to Montezuma sharing his beliefs and voicing his opinion on the current state of Native American Indians living in the West. Morgan was The Commissioner of Indian Affairs, succeeding J.D.C. Atkins at the end of the nineteenth century. While Morgan held similar beliefs in some respects to the Commissioners that came before him, Morgan voiced his disagreements on major issues such as the Reservation Systems. He believed that the reservation system would ultimately fail the Indians, and that each Indian must be thought of on the basis of Individuality, rather than on the judgement of the whole. His “Suggestion on the Treatment of Indians” which was released in 1889, reflected these changing viewpoints that he had. He wanted Indians to be viewed not separately, but in line with every day American Citizens. Montezuma voiced his support to the Commissioner because of his own knowledge and experience and his beliefs of the future. With all this being said, Morgan maintained the majority opinion of society during the time that the Native American must become white and must shed their identity of being Indian. He wanted to give them the opportunity to assimilate and become successful in society, and was more reformist then some of his predecessors. Towards the end of his life and his time as Commissioner, in 1902 he addressed the west with his speech entitled “Indian Education” in which he expressed that the masses of Americans, including Indians, must become educated and will be the basis for success for the future of the United States. He wanted to improve the education process of Indians and therefore give them more of a chance to succeed in society which would in turn help the United States succeed and prosper. One thing that I would most like to know is how well received he was when he came out publically with these statements and is he was generally accepted or shunned for these comments.
