AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The University of Texas at Austin has acquired a letter handwritten by George Washington that school officials say “sheds light” on the first president’s view on Native Americans.
The letter written in 1769 describes the killing of three members of the Mingo tribe by white settlers. In the letter, Washington described the deaths as “villainy” and demanded “justice.” He also wrote that the killings were murder “for it deserves no other name.”
The university’s Dolph Briscoe Center for American History acquired the letter. Briscoe Center Executive Director Don Carleton said the letter “sheds light on Washington’s views on Indian relations and his care for his family.”
UT accepted the letter as a donation from Dallas oil and gas businessman and major UT donor Barron U. Kidd.