Montezuma, Carlos (c. 1867–1923)

Yavapai physician, leader, and editor. He worked all his life for the elimination of the reservation system and the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), advocating instead citizenship for Indians.

Born in the Superstition Mountains in present-day Arizona, Montezuma was sent to Chicago by his adoptive father. He received his MD from Chicago Medical School in 1888 and in 1896 he began private practice in Chicago. In 1906 he declined to serve as head of the BIA. In 1916 he started Wassaja, an Indian affairs magazine.