Morgan, Jacob Casimera (14 September 1879–10 May 1950), Navajo political leader, was born at Nahodeshgizh, New Mexico, near the Navajo reservation. He was born into a traditional Navajo family, which herded sheep in the area near Crownpoint. His father’s given name was Casimera; his mother’s name is not known. Morgan enrolled in school at the age of seven. Most Navajo children of the era did not attend school, but Morgan’s decision was prompted by his father’s joining the U.S. Army in 1886 to serve as a scout in a final campaign against the Apaches. Young Jacob visited his father at Fort Wingate and saw another Navajo boy dressed in a school uniform. Admiring the look of the outfit, Morgan chose to attend the other boy’s school at Fort Defiance, Arizona. Soon after his arrival, he volunteered through the act of raising his hand, but not knowing what he was agreeing to, to transfer to another government boarding school in Grand Junction, Colorado. In the spare new surroundings of the Colorado institution, Morgan learned to play the cornet, was converted to Christianity, and gained increasing fluency in English....
