Teddy Roosevelt said that line in January 1886 , during a speech in New York. The wording is usually quoted as, “I don’t go so far as to think that the only good Indians are the dead Indians, but I believe nine out of every 10 are.”

Context

The quote is widely cited as part of Roosevelt’s broader racist views toward Native Americans, and it appears in later historical coverage that places it in that 1886 speech.

Note on wording

The line is often repeated in shortened form as “the only good Indian is a dead Indian,” but the version attributed to Roosevelt in this source is the longer January 1886 wording.