Ed he did indeed speakhighly on native Americans, He also charged Lewis and Clark to explore the Louisiania purchase. One main concern Jefferson's plans for the nation depended upon western expansion and access to international markets for American farm products. This vision was threatened, however, when France regained control of Louisiana. Napoleon, who had now risen to power in the French Revolution, threatened to block American access to the important port of New Orleans on the Mississippi River. New American settlements west of the Appalachian Mountains depended upon river transport to get their goods to market since overland trade to the east was expensive and impractical. Hence he did the purchase. If you read his writings on slavery, he dream was that "colored" would one day live side by side with everyone as freemen. I believe his thought process was the same with native Americans, this feeling we will just live and work as one. What he did not know , nor anyone else for that matter, how native American's needed the land to live and their culture would be destroyed by this movement. Remember Lewis and Clark were the first to explore at this early time.