Washington Lawmaker Urges Sale of Puyallup Reservation Land
Representative John L. Wilson argues that the Puyallup reservation hinders Tacoma's industrial growth, proposing the removal of restrictions on land sales to clear the way for white development.
Hon. John L. Wilson of Washington delivered a speech in the House regarding the Puyallup reservation, which was established by treaty in 1854. The reservation covers approximately 18,000 acres, including land fronting the water adjacent to Tacoma. Wilson argued that while the land is of immense value for commercial and industrial development, it remains largely unused and covered in timber. He contended that the restrictions on selling these lands are detrimental to the city of Tacoma and the prosperity of the region. Wilson proposed removing these restrictions to allow the Puyallup Indians to sell their land, arguing it would provide them with capital to improve their remaining holdings and educate their children, while simultaneously removing a 'blot upon the state' that blocks industrial progress. He emphasized that the growth of Tacoma's commercial development is being retarded by a reservation he characterized as being of no use to the Indians themselves, calling it a 'dog in the manger' policy.
“The Puritan was a pure Anglo-Saxon fighter and trader... and as a rule the world over the barbarian that blocks the way of the Anglo-Saxon who wants to trade ultimately has to travel.”
This 1892 debate over the Puyallup lands prefigures the ongoing friction between indigenous land sovereignty and urban density in the Puget Sound region. Wilson's rhetoric of 'development' as a moral imperative echoes the language of modern-day debates over housing supply and gentrification in Seattle and Tacoma.
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