The Struggle for Sovereignty at Puyallup
As Congress debates the future of reservation lands, the Puyallup people mount a final, unified stand to retain control of their home.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Senator Allen is working energetically on the Puyallup Indian affair and will probably be able to accomplish something in the line that he desires to see carried out. There will be a meeting of the subcommittee of the Senate committee on Indian affairs on Monday to take further action in the case. On Tuesday the full committee will meet, and Senator Allen will submit further arguments in the Puyallup case. In Tacoma, all but one of the Puyallup Indians have signed a protest against the Dawes bill, which was forwarded to Congress today, demanding that Congress ratify the legislative act for removing the restrictions from the reservation lands. The Indians oppose any measure taking the control of the land out of their hands and object to the presence of an Indian agent. One Indian who will not sign the protest says he has asked Congress to open the reservation and if it thinks it knows better than the Indians what is wanted, let it try and fail.
“The Indians oppose any measure taking the control of the land out of their hands and object to the presence of an Indian agent.”
The 1892 struggle over the Puyallup reservation mirrors the ongoing, complex history of land rights and tribal sovereignty in Washington State. Today, the Puyallup Tribe exercises significant economic and civic power, reflecting a hard-won victory over the paternalistic 'agent' system of the late 19th century.
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