The Northern Pacific Railroad's Shadowy Claim on Puyallup Land
A railroad attorney hints at a complex legal scheme to extract funds from the Puyallup reservation, sparking local debates over land ownership.
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John H. Mitchell, Jr., counsel for the Northern Pacific Railroad, visited Tacoma to discuss the legal status of the Puyallup reservation. Mitchell argued that because the title to the reservation lands has not been fully extinguished, the railroad maintains a claim to the odd-numbered sections within the reservation grant. He suggested that if the government prevents the company from claiming these specific lands, it must provide indemnity lands elsewhere. Mitchell further intimated that if the government moved to settle the issue, it might arrange to pay the railroad the proceeds from the sale of the reservation's sections, potentially diverting funds intended for the Puyallup people. Locals and legal observers remain skeptical, with many believing the company possesses no legitimate claim to the reservation land at all.
“It matters not which horn of the dilemma the Northern Pacific has to choose, it will come out all right.”
This dispute over the Puyallup reservation reflects the era's aggressive corporate encroachment on Indigenous lands, a struggle for sovereignty that continues to resonate in modern legal battles over tribal land rights and state-level policy in Washington.
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