The Puyallup Nation Defies the Commission
Declaring they will no longer participate in negotiations, the Puyallup people reject the federal government's attempt to sell or partition their lands under the Wilson-Dawes measure.
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.
The Puyallup Indians have taken the bull by the horns and have given the reservation commission notice that they will not meet with it. In a previous communication they notified the commission that they would give them ten days or thereabouts in which to arrange for a meeting. This was done in order to secure action by the commission forthwith so that the present congress would have an opportunity to act upon the bills affecting the reservation. It was understood by the leaders of the Puyallups that nothing would be done in the matter in congress so long as the report of the present commission had not been submitted. In a letter sent by the Indians' committee today, they state: 'We hereby give you notice that the landowners and people of the Puyallup reservation, formerly the Puyallup Indians, all of whom we represent, that we will hereafter refuse to meet your commission at any time or any place. We will not now nor at any time consent to your acting under the Wilson-Dawes measure; and will not consent to the sale or disposition of any of our land, either held by patent, individually, or in common, known as the school farm.' The committee emphasized their decision is final to ensure they are not accused of being derelict in their own defense.
“We will hereafter refuse to meet your commission at any time or any place, either as a people, individually, or by committee.”
This 1893 standoff highlights the ongoing struggle of Indigenous nations against federal 'allotment' policies designed to break up tribal landholdings. Today, the Puyallup Tribe remains a powerful, sovereign presence in the Tacoma area, having successfully reclaimed significant portions of their land and economic autonomy through decades of legal and political advocacy.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.