Chief Moses Demands His Land—and a Hearing
A Columbia chief says the government cannot take back a reservation just because his people refused to move onto it; the cabinet agrees he has grounds.
WASHINGTON, May 8.—It is understood the case of Chief Moses has been considered by the cabinet, and it is the impression that he has some grounds for complaint against the Secretary of the Interior. Chief Moses' band had a reservation set aside for them in Northern Washington, but they refused to go upon it. It was accordingly in part taken away from them. This made Moses so mad that he declined to receive further communications from the Interior Department unless they came through the Secretary of War, and demanded a chance to come to Washington to see the President about it. The Secretary of the Interior is inclined to refuse him permission to leave his country on such missions. It is understood, however, that the cabinet holds that he should be heard. The treaty does not afford an excuse for taking land away. The land granted under this treaty vested properly, and the title is not lost because it is not used. Moses seems to have the best side of the controversy so far.
“The treaty does not afford an excuse for taking land away. The land granted under this treaty vested properly, and the title is not lost because it is not used.”
The article treats a Native leader's treaty rights as a legal debate, but it belongs to the same dispossession that shaped Washington's reservation map. The central question—can the government reclaim land because a tribe did not occupy it in the way officials demanded?—still echoes in modern tribal sovereignty and land-rights fights.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.