The Judge Who Cleared the Way to Sell Puyallup Reservation Land
In April 1895, a federal court refused to block the sale of Puyallup Indian Reservation lands, ending an injunction and setting the stage for dispossession.
TACOMA, April 22.—The Puyallup Indian land litigation was decided today in the United States court. Judge Gilbert handed down an opinion sustaining the demurrer of the Puyallup Indian Commissioner to the injunction suit brought by Tommy and others against the Commissioner. The court refused to enjoin the commission from selling the lands of the reservation under the act of Congress. Judge Gilbert held that the judiciary had no right to interfere with an official in the discharge of his duties when the act under which he was proceeding granted him discretionary powers. The decision, of course, ends the injunction proceeding. The sale of the lands will begin May 1.
“The decision, of course, ends the injunction proceeding. The sale of the lands will begin May 1.”
The Puyallup Reservation remains a living tribal homeland, and the 1895 ruling is part of the long legal history by which Indigenous land was converted into saleable property. The episode echoes today’s fights over treaty rights, land use, and who gets to decide what happens to tribal territory.
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