Tragedy at the Puyallup Indian School
A young student is killed in a firearm accident during a gathering on the reservation.
Tacoma, June 4. Special—Joseph Lewis, a British Columbia Indian who has been attending school at the Puyallup Indian reservation, was accidentally shot and killed early this morning by his cousin, MacInty. The scene of the accident was at Robert Burney's place on the prairie about one and a half miles south of Puyallup. Lewis lived three minutes after being shot. He received the full charge from one barrel of a shotgun in the neck and face. A large party of students from the Puyallup Indian school went out to the prairie where the accident occurred for the purpose of picking wild strawberries. Guards put out during the recess, and early this morning, after the guards were taken off, a large number of the young Indians gathered around MacInty, who was examining a gun in a sort of experimental way. They did not know the gun was loaded. He set the hammer and took aim at Lewis's forehead. In a second the deed was done. Coroner Parks was notified. He went to the scene and had the remains brought into the city. Lewis was between 16 and 17 years of age. He was a sergeant of cadets, and as an officer was beloved by all who were under his discipline.
“They did not know the gun was loaded. He set the hammer and took aim at Lewis's forehead. In a second the deed was done.”
This tragic incident at the Puyallup Indian School reflects the era's complex and often fraught history of boarding schools. Today, the Puyallup Tribe of Indians is a sovereign nation with a robust educational and cultural presence in the Tacoma area, far removed from the colonial structures of the 19th century.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.