The Guardian of the Stuck River
An Indigenous man appointed by local farmers to guard a river channel finds himself in court after confronting trespassers with a rifle.
Steve Sam, the Indian whose too radical methods of carrying out his duties as guardian of the Stuck River caused his arrest a few weeks ago, has been discharged from custody and the information in the superior court of King County charging him with assault was dismissed. Sam was appointed by some of the farmers in the river valley to watch the stream and see that no one tampered with its channel at the headwaters. The Indian took his position seriously and met some explorers in the preserved district with a rifle in his hands. He was accused of assault, but investigation showed that the location of the alleged offense was upon the Indian reservation. The information was dismissed upon the ground that the state was without jurisdiction.
“The Indian took his position seriously and met some explorers in the preserved district with a rifle in his hands.”
This case highlights the complex and often fraught history of land and water rights in the Puyallup and Stuck River valleys. Today, these areas are managed by various flood control districts, but the 1904 account reminds us that for over a century, the sovereignty of the Muckleshoot and Puyallup tribes has intersected with non-Indigenous attempts to control the landscape.
From readers
No comments yet. If you know something about this story — a correction, a family memory, a source — it belongs here.