The Right to Testify
A Seattle magistrate clarifies that Indigenous people in Snoqualmie Precinct have the legal standing to sue in civil court and testify in trials.
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.
A number of cases have come before the Justice in Snoqualmie Precinct, in which Indians have brought suit for civil damages against white men. As many are not well posted in regard to the provisions of the U.S. Statute defining civil rights, as relating to the status of Indians in this particular, we have been requested by the magistrate to state that Indians have a right under that statute to bring suit in civil cases and to testify in both civil and criminal cases, it being left to the Judge to pass upon the merits of the evidence according to his discretion.
“Indians have a right under that statute to bring suit in civil cases and to testify in both civil and criminal cases.”
This 1876 notice highlights the ongoing, often contentious legal struggle for Indigenous civil rights in Washington Territory, long before Native American citizenship was codified by the federal government in 1924. It serves as a reminder that the courthouse was a primary battleground for sovereignty and equal protection under the law for local tribes during the early years of statehood.
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