The Makah Nation’s First Harvest of Grass
In an era defined by displacement, a small group of Makah Indians surprised Port Townsend residents by arriving with scythes to offer their labor in the local hay fields.
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.
Last Sunday night the Cyrus Walker arrived here from Neah Bay, bringing five Makah Indians from the reservation who had been permitted by their Agent to come here in search of work. The notable part of the circumstance is that three of these Indians brought with them scythes and snaths, intending to work for our farmers in mowing grass. They have already filled three barns on the reservation with hay and are said to be expert mowers. We believe this is the first time in the annals of our Territory, at least the Puget Sound portion, that Indians have been seen with scythes and snaths working employment, and the fact reflects much credit on the management at the reservation. We are glad to notice this evidence of improvement among the Makahs, formerly the most savage and ferocious tribe on the coast.
“We believe this is the first time in the annals of our Territory, at least the Puget Sound portion, that Indians have been seen with scythes and snaths working employment.”
This 1876 report reflects the paternalistic and often dehumanizing framing of Indigenous labor common in territorial newspapers. While the paper frames the Makahs' agricultural skill as a sign of 'improvement,' it ignores the systemic dispossession occurring at the same time—a pattern of economic marginalization that remains a focus of modern tribal sovereignty and land-rights movements in the Pacific Northwest.
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