The Yakima Hop Fields Seek White Labor
A recruitment circular reveals a clear effort to displace Indigenous pickers in favor of white families for the 1893 harvest.
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 round trip of $6.50 from Tacoma to North Yakima has been announced for the hop-picking season. The Yakima Hop-Growers' Association has issued the following circular: 'The Yakima hop-growers will require about 5000 pickers to take care of the coming crop. The association has established a price of $1 per box of 100 pounds each. Board will cost about 35 cents per day. Our climate is warm and nights free from dew. Pickers go into camp. Shelter is not absolutely needed however, if one desires, a few boards roughly thrown together will answer. If families come, bring such camping outfit as you need. Our object is to encourage white pickers, and families will have preference over Indians. We wish the white pickers to supplant the Indians eventually. We would advise you to come. An outing is assured, and good wages can be earned during the season. Picking begins September 1st and lasts until October 20th.'
“Our object is to encourage white pickers, and families will have preference over Indians. We wish the white pickers to supplant the Indians eventually.”
This notice captures a pivotal era of labor displacement in Washington's agricultural history, where industry associations explicitly sought to re-engineer the workforce demographics. It reflects the broader patterns of systemic exclusion and the racialization of labor that defined Pacific Northwest settlement and industry during the late 19th century.
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