1861 Treaty Sets Aside Quinault and Quileute Reservation
Federal authorities announce the formal setting aside of lands for the Quinault and Quileute tribes, imposing new restrictions on settlers.
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.
Notice is hereby given that the tract of land within the following boundaries has been set aside as a United States Indian Reservation, under the treaty with the Quinault and Quileute tribes. All persons are hereby positively warned against settling or trespassing on said tract of land, or of fishing within said boundaries. The carcasses of all whales and other marine animals floating ashore within the boundaries of said Reservation belong to and are the sole property of said Indians. No trading will be allowed with said Indians, except by persons duly authorized by law.
“All persons are hereby positively warned against settling or trespassing on said tract of land.”
This notice marks the formalization of displacement and the attempt to fence off Indigenous lands in the Washington Territory. It captures the heavy-handed federal bureaucracy of the era which fundamentally altered the landscape and sovereignty of the Olympic Peninsula.
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