Federal Crackdown on Liquor Trade with Tribes
The Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Washington Territory warns traders that liquor trafficking on reservations is a serious federal offense.
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 selling, disposing of, bartering, or giving liquor to Indians in this Territory, or introducing or attempting to introduce the same into the Indian country, is a grave offense punishable by fine and imprisonment by the laws of the United States. Within any Indian Reservation, the sale of any article of traffic or merchandise without first having obtained a license from the Indian Department is also an offense of a high order. Agents have been instructed to exercise renewed vigilance in securing the faithful and vigorous execution of the laws, and in the event of their inability to stay the sale, they are enjoined to call upon the U.S. Troops for assistance.
“Notice is therefore hereby given that selling, disposing of, bartering or giving liquor to Indians in this Territory is a grave offence, punishable by fine and imprisonment.”
This 1862 federal intervention reflects a long history of colonial control over Indigenous economies and health, framing the prohibition of trade as a tool of authority. Similar arguments regarding the regulation of commerce and land on reservations remain central to modern tensions between tribal sovereignty and federal oversight in Washington State.
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