A Warning to Settlers on the Nisqually Reservation
Federal agents move to enforce strict control over timber and property rights on Indigenous land.
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 settlers have no claim to the timber, wood, or materials of any kind, or building materials of the Nisqually reservation, in connection with which work, or in or upon the premises or claim, or clearing, except by permit or lease. It is strictly forbidden to use any under penalty of law. The system of private speculation in that matter will be rigidly put down. The Superintendent will be at all times ready to grant all due courtesy when it can be done without injury to the interest of the Indians. In case of violation of this provision the right of settlement is forfeited, and the party will be removed in accordance with the law.
“The system of private speculation in that matter will be rigidly put down.”
This notice highlights the aggressive federal oversight of the Nisqually Indian Reservation in the 1850s, a precursor to the systemic land dispossession that would define the next century of state history. These legal maneuvers to control 'speculation' were often used to alienate Indigenous people from their own resources, a struggle that remains central to treaty rights debates in Washington today.
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