Federal Officials Move to Ban Private Indigenous Land Claims
Federal Indian agents warn that private acquisition of land from Indigenous people without government oversight is strictly prohibited.
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: The undersigned, Superintendent of Indian Affairs, notifies all persons that any purchase or acquisition of land or claims of any kind from the Indians, or trade with them in violation of the laws of the United States, is strictly forbidden. The Superintendent will at all times and at any cost protect the Indians and defend their rights as provided by law and treaties. Any persons engaging in such illicit trade will be severely prosecuted. Signed, I.I. Stevens, Governor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Olympia, W.T., Feb 11, 1854.
“The Superintendent will at all times and at any cost protect the Indians and defend their rights as provided by law and treaties.”
This notice reflects the heavy-handed and often paternalistic role of the territorial government in mediating Indigenous relations, a period that set the stage for the dispossession of lands that remains a central point of legal and cultural contention in Washington today.
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