County Board Orders Isolation for Tulalip Reservation
As a smallpox epidemic looms, Snohomish County officials order the Tulalip Indian Agent to restrict movement to contain the outbreak.
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.
Pursuant to call, a special term of the County Commissioners’ Court of Snohomish county, W. T., was held at the Auditor’s office in Snohomish City, Sept. 25, 1876. Present Messrs. Wight and Ferguson. It was ordered by the Board that the Tulalip Indian Agent be requested to keep the Indians on the Reservation during the prevalence of the small pox epidemic, and the Auditor is directed to forward to said Agent at Tulalip, at once, a copy of this order.
“It was ordered by the Board that the Tulalip Indian Agent be requested to keep the Indians on the Reservation during the prevalence of the small pox epidemic.”
This order reflects the 19th-century approach to public health crises, which often relied on restrictive containment measures imposed on Indigenous communities. It offers a stark look at the power dynamics between territorial government and local tribes during medical emergencies.
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