Colville Agency Seeks Mills for Indigenous Service
The U.S. Indian Service is putting out a call for contractors to build a flour mill and sawmill on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation.
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.
Proposals for erection of flour mill and portable sawmill, etc., for Indian service, Colville Indian Agency, Washington. Sealed proposals, endorsed 'Proposals for erection of flour mill, etc.,' and addressed to the undersigned at Fort Spokane, Wash., will be received at this agency until 1 o'clock p. m. of July 5, 1892, for the furnishing of all material, machinery and labor, and to erect on the site known as the 'New Mill Site,' on the Coeur d'Alene Indian reservation, Washington, one flouring mill of 30 barrels daily capacity, with a portable sawmill attached; also one seven-room frame dwelling, as per the plans and specifications. Separate bids are required for the furnishing of the machinery and placing same in position, and for the buildings.
“Proposals for the furnishing of all material, machinery and labor, and to erect on the site known as the 'New Mill Site,' on the Coeur d'Alene Indian reservation.”
This notice acts as a cold, bureaucratic record of the dispossession and forced industrialization of Indigenous lands. It highlights the role of federal agencies in imposing colonial economic systems under the guise of 'service' on reservations in the Washington Territory/State.
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