Indigenous Labor Strike at the Canneries
Native workers on the Northwest coast initiate strikes for better pay as the salmon season begins.
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.
The steamer Otter arrived here last evening from Port Townsend and brings word of a general strike among the Indians employed at the canneries on the Northwest coast. The natives refuse to work unless their pay is advanced. The run of salmon has just commenced at Port Essington. News was also received yesterday that the Indians employed in the sealing business on the coast of the island have struck for an increase of pay. The schooners Alfred Adams and Diamond arrived from the sealing grounds yesterday.
“The natives refuse to work unless their pay is advanced.”
Labor disputes in the 19th century salmon and sealing industries were frequent, highlighting the essential, often exploited, role of Indigenous labor in the early Pacific Northwest economy.
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