The Struggle for Chief Moses' Reservation
A detailed federal report traces the long-standing tensions between settlers and the Columbia Band over land rights in Northeastern Washington.
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.
During the year 1878, the settlers of Washington Territory were greatly excited over the disaffection of the followers of the outbreak of the Shoshones and Bannocks. Chief Moses and his band, numbering about 200, were accused of participating in certain murders. In April, it was agreed that a reservation adjoining the Colville reservation should be established for him. On the 19th of April, the Columbia reservation, consisting of 1,000,000 acres, was established. On Moses' return to Washington Territory, he declined to go on the reservation, but set up title to it and leased it for a nominal sum for grazing purposes. At the time of the establishment, there were a number of farmers and miners located on lands in the northern part of the reservation, whose rights were not respected. On the 23rd of February, a strip fifteen miles wide was cut off from this reservation. Moses complained bitterly that he was being robbed of his property. Recently, a conference was held in Washington, D.C., where it was agreed that the Secretary would ask Congress to make a suitable appropriation to enable Moses and his band to settle on the Colville reservation, and that the Columbia reservation be abandoned.
“Moses complained bitterly that he was being robbed of his property.”
This story outlines the aggressive federal policy of the late 19th century that forcibly relocated Indigenous groups to consolidate land for settlers. Chief Moses' efforts to negotiate for his people demonstrate both the resilience of Indigenous leadership and the systematic dispossession enacted by the territorial government.
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