Puyallup Tribe Reclaims Agency Over Their Land
Defying federal 'red tape' and the Wilson Bill, the Puyallup Tribe organizes their own land company to handle railroad right-of-way construction on their own terms.
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.
Work is to begin by the Indians of the Puyallup reservation on the Frank C. Ross railroad line. Tired of two years of government delays and the restrictive Wilson Bill, the Puyallup people have decided to act for themselves. They reject the plan for a commission to manage their lands with proceeds going to the U.S. Treasury, insisting instead on direct payment for their individual and school lands. The tribe has organized a land company to manage their assets under the probate court of the state rather than federal guardianship. As one member stated, they refuse to let their lands be sold from under their feet by syndicates while they are treated as helpless. They are prepared to defend their autonomy against federal intervention.
“If the United States has money to pay for expensive commissions, we have no objection, but will not pay the expenses of any junketing commissions, nor will we submit to any guardianship other than under the probate court of the state.”
This account captures a pivot point in Tribal sovereignty, where the Puyallup people asserted their right to control development on their reservation. It highlights a recurring theme in Pacific Northwest history: the struggle to bypass federal paternalism and extractive 'junketing commissions' in favor of Tribal self-governance and direct economic benefit.
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