Who Owns the Reservation Land?
An elder of the Puyallup tribe speaks on the controversy regarding non-tribal descendants claiming reservation land allotments.
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.
Peter Stanup, considered the best informed of the Puyallup Indians, was requested to explain the facts regarding allegations that some Puyallups are descendants of a British Columbia tribe, have never been naturalized, and are not entitled to lands granted by the government. A few men to whom patents were granted are not of Puyallup blood, but were adopted by the tribal council. These men—Manuel and Joe Douett, Joe Swayell, Tom La Fleur, and Jim Taylor—married Puyallup wives. Stanup believes the property will go to the descendants of these men, noting that Joe Douett’s family stands to inherit 100 acres including Brown's Point, which will be very valuable when the reservation is opened.
“This property will be very valuable when the reservation is opened.”
This 1891 report touches on the complex legacy of the Dawes Act and the forced allotment of tribal lands. The mention of Brown's Point and the pressure of upcoming reservation openings reflects the era's land-grab mentality that significantly altered the geography and demographic reality of what is now Tacoma and the surrounding region.
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