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69-576: The Puget Sound War began over land rights and ended in a cloud of controversy surrounding the hanging of Chief Leschi. The catalyst of the war was the Treaty of Medicine Creek of 1854. Negotiated by Washington Territory Governor Isaac Stevens , the treaty preserved Indian fishing rights, but took away prime Nisqually farmland. Leschi, chosen to negotiate the treaty with Stevens, was outraged and chose to fight rather than give up his people's land. The fighting commenced on October 27, 1855, when "Eaton's Rangers,"

138-644: A Lushootseed-speaking Southern Coast Salish people indigenous to the Puget Sound region of Washington state . They are primarily enrolled in and represented by the Puyallup Tribe of Indians , a federally-recognized Indian tribe located near Tacoma . For centuries, the Puyallup and their sub-groups had several villages along the Puyallup River and the nearby coastline. Each village was autonomous, but united in

207-458: A band centered on Clarks Creek, the location of their village. They were allied closely with a Steilacoom village on Clover Creek. Their name is derived from txʷskʷawqʷ , 'full of ravens', the name of Clarks Creek. The sqʷədabš (also recorded sqʷadabš , and not to be confused with the identically-named sqʷədabš ( Squinamish ) on the Skagit River ) had a village at

276-459: A citizen militia under Captain Charles Eaton, were involved in a clash with Nisqually tribesmen. James McAllister near Connell's Prairie, First Lieutenant of Eaton's Rangers, and Michael Connell, an American settler, were killed. Four days later, two militiamen, Joseph Miles and Abram Benton Moses, were killed. The war itself consisted of a series of short skirmishes with relatively few deaths on

345-561: A creek then known as She-nah-num by the natives, or Medicine Creek by white settlers. The creek is now known as McAllister Creek . The signing took place in Thurston County, Washington , on December 26, 1854, in a grove of Douglas fir trees well known to the tribes. The single tree remaining on the site from the original grove at the Nisqually River Delta was a de facto monument, known as Treaty Tree. On June 14, 1922 (Flag Day)

414-677: A farm near Steilacoom; coastal tribes such as the Cowlitz were moved to a site on the Chehalis River; the Chinook people were moved inland to Fort Vancouver. All these remained captive until at least the end of the war, a span of nearly two years. The final battle of the war occurred on or about March 10, 1856, when a column of approximately 110 volunteers from the Washington Territorial Volunteers were ambushed near Connell's Prairie by

483-632: A force estimated at 150 Native American tribesmen, supposedly led by Chief Leschi of the Nisqually tribe. After several hours of skirmishing and several charges by the Volunteers, the Natives withdrew, taking their dead and wounded with them, but leaving behind bloody clothing and drums, among other items. Following the battle, Leschi and his remaining warriors retreated over the Cascades into Eastern Washington. Leschi

552-593: A large contingent of Puyallup gamblers visited the Snoqualmie to challenge them to a large Slahal game and horse races. The Puyallup side was led by a man named sɬəy̓shal . After several days of playing, the Puyallup eventually defeated the Snoqualmie, both in the races and in Slahal. Since the Fox Island Council in 1856, the Puyallup have continued to fight for treaty rights and civil rights, and were influential in

621-478: A mat roof. The floor was dug out and replaced with stone, upon which cedar twigs and bark were laid to make a fire. Each house could hold up to one or two people. Sweat bathing was done for many reasons, including cleanliness and physical health. It was also an act of ritual purification for a myriad of scenarios: after intercourse, contact with blood (including menstruation and childbirth), or the murder of another, as preparation for hunting or gambling, before taking on

690-561: A new plaque was dedicated in front of a tree growing from a seedling of the last Treaty Tree. This off-spring tree is growing on the bluff of the Thurston County Courthouse campus. Representatives of local treaty tribes joined Thurston County Commissioners for the ceremony. The plaque is inscribed as follows: "The treaty of Medicine Creek was signed December 26, 1854 by representatives of the United States Government and

759-504: A period of fasting, ritual bathing, and undertaking difficult tasks to prove oneself. There are two main types of powers: sqəlalitut and dxʷdahəb . sqəlalitut powers helped one gain prestige in social life, and also were believed to cause people to develop certain personality traits. dxʷdahəb powers are special and only attainable by a person also called a dxʷdahəb (usually translated as shaman , doctor, or medicine man ). People with these powers are believed to have

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828-597: A shared culture, language, and history. In 1854, the Puyallup were signatories to the Treaty of Medicine Creek , which ceded their land to the United States in return for the Puyallup Reservation and several other treaty rights. Following the controversial treaty, they participated in the Puget Sound War , eventually resulting in the 1856 Fox Island Council which increased the size of their reservation. Since then,

897-452: A slave was not a slave, but carried the social taboo from being of slave descent and faced challenges in rising to a higher class. Authority in traditional Puyallup society was gained in several main ways. The first way was by being a highly respected professional in a field, such as being a master hunter or carver. The second way was through being a respected and well-liked public figure; a diplomat and leader who could take charge and advance

966-413: A spirit quest, as an act of mourning, and in general, from a desire for spiritual purification. Additionally, villages would host competitions to see who could last inside a sweat house the longest. A sweat bath was immediately followed with a cold-water plunge. The main form of water transportation for the Puyallup was historically the canoe, of which there are six types: the war canoe, the freight canoe,

1035-522: A time capsule to be opened in 2076. The DAR Plaque disappeared from the site during the 1970s. The large Treaty Tree, which had been languishing for decades, was formally recognized as diseased by 1975, and by 1979 was dead. Seeds from Treaty Tree that were gathered in the 1970s were re-planted in a circle 40 feet from it. The dead snag was left standing and still visible from the Interstate until 2007, finally falling during severe windstorms. In June 2013,

1104-516: A year of skirmishes that followed was that Nisqually Chief Leschi was hanged for murder. Leschi would be informally exonerated by the Historical Court of Inquiry of Washington State in a unanimous, though non-legally binding, ruling in December 2004. Puyallup people The Puyallup ( pew- AL -əp ; Lushootseed : spuyaləpabš , lit.   'people of the bend' ) are

1173-441: Is a large gathering for the purpose of giving away gifts which can be both inter-tribal and intra-tribal. The potlatch system was historically the basis for friendly relations between different villages and tribes. Even today, potlatches can be held for many different reasons. Traditionally, the person throwing the potlatch invited important people from outside their village, who in turn, would invite whoever they wished to join them at

1242-482: Is believed that many signatures were forced or entirely forged. The hasty treaty negotiations, poor reservation conditions, and persecution and outright murder of Native people resulted in growing tensions between several tribes and the United States. The Puyallup, along with several other tribes, fought the United States in the 1855-1856 Puget Sound War , also called the Treaty Wars or Indian Wars. During this period,

1311-406: Is contested by linguist T. T. Waterman , who says that the name puyaləp is restricted only to a specific location below a bluff, where the river used to flow, and the location of a former village. The name spuyaləpabš traditionally referred to two groups: the Puyallup proper (also sometimes called the "real" Puyallup), who had four villages near the mouth of the Puyallup River, as well as

1380-476: Is derived from the name of the Puyallup River above the Carbon River. However, according to Waterman, it is only the name of a creek near the Puyallup River. According to oral tradition, the name is derived from the words of a girl who was occasionally seen in the area. It was suspected she was a c̓iyatkʷuʔ , or at least captured by the c̓iyatkʷuʔ , creatures in indigenous Puget Sound folk tales which stalk

1449-607: Is now Sumner . The name, stəx̌ʷabš , derived from the name of the Stuck River itself, stəx̌ʷ , 'pull, drag'. This references how the Stuck River once flowed down the Wapato Creek bed, rather than directly into the Puyallup River as it does today. The village was originally located along that channel, but moved to the contemporary confluence after the river's flow changed. According to Puyallup oral tradition, whales were trapped inland, and in their attempts to gain access to

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1518-595: Is only accessible by boat up McAllister Creek. The treaty granted 2.24 million acres (9,060;km²) of land to the United States in exchange for establishment of three reservations , cash payments over a period of twenty years, and recognition of traditional native fishing and hunting rights. The exact nature of those rights was disputed until the Boldt Decision in 1974; the Boldt Decision would also be upheld by

1587-462: The Fish Wars leading to the Boldt Decision of 1974. By the contact period, the Puyallup had many villages along the Puyallup River, as well as along the nearby coastline of Puget Sound if those under the more broad definitions of Puyallup are included. The core of Puyallup population was near the Puyallup River mouth, and these Puyallup proper had just four known villages: The largest buildings of

1656-662: The Puyallup Indian Reservation bear his name. Treaty of Medicine Creek The Treaty of Medicine Creek was an 1854 treaty between the United States , and nine tribes and bands of Indians, occupying the lands lying around the head of Puget Sound, Washington, and the adjacent inlets. The tribes listed on the Treaty of Medicine Creek are Nisqually , Puyallup , Steilacoom, Squawskin ( Squaxin Island ), S'Homamish, Stehchass, T'Peeksin, Squi-aitl, and Sa-heh-wamish. The treaty

1725-478: The Puyallup Tribe of Indians , a federally-recognized tribe located in parts of King and Pierce counties. They control the 66.9 acre Puyallup Indian Reservation . The Puyallup Tribe is governed by the Tribal Council ( Twulshootseed : sk̓ʷapad ʔə tiiɫ siʔiʔab , lit.   'council of leaders'), a democratically-elected body which oversees the operation of the tribe. The potlatch ( sgʷigʷi )

1794-577: The Snoqualmie , and were much closer related to them than their downriver neighbors. During the reservation period, the people of this village moved to the Muckleshoot reservation, rather than the Puyallup reservation. The Homamish ( Lushootseed : sx̌ʷəbabš , lit.   'swift water people'; also called the S'Homamish or Sqababsh) were not originally considered part of the Puyallup in pre-contact times, however, they had strong alliances with

1863-757: The Twana . The broader Coast Salish are a group of linguistically and ethnically related peoples along the Northwest Coast , generally centered around the Salish Sea and its tributaries. Although they have different languages, customs, and cultures, they share many broader cultural elements. Among the Southern Coast Salish, the nations are linked by strong cultural, linguistic, ceremonial, and family ties. Historically, they were also linked through alliances, marriages, joint feasting, and territorial usage. The peoples of

1932-465: The U.S. Supreme Court in 1979. Since the Boldt Decision, the tribes named in the treaty have had a recognized right to half of the fish caught on traditional lands throughout south Puget Sound , while before it, state and territorial governments allowed the tribes much less. The original Nisqually reservation was in rocky terrain and unacceptable to the Nisqually, who were a riverside fishing people. They went to war in 1855. An unfortunate outcome of

2001-523: The American side. Notable battles occurred in present-day Tacoma , Seattle , and even as far east as Walla Walla . On October 28, 1855, a party of natives killed eight settlers in what was later called the White River Massacre . Three children fled on foot to Seattle, but one five-year-old boy was kidnapped and held by the natives for six months before being released. A conflicting source describes

2070-594: The Carbon River and its tributaries, the Tkwakwamish proper did not control them, and the other villages were autonomous, as were the other Puyallup villages. One such autonomous village of the Tkwakwamish was located at what is now South Prairie , near the mouth of Cole Creek. This village, although it was Tkwakwamish and Puyallup, was closely allied with the Green River peoples (Such as the Skopamish and Yilkoamish ) and

2139-465: The Carbon River, according to some anthropologists. Specifically, it is the name of a group of people whose village was located north-west of Orting , near where Vogt Creek enters the Carbon River. The name dxʷxʷaq̓ʷəbš is derived from the Lushootseed name for the Carbon River, dxʷxʷaq̓ʷ , 'Flowing from xʷaq̓ʷ ( Mount Rainier )'. Although this name was applied to other villages along

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2208-447: The Puget Sound traditionally classed themselves into broader ethnic units stemming from their relationships to the land. While all Puyallup villages were spuyaləpabš , i.e, from the Puyallup River, they were part of several larger units that modern anthropologists have classed as ethnic groups: saltwater people, river people, prairie people, and inland people. While the people of the qal̕qaləqʷ village identified as saltwater people,

2277-406: The Puyallup attended the Treaty of Medicine Creek at McAllister Creek ( Twulshootseed : šxʷnanəm or šxʷdadəb ). Over three days, several representatives from the signatory tribes and the United States, represented by Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens , negotiated a treaty which established the 1,280-acre Puyallup reservation. The Puyallup signatories did not understand English, and it

2346-490: The Puyallup historically, and during the reservation period, they joined the Puyallup on the Puyallup Reservation and became part of the modern Puyallup people. Their territory covered southern Vashon Island and much of the coastline west of the Tacoma Narrows, until Carr Inlet. Their main village was located at txʷaalqəɬ , 'place where deer exists', what is now Gig Harbor , and was founded many generations before

2415-422: The Puyallup people have continued to fight for their language, culture, and treaty rights. The name "Puyallup" is an anglicization of the Lushootseed word spuyaləpabš . The name means "people of the bend (at the bottom of the river)," literally s√puy=áləp=abš , from the root √puy̓ , 'curve'; the suffix =alap , 'leg or hip'; and the suffix =abš , 'people', and refers to

2484-419: The Puyallup were large cedar longhouses. These structures were communal dwellings usually inhabited by four, six, or eight families with each family having their own section. Along the Puyallup River drainage, most longhouses were constructed in a gable-roof fashion. The Puyallup also historically built "sweat houses;" small, round buildings made of maple posts and either a wooden roof made of cedar or fir, or

2553-503: The Puyallup, however, as they moved to the Puyallup Reservation, they became part of the modern Puyallup people. They controlled Carr Inlet and had three villages: The Steilacoom people ( Lushootseed : č̓tilqʷəbš ) historically controlled the Steilacoom Creek area and the nearby shoreline. They had two villages, one located at what is now Steilacoom , and the other on Clover Creek. They may have had another village, located at

2622-706: The Sacajawea Chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a bronze tablet on the Medicine Creek Treaty Tree bearing the following inscription: "Site of the Medicine Creek Treaty between Governor Isaac I. I. Stevens and Puget Sound Indians 1854 Marked by Sacajawea Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution 1922." Though not recognized as an official historical location, the site

2691-494: The United States forced non-combatant Puyallup to be confined to Squaxin Island, to segregate them from the "hostiles". The war ended with the 1856 Fox Island Council , where a new treaty between the Puyallup and the United States was negotiated, which expanded or relocated the reservations previously established in the Treaty of Medicine Creek, in addition to the formation of the Muckleshoot Reservation. Around 1870,

2760-502: The ability to both cure and cause death by sending their power into people. Someone whose affliction was caused by a shaman can only be cured by another shaman. Shamans who cannot control their powers are said to get sick and die. Traditionally, having powerful doctors living in a village brought social prestige to the inhabitants of the village, and doctors from different villages would "duel" against one another by sending their power at one another's relatives, which, if cured, would result in

2829-521: The aggressor shaman being inflicted with their own curse. The Puyallup, like other Northwest Coast peoples, traditionally had a highly stratified society comprising three classes: high class (also called nobles), commoners (also called "nothing" people), and slaves. The noble class was by far the largest, with the slave class being the smallest. Membership in a class was determined by one's prestige, accumulated through bloodlines, property, reputation, deeds, and authority. A high class individual ( siʔab )

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2898-414: The area. The major tribes included the Puyallup, the Muckleshoot and the Nisqually. The Cowlitz Tribe were not included as these people had taken up farms and been absorbed into the white community in 1893. Isaac Stevens elected to hire George Gibbs to be his second in command to negotiate the treaty, as Gibbs had traveled west in 1849 and was familiar with the native peoples. The Native Americans were told

2967-415: The attack as being a Nisqually band led by Chief Leschi and reported nine settlers killed. Two boys and a girl were taken from the battle and returned unharmed to an American steamer at Point Elliot. A memoir of the event emphasized that families were warned ahead of time so they could evacuate: "The Indians sent us word not to be afraid - that they would not harm us." Some of the families included members of

3036-464: The beginning of the Puget Sound War in 1855 - initiate a search for Chief Leschi in order to arrest him. Chief Leschi was eventually captured and put on trial. The first jury couldn’t come to a verdict, so Isaac Stevens had the trial done a second time. This time Leschi was found guilty. Chief Leschi was hanged on February 19, 1858. The site of the treaty was near the Nisqually River delta, along

3105-509: The catching of fish. These weirs were constructed by a series of sticks aligned in tripods with large poles as platforms to allow for walking across the weir. Weirs were owned and utilized by those who took part in its construction. A non-alcoholic drink called stəgʷədalqʷuʔ was created by de-pulping and juicing salmonberries. After the introduction of alcohol, people began fermenting the drink for several weeks, turning it into an alcoholic beverage. In traditional Puyallup culture, religion

3174-479: The contact period by Puyallup people, likely from the sx̌ax̌ƛ̕abš group. For this reason, they were extremely closely connected with the Puyallup, especially the sx̌ax̌ƛ̕abš . They were also closely related to and allied with the Shotlemamish. Their two other villages were located on Vashon Island: The Shotlemamish ( Lushootseed : sx̌əƛ̕əbabš ), like their Homamish neighbors, were not originally part of

3243-427: The fishing canoe, river canoe (also called a shovel-nose canoe), the one-man canoe, and the children's canoe. The traditional diet of the Puyallup was diverse, employing a mix of fish, meat, shellfish, berries, nuts, and other plants. Traditionally, fish were caught in a variety of ways, including with line and hook, traps, rakes, and spears. In addition, massive weirs were constructed over rivers and streams to aid in

3312-428: The forests at night, whistling to imitate birds. They capture women, and the girl in the stories was believed to be held captive by c̓iyatkʷuʔ . When she was spotted, the only word she could be heard saying was the name of the stream, or, alternatively, the upper Puyallup River. Tkwakwamish ( Lushootseed : dxʷxʷaq̓ʷəbš ) is the broad term for all the villages along the upper Puyallup drainage system, including

3381-524: The leaders of the Nisqually, Puyallup and Squaxin Island Indian Tribes. The treaty established the future formal relationship between the U. S. and the Indian Nations. The Treaty Tree was located in the Nisqually delta where the 1854 treaty was signed. The treaty tree was lost in the winter of 2007, but several seedlings were propagated, including this offspring. These living trees stand testimony to

3450-549: The many villages along the coastline and rivers of Puget Sound formed a continuous weave far beyond the Puyallup, linking neighboring autonomous villages to one another up and down the coast. The sx̌ax̌ƛ̕abš had their village on Hylebos Creek in Fife Heights . Formerly, the creek was used primarily for fishing silver salmon. Their name is derived from the Lushootseed name of Hylebos Creek, sx̌ax̌ƛ̕ , 'a little difficult or brushy '. The txʷskʷawqʷabš were

3519-576: The mouth of Simons Creek, where it entered Wapato Creek. The name is derived from the name of Simons Creek, which is sqʷəd , 'waterfall'. The Stuck people ( Lushootseed : stəx̌ʷabš ), (also called the Stuck River people; not to be confused with the Stkamish, a nearby people living on the Green River ), had their main village near the confluence of the Puyallup and Stuck rivers, close to what

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3588-588: The ongoing responsibilities agreed to among the signatories." The Thurston County Historic Commission was instrumental in working with the Tribes and Thurston County in arranging for the plaque and the dedication ceremony. The site, now in the Billy Frank Jr. Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge , was designated by Congress as the Medicine Creek Treaty National Memorial on December 18, 2015. It

3657-482: The other peoples who were not spuyaləpabš exactly, but did live along the upper Puyallup drainage. Today, the term even more broadly refers to any people who moved to the Puyallup Reservation, which included peoples who did not live along the Puyallup River, such as the Homamish , Shotlemamish , and Steilacoom . The Puyallup are a Southern Coast Salish people, along with the other Lushootseed-speaking peoples and

3726-409: The other three Puyallup villages were river people. Prior to the reservation period, all peoples living along the Puyallup River were seen as belonging to the Puyallup in a broad sense. However, they were indeed their own sovereign villages who were not controlled by the Puyallup proper. Today, they may be classified as "subgroups" or "bands" of the Puyallup, although this is somewhat anachronistic, as

3795-405: The potlatch. Each group of guests would arrive at the potlatch on a different day, and, upon arrival, the leader of the group would sing their power song with their group of guests. Once all guests arrived, the host would begin giving away their possessions to the guests, and the host was expected to leave the potlach having lost a significant amount of wealth, if not all, as a show of dignity. During

3864-503: The present site of Spanaway . The Steilacoom were also closely tied with the Nisqually . According to Puyallup tradition, the Puyallup people were created by dukʷibəɬ , the Changer. dukʷibəɬ is the figure in Puyallup religion who made the world the way it is today by creating the Puyallup language, making animals smaller, and teaching the people how to live. On December 24, 1854,

3933-580: The sound, they created the valley through which the Stuck flows. This village was closely allied to the Duwamish and Smulkamish . One group of people, whose exact name is uncertain, had their village on the upper Puyallup River, above its confluence with the Carbon River . Their name, which is "identical" to c̓iyatkʷuʔ , according to T.T. Waterman, is unclear to modern scholars. According to Marian Smith, it

4002-403: The treaty would help them by paying them for some of the land. It ended up taking prime farmland and relocating the tribes onto rough reservations. Chief Leschi of the Nisqually tribe protested the treaty. He and his people marched to Olympia to have their voices heard but Isaac Stevens ordered them away. When the natives refused to leave, Isaac Stevens would eventually call martial law and - after

4071-562: The volunteer companies who had been roaming the area attacking peaceful Indians. In response to the attack at White River, the Americans captured around 4,000 noncombatant Native Americans and held them on Fox Island. Many of them died due to insufficient food, water, and shelter. Additionally, southwestern tribes who had no tradition of warfare were raided by fearful Americans. They were disarmed and their villages placed under surveillance. Upper and Lower Chehalis families were forcibly relocated to

4140-413: The way that the Puyallup people live on the winding river. The name refers to the population center of the Puyallup near the mouth of the Puyallup River near what is now downtown Tacoma. According to anthropologist Marian Smith , the name puyaləp on its own refers to Puyallup River (specifically the area downriver of its confluence with the Carbon River ), meaning "bend at the bottom". However, this

4209-507: The well being of themself and others. Another way of gaining authority, was being a skilled fighter. During wartime, brave warriors could quickly ascend to prominence for their daring acts and prowess, however, due to warfare being seen as a net negative and best to be avoided, warriors did not have much influence during peacetime and people attempted to tone down their warlike ways. There were no chiefs or other formalized occupations of authority in traditional Puyallup society. Rather, authority

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4278-444: Was at the very center of society. Skills, property, good health, even personality traits were believed to be obtained through a partnership with one or several powers . One's entire childhood was spent preparing to receive a power, and a power can come to anyone who displays purity and cleanliness, both of the body and spirit. In pre-colonial times, children went on a spirit journey to obtain a power when they reached maturity, undergoing

4347-440: Was avoided during the creation of Interstate 5 in the 1960s. A monument was erected on the hillside overlooking the creek, pointing at the site in 1976, by students of nearby Timberline High School. The monument is in the shape of a peace sign when viewed from the air, contains an old Navy buoy which represents the spherical thinking of Native Americans, a rusty railroad rail representing the white mans rusted straight thinking and

4416-464: Was captured in November 1856 and was forced to stand trial for the murder of Abram Benton Moses. His first trial resulted in a hung jury because of the question of the legitimacy of murder during wartime; the jury of twelve voted ten in favor, two opposed to conviction. Leschi was tried again in 1857. Despite vague witness accounts and issues over whether Leschi was actually at the scene of the incident, he

4485-561: Was found guilty of murder. Leschi was hanged on February 19, 1858. On December 10, 2004, a historical court convened in Pierce County, Washington ruled "as a legal combatant of the Indian War [...] Leschi should not have been held accountable under law for the death of an enemy soldier," thereby exonerating him of any wrongdoing. The Leschi neighborhood in Seattle and Chief Leschi Schools on

4554-538: Was identified by their accumulation of property, participation in religious and cultural customs, belonging to a village or family, and in general by their participation in society. The vast majority of people in traditional Puyallup society around this time were high class. Low class or commoners were those who had no family or community or those who broke social taboos. Slaves were those captured in war. As they were viewed as property of their master, they could be bought or given away in potlatches like any other. A child of

4623-422: Was nominally entrusted in individuals who were respected by their community. Although their voice held influence and sway over others, they could not actually compel anyone to do anything. An entire village might have one leader or it might have several, depending on the needs of the people, although there was generally only one recognized as the leader of their field. Today, the Puyallup people are represented by

4692-425: Was signed on December 26, 1854, by Isaac I. Stevens , governor and superintendent of Indian Affairs of the territory at the time of the signing, along with the chiefs, head-men and delegates of the stated tribes. For the purpose of the treaty, these representatives who signed the treaty were stated to have been, "regarded as one nation, on behalf of said tribes and bands, and duly authorized by them." Isaac Stevens

4761-570: Was the governor of Washington Territory in 1854. He was directly responsible for every Native American affair including making treaties to acquire land for the United States Government. In December 1854 Stevens called a meeting of the Native American tribes who lived in the South Puget Sound area. He focused on these tribes in particular because he stated they were good laborers, excellent fisherman, and because they were also controlling trade in

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