12/27/2025
In previous years, weโve separated this post into three parts to walk us through the events of each day of the Medicine Creek Treaty signingโฆ this year, weโre sharing everything at once. This post will be pinned to top of our page. Are you ready?
December 24th, 1854:
Governor Isaac Stevens and his officials called our people to a Potlatch. It was culturally uncommon and inappropriate to call for a Potlatch in the middle of winter, yet hundreds of our people traveled through the cold to what was expected to be an important gathering. To our surprise, we were met with an already drafted treaty involving Nisqually, Puyallup, Steilacoom, Squawskin, Sโhoomamish, Stechass, TโPeeksin, Squi-aitl, and Sa-heh-wamish Tribes and Bands of Indians. It was read out loud by interpreter Benjamin F. Shaw, and it started like this:
โARTICLE 1. The said tribes and bands of Indians hereby cede, relinquish, and convey to the United States, all their right, title, and interest in and to the lands and country occupied by them, bounded and described as followsโฆ..โ
๐๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐: ๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฌ๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌโ ๐ฆ๐จ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ง๐ฌ. ๐๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ซ๐ซ๐ข๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ ๐๐จ๐ญ๐ฅ๐๐ญ๐๐ก, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎโ๐ซ๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ ๐๐ฌ๐ค๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ข๐ ๐ง ๐๐ฐ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฉ๐๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ ๐ก๐๐ฏ๐ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ ๐ค๐ง๐จ๐ฐ๐ง. ๐๐จ ๐๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐จ๐ง๐๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง, ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ฌ๐ก ๐ข๐ฌ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ข๐ซ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐โฆ ๐๐จ๐ฐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฆ๐๐ค๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐๐๐ฅ? ๐๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐จ๐ฎ๐๐ญ๐๐๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ก๐ญ ๐๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ฉ๐ซ๐ข๐ฌ๐, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐ฐ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฒ ๐ฐ๐๐ง๐ญ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐๐ฌ ๐ข๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ฏ๐.
"The first day was passed in anxious solicitude as to what the morrow would bring forth. From Indian testimony we know that the Governor was nervous and uneasy all day, walking back and forth with his head down and hands behind his back, as the fact dawned upon him that he could not have everything his own way without a struggle. All of the Indians had not arrived, although it is recorded over six hundred were present, men, women and children..." Ezra Meeker, โThe Tragedy of Leschi.โ, 1905, pp. 234-235
December 25th, 1854:
Benjamin Shaw begins reading the treaty in Chinook Jargon. With a vocabulary of only a few hundred words, the language was barely adequate for trade, and certainly not for the complexity of a treaty agreement. Yet, it was clear to our people that Stevens and his men were not to be trusted.
Oral history provided to us by Puyallup Historian Judy Wright (1939-2013), tells us that Puyallup had at least five representatives form council and determine that this was dangerous and unacceptable. Squatahan, Hi-Nuk, Pah-how-a-tish, and Telakish left negotiations. Others stayed to witness what would unfold, including a subchief named Hi-ton. A young sub-Chief from Nisqually by the name of Leschi made a powerful statement by ripping his document up and storming out behind his trusted elders, never to return again. At this point, Governor Stevens became noticeably irritated, and must have realized this wasnโt going to be easy.
"The second day developed a very stubborn opposition, and resulted in the spectacular action of Leschi, as related elsewhere, when he tore up his commission as sub-chief before the Governor's eyes, and left the council grounds." (Meeker, pg. 236)
December 26th, 1854:
"On the third day the presents were distributed, but these did not, as expected, create a favorable impression and in fact, the opposite, when it became known how small the value allotted to each person, two yards of calico here, a yard or two of ribbon there, and of like value all around." (Meeker, p. 236)
The โPotlatch giftsโ were finally distributed, but it wasnโt what we were expectingโฆ We received calico, ribbon, and other mass-produced items of no value to us. Itโs almost as if they werenโt planning to provide gifts in the first place. When we called for a Potlatch, we provided our guests who traveled a long way with the best we could offer. So, why then, would we give any trust to a government to honor us as people if they canโt honor our most fundamental protocols? How insulting!
What was made clear to Tribal leaders over the course of these โnegotiationsโ is that they were being asked to cede their homes and surrounding lands and relocate to three small designated โreservationโ areas on Squaxin Island, and near the Nisqually and Puyallup rivers. They were promised fishing and hunting rights would stay intact, but they would be removed from direct access to longstanding village, gathering, and processing sites. The reservations assigned were just 1,280 acres each. Squaxin Island had inadequate fresh water; Nisqually was located on rocky, forested bluffs above the Nisqually River delta. The Puyallup reservation was located on Commencement Bay and excluded the entire Puyallup River watershed with its rich resources. It wasnโt even surveyed until after the treaty gathering, so none of the Puyallup treaty signers knew where it would be located.
There are several accounts, both oral and written, of sub chiefs, such as Leschi, leaving prior to the signing of the Medicine Creek Treatyโฆ although an โXโ is seen alongside the names of those who were no longer at the gathering. The events concluded, the Treaty was law, and our ancestors had less than one year to relocate onto one of three reservations.
1855-1856:
Exhausted from deception and harassment from the U.S Government, things came to a boiling point. The Treaty spelled genocide for our people. Governor Stevens refused to adjust the reservation locations or boundaries. By October, 1855 Chief Leschi had put together a coalition of extended family members on both sides of the mountains. Many of our warriors sacrificed their lives in defense of our ways of life and survival. Willing to die for each other, their tenacity won the Treaty War, ultimately leading to the expansion of the Puyallup (18,000+ acres) and improved locations for the Nisqually and Squaxin Island reservations. Muckleshoot reservation was also established. It is the only time in U.S. history that Indians went to war to get their land back and succeeded in doing so.
๐๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฐ๐จ๐ซ๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐ญ๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐๐ฏ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ ๐ฐ๐ก๐จ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐๐ฌ, ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฒ๐๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ญ ๐๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ฎ๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ญ๐๐๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ก๐จ๐ฅ๐ ๐ฎ๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ๐ ๐๐ญ๐ก๐๐ซ. ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฏ๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐๐ง๐ ๐ฐ๐ ๐ซ๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ก๐๐ง๐๐ฌ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ.
Present Day:
โ๐๐ ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌโ ๐ซ๐๐ฌ๐ข๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ง๐๐ฒ.โ -๐๐ซ๐๐ง๐๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐ฒ๐ง๐จ๐ง
From the day George Vancouver intruded on our shores in 1792, weโve faced more battles than we can count. We are still here, and continue to fight as weโre called to defend ourselves and this sacred land. We take care of each other and continue to stand in solidarity with Tribes and Nations facing threats to their sovereignty and livelihood. Most of our land was brutally stolen through coercion and murder during the land grab in the early 20th century, so weโre left to buy it back if we wish to live on our ancestral homelands. Our sacred places had their names stolen from them, our natural resources have been decimated, and weโre working diligently to rebuild and keep our traditions alive.
Our prayers are with those struggling to carry the weight of colonialism, and those dedicated to healing the wounds inflicted upon us by historical trauma. โ๐๐ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ ๐ฅ๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐๐ญ ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ญ๐ซ๐๐๐ฌ, ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ฒ ๐จ๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ซ๐๐ง ๐๐ซ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ญ๐ก ๐ ๐๐ง๐๐ซ๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐๐ง๐๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฌ ๐ฉ๐ซ๐๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐๐ซ.โ- ๐๐ฆ๐๐๐ซ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฅ๐จ๐ซ. Their lives are protected by those who fought for their existence, and itโs up to us to continue the work started so long ago.
