European Contact: White Settlers

BY Barb williams, EASTSIDE HERITAGE CENTER VOLUNTEER

Map, Tribal Ceded Areas in Washington State, Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife.

In the early days, 6,000 or more years before White settlers came to Puget Sound and the Eastside, the Duwamish and Snoqualmie peoples were the dominant indigenous groups in the area. Despite intermittent raids and skirmishes between groups, the people were primarily peaceful. Their lives were supported by the bounty of the natural resources in the area, both plant and animal. The salmon returned each year to the creeks, rivers, lakes and saltwater bays. The villages were located close to these waterways which enabled easy transportation and acquisition of food. Duwamish longhouses were mostly located at the only waterway outlet from Lake Washington (originally known as Duwamish Lake) to Puget Sound. In 1849, Isaac Ebey came to the lake. He called it Lake Geneva. Several years later patriotic United States settlers moved into the area and changed the name to Lake Washington. Thus began White settlement that brought permanent changes to the region and to the lives of the indigenous peoples. White/Indian relationships were basically friendly prior to the signing of the Point Elliott Treaty in 1855. However, following the signing, some Indian peoples became hostile once they realized their lands and traditional harvesting rights were being impacted by the White settlers. The Hudson’s Bay Company had come to trade with the Indians, but the United States had come to settle and take over their lands.

Many indigenous groups spoke their own language, but all in this area belonged to the Salishan family whose parent language was known as, Chinook. A new language was developed after 1792 when Captain Vancouver visited the Puget Sound area and the Hudson’s Bay Company began trading goods with the Indian people. The new language called Chinook jargon was created to facilitate communication between Indian peoples, fur traders, explorers and early settlers. Washington was the center of Chinook jargon that dated from about 1810. It consisted of an estimated 200 words of Chinook Indian language, mixed with Nootka, English, French and other languages. Some Native Americans used the new language and learned English, but others did not.

One of those who did not was Chief Sealth who had become the primary chief of the Puget Sound region. He never learned English or Chinook jargon because he felt it was beneath the dignity of the chief (himself) of his people. But he was always a friend of the White people. He wore a Hudson’s Bay blanket and was the first signer of the Point Elliott Treaty. He became a Catholic and held daily prayer meetings for his people. He was born in 1790 on Blake Island, a tribal camping ground, and passed away June 7, 1866. His daughter, Kakisimia, known as Princess Angeline, learned to speak English. It is said that she paddled her canoe through a blinding snowstorm to warn the garrison at Seattle of the impending Indian attack during the Battle of Seattle on January 6, 1856.

Unfulfilled Treaty promises granted to the Indian people in exchange for their lands stirred their discontent which resulted in the attack on Seattle. Hundreds of Indian warriors came to fight for their rights. However, after a day of fighting in which the U.S. Navy warship, the Decatur, fired its cannons killing many warriors, they retreated to the Eastside and over the Cascade Mountains from whence they had come. Leschi, the war-chief of the Nisquallies rallied his warriors for the attack on Seattle at a site on the western shores of Lake Washington. The site remained an Indian village called Fleaburg that was inhabited until the 1880s. Presently a Seattle suburb and a park called Leschi are located at the site. Other Indian warriors had gathered for the attack on Seattle at a large village site located on the eastern shores of Lake Washington near present-day Factoria.

OR/L 79.79.469 - Marie Louie or her sister Julia, Taken on the Lake Sammamish Road near Inglewood in 1914.

As mentioned earlier, the battle was the result of discontent as the Indian people began to experience the true meaning of their leaders signing the Point Elliott Treaty at Mukilteo on January 22, 1855. The Treaty document, hastily presented to many Native American groups by Governor Isaac Stevens, was presented in a language that many Indian leaders, as signers, did not necessarily understand. It gave Indian lands to the United States in return for compensation and rights. However, it was not ratified for four years and the promises had not been fulfilled. Tensions began to build during the summer of 1855. This resulted in the Treaty Wars of 1855-1856. By then the population of lake people Indians had been reduced by 80%, a result of the small pox epidemic in the 1830s. Many of the people had been moved to reservations. Those who remained in their homes, discovered that they were not allowed to hunt and fish at their traditional grounds --- a “right” they thought had been promised to them in exchange for their lands. Some of those who stayed in place were Snoqualmie people.

Marie Louie, a Snoqualmie Indian princess whose Indian name was Gotshoblo, was one who stayed. She was born at Tolt (Carnation) in 1798 and died in 1917. She was a friend of the White settlers and often helped deliver their babies, such as the Pickerings baby. Bessie Wilson Crane’s birth was facilitated by Marie Louie. Her family lived in Issaquah. Bessie’s daughter’s birth was assisted by Marie Louie. Bessie remembered how much “Aunt Louie” loved children and would often sing to them. As a medicinal herbalist for her people, she enjoyed teaching pioneer children about the ways of the woods and streams. She was a well-known figure as she paddled her big canoe from Issaquah on Lake Sammamish, through the Sammamish Slough, south on Lake Washington to the Black River that connected to the Duwamish River, and into Elliott Bay to Seattle. There she sold the rag rugs she made from settlers’ worn out clothing. Her round trip took her almost a month to complete. She was approaching Seattle on June 7, 1889 when 32 blocks of Seattle’s business and commercial district burned. Her friend, Arthur Denny, warned her about the fire and saved her from coming ashore. Always helpful to White settlers, she walked several times in her bare feet to Yakima and back bringing with her new hops plants for the hops farmers on the Eastside.

Following the signing of the Point Elliott Treaty, many Indian people needed a way to make a living. Some worked in laundry and lumber while providing a valuable workforce that contributed mightily to the successful growth of Seattle. Some came from miles away to work as paid help for the hops farmers in Issaquah, Fall City, and Auburn. These were good jobs for the men, women, and children. Others helped White settlers transport their provisions in their big canoes. It is said that the canoes could carry as much as two tons of goods. Indian guides showed White settlers water and land passageways and how to survive in the new land. In his journal, Reverend R. W. Summers writes that on July 17, 1871 Indian guides took him by canoe to their sacred place, Snoqualmie Falls. The Perrigo family set up a trading post in Redmond. They traded with members of four different Indian tribes and used Indian ponies to expand their business to farms between Redmond, Tolt and Novelty Hill.

L 88.029.003.7 - Snoqualmie Valley Native American hop farmers and workers, 1890.

Some Indians were both hostile and friendly to White people. Chief Patkanim of the Snoqualmie people was one of them. In 1849 he and his warriors attacked the settlers at Fort Nisqually, but during the Indian Wars of 1855-1856, he gathered eighty warriors of his tribe to help the White people. However, the Castro family of Issaquah was not so fortunate when they were murdered by Indian people as revenge for Indians that had been killed by White people. The years following the signing of the Point Elliott Treaty in 1855 resulted in a mixed relationship for both the Indian people and White settlers living in the Puget Sound and Eastside regions.

As more and more White settlers came to the region bringing with them their values and need for wood, coal, farming and industry, the area was greatly changed. In 1916 the Government Locks were built to connect the northern end of Lake Washington to Puget Sound. Because Lake Washington is higher in elevation than Puget Sound, the water levels throughout the Eastside dropped 9 to 12 feet. This greatly impacted the Indian peoples. The Wapato plant they depended on for food disappeared and the Black River all but dried up causing the large village on its banks to be abandoned and the southern water link to Elliott Bay to be blocked. Instead, the Cedar River began to flow into Lake Washington and the lake drained north past the University of Washington through the locks to Puget Sound. By this time many Native Americans were living on reservation lands. Some groups had been recognized by the United States government which entitled them to government programs and aid. Others had set up their own businesses, graduated from schools and universities and had become part of the new way of life.

However, there is one group, the Duwamish, that is still awaiting United States Government Recognition. At present there is a movement towards gaining Recognition and a petition (#StandWithTheDuwamish) circulating asking for support towards that end. The Duwamish people have built a beautiful community center near the mouth of the Duwamish River on the western side. They offer public programs, artworks and a wonderful place in which to connect with their culture.

Let us remember the Indian peoples who first inhabited these lands. They deserve our respect and gratitude for the gifts they have given to this region we all call “home”.

For more information about the Indigenous communities of Washington state, please visit the American Library Association at the link below.

Indigenous Tribes of Washington

Resources

Books:

Craine, Bessie Wilson Squak Valley, 1983.

Thrush, Coll Native Seattle, University of Washington Press, 2007.

A Publication of the Seattle Times A Hidden Past articles 12/1997 to 1/2000.

Annotated bibliography of the following books:

Dupar, Robert W. Meydenbauer History, 1989.

Karolevitz, Robert F. Kemper Freeman, Sr. and the Bellevue Story, 1984.

Eastside Heritage Center collections:

C.T. Conover, three articles that begin with the title, Just Cogitating: Puget Sound Indian Customs, Notes About Puget Sound Indians, Chief Seattle Had Dignified Appearance, Puget Sound Indian Tribes.

David Buerge article, Indian Lake Washington, The Weekly, 8/1 - 8/7 1984.

Frank Lynch article, Seattle is Named after a Slaveholder, Seattle Scene.

Pat Sandbo Salish Traditional Life Skills, based on a presentation by Steve & Dorothy Phillip.

Paul Shukovsky article, Duwamish Tribe Fights for Recognition, Seattle P-I 9/5/2008.

Nancy Way article, Perrigos start first inn and trading post near Redmond, Redmond Sammamish Valley News, August 16, 1995.

Charles W. Smith book chapter, “An Old Quaker Magazine”.

Photograph of Marie Louie inscription

Newspaper articles:

The Seattle Times June 7, 2021, Opinion, Give Duwamish Tribe Overdue Recognition

The Seattle Times June 13, 2021, Paid Advertising, Who Are the Duwamish?

Website:

Treaty history and interpretation. Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife. (n.d.). https://wdfw.wa.gov/hunting/management/tribal/history.