Refuge heading out to the puget sound. Wereisqually people originally known as people of the river, people of the grass. Our homeland has always been this entire beautiful area. Nisqually were people here preterritory times and preunited states. The nisqually tribe is most definitely active here. I dont ever see the nisqually tribes going away. We were a federally recognized tribe, and that stemmed from the Medicine Creek treaty in the 1850s. That treaty helps identify the nisqually tribe with our relationship to the federal government. That is a very important thing. Federal government does play a role in very light recognized tribes in federally recognized tribes to recognized sovereignty and are supposed to look at for our best interests. That treaty established that relationship and it established also our trade areas. During treaty time, we were the first area of five areas that Governor Stevens had carved out of the washington territory to execute treaties. Governor stevens was bringing in railroad to this area. That was his priority and what he was charged with doing. He came here as our first territorial governor and also our first indian superintendent. He wanted to put all of our indian people on their own treaties, and then ring that railroad through so that congress could come in and they could flourish, the nonindian people could flourish with what they wanted to build. When he did come here, he negotiated right off the back this Medicine Creek treaty. We were the first in our area to be negotiated. I say that loosely. There was a huge barrier of language. Of course Governor Stevens spoke english, but the tribal people did not speak english. What was happening it was happening in the middle of winter. Some of the old journals say it was ceaseless rains at that time. Of course we were used to that. That was the way we had lived for a long time. We knew how to live in that. It was more difficult for the nonindian people. There were just a few at that time who were here permanently to make new homes, take advantage of that land donation act, bring more nontribal people to this area for permanent settlement. I think chief leschi and his brother knew that. The Medicine Creek treaty was our first interaction with nonindian people. Scenario thathe constitutes our relationship with nontribal people. Given the way that negotiation happened, the Medicine Creek aty, which did not go well we were off to a very bad start. Following that negotiation of that treaty was the puget sound indian war. The nisqually tribe did not have a sitting chief. They would choose leaders at the time that they needed a leader. Is very contagious situate at the time this very contentious situation was happening, nontribal people settling on grounds that tribal people had hundred and gathered on for generations. There was a huge clash. It was getting to the point where people were trying to take action in terms of fighting it out to see who was going to stay. Chief leschi was chosen by the people to lead them through that very contemptuous situation. He was a person of Good Standing within the tribe. He was known as an orator. He was known as a judge who could help with conflict in the tribe. He was known as an engineer when it came to fishing and burning the prairies so that they were not overtaken by trees or plants that were going to provide a food source in the future. So he knew an awful lot. He knew about how to live on this land and held all of the people here. So he had a lot of great skills. When it came time to to deal with the puget sound indian war, there was a militia made up of the farmers and people here in this area. If you can imagine at that time over 150 years ago, they were probably pretty scared people. Not having lived here and not knowing the land as well, not knowing the tribal people, and knowing they were coming in on someones homeland and trying to make their own home. It was probably a very tense situation for. This group of militia people who werent trained in military tactics, who were mainly farmers, pull themselves together and were coming after chief leschi and the nisqually people and were going to fight for their homes. Nisqually leaders, leschi, and all the warriors who banded together, stood by the tribe and did what they needed to do. Their work there were not any out and out battles. There were skirmishes. It was based on bumping into each other. The militia people didnt know this area very well. You can see how it is hard for them to strategize a battle. There was one particular someent where there were military personnel along with the militia people, and they ran into a band of tribal warriors and the battle was big enough that there were people killed. After that battle, Governor Stevens had just gotten back from his tour of negotiating all five treaties in our washington territory and he had heard about this battle. He was so upset that leschi was causing all this trouble and hysteria going on, and people didnt feel safe and were concerned about building this new land. Leschi became his scapegoat. He really went after leschi and called out murder of this lieutenant that was shot or killed on the battlefield. There was a price put out for leschi. He was brought in and he was put in a jail. He was there for quite some time. If you can imagine a person who grew up here in this beautiful area eating fish, eating deer, eating all these Natural Foods and staying healthy, and then being put into a jail, and who knows what he was fed for months, he became really sick. Of course he was heartbroken because he wasnt with his family and protecting his people. Jail, hisat he was in he was had decided that going to turn himself in and at least sent by the side of his brother while he was in jail. This leschi and his brother made friends with the nontribal farmers. Here even are still now. They really have been a big part of our history. They became good friends. So a couple of those individuals to wherethe latenight the governor was staying. He turned himself in, well past midnight. The governor was sound asleep, so some of his personal put him in a room located upstairs and locked the door. Down against the wall and buried his head in his knees and fell asleep. Someone was able to get into that room and stabbed him. He got out and ran the front door after the person stabbed him. He made it about 15 feet and he fell to his death. This was right on the governors doorstep. Nothing ever happened to that buton who stabbed him, nothing was ever set of it. It was one of our very beloved leaders who was treated in that manner. Sat in jailleschi by himself, trying to stay there and see what was going to happen , while a trial was happening. The trial was happening in silicom. It ended up being a hung jury. A second trial was held in downtown olympia, which was the hotbed of all this hostility, farmers against tribal people, and indian people were having a hard time. They lost some of their family including elders and children in the massacre, big part of that puget sound war. We had been really beat down during this. A second trial which included aidence from a doctor and lieutenant who was part of the regular army, who had shown that this socalled murderer of this lieutenant during a time of war, who Governor Stevens was using that particular incident to say that chief leschi was a murderer and needed to be accountable for the action. Focused onwas finding chief leschi guilty. And even though there was a mound of evidence, including maps drawn. This map indicated the chains and had testimony that leschi was with certain people over and that the a, socalled murderer of this lieutenant in this time of war was too far away for leschi to even be there. It was really a farce. But he was found guilty because it was so hostile here. He was taken back to jail. There was a hanging that was scheduled. Wanted theevens support of the regular army, and the general at that time was not going to do that. There really was not it could have been controlled. Governor stevens had such television on creating this tunnel vision on creating this railroad that he forgot about the people and was not showing any care whatsoever for the nisqually people and other tribal people who had lived here for thousands of years. The federal government put in place a ploy to make all the tribes, no matter what their past was, farmers. For some tribes that worked, because they did farm, but for others that were hunters and gatherers, maybe they were more nomadic we were fishermen and people of the grass. We werent farmers. That was a death sentence. That is why that puget sound indian war happened. That is why leschi and quiemuth stood up and said no, we will stand our ground. We need to have our people stay on the server and have access to these grasslands. After trying to get the Medicine Creek treaty corrected to at least have a people on the river, after the two trials that happened, after everything that had happened, it came time for chief leschi to be hanged. That was the sentence that he was given by the judge at that time. And the judge ordered for the regular army to do the hanging. The man who was in the army who had to do the hanging said that he felt like he was hanging an innocent man. He regretted having to do that. They were not happy about having to do that. It turned out that stevens was reprimanded by the president for this whole thing. And for that specifically. But leschi was hanged, in his last words that forever the people will remember him, and what happened to the nisqually people at that time, and that one day his spirit would be free, and that he wanted all of his children, grandchildren, and their children and grandchildren to know what had happened at , what constitutes our relationship with the nontribal people in Washington State. There was so much loss. About 150 years later one of my elders, i absolutely loved her. Her name was cecilia carpenter. She believed that the stars were all in the right place. , who ie sherman leschi adore and loved, he sat me down one afternoon and said, i have a project for you, it is time to clear leschis name. This is a good time for the tribe to do something for leschi after all this time. That is when we started talking. I started talking amongst other people who had that same kind of passion to help free leschis spirit and clear the air on what had happened. There were some great people who came out of that historical community, and the political immunity, including chief Justice Gerry Alexander and a Pierce County executive. When they joined our group and saw that passion, we got the pieces we needed to create this Historical Court that happened in the Washington State museum in december 2004. It was a full day of court. This was the third trial for leschi. It was not a give me situation. There were witnesses that were experts in their field, including military experts who came in and spoke on the battle that had happened where that lieutenant had been killed. All of that evidence was reintroduced, the map, the testimony, and all of that was brought forward. It was a tough day. But through all of that there was a unanimous ruling at the end of that court by that special tribunal. They cleared, the exonerated chief leschi after all that. Is when i believe his spirit was freed. I think a lot of us here at nisqually filled so amazing knowing that, that the whole story had no been told. We didnt discount what happened in the past. That was important history. That we had in that final chapter that closed. I think most importantly it shows a real strength of tribal sovereignty. It shows a real strength of tribal culture and the desire of indian people to keep our culture of life and to make sure that it is not taken away. There were many attempts through indian policy and all kinds of situations like this one that tried to shut indian people down. This was one of the actions there are a lot of great indian leaders in our history. I think leschi is right up there for standing solid, maintaining our sovereignty, and letting people know that this order will never be broken. Our cities tour staff recently traveled to to, washington to learn about its rich history. Learn more about tacoma and other stops on our tour at www. Cspan. Org citiestour. Your watching American History tv, all weekend every weekend on cspan3. We are flying over washington, district of columbia, capital of the united states. We shall view this beautiful city, the pride of every
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