What were the key ideals and provisions of the tribal treaties of the era and how did they reflect the goals of governor Stevens and the settlers of Washington territory in 1855.
Answers
he Treaty of Point No Point was signed on January 26, 1855, at Hahdskus, or Point No Point, on the northern tip of the Kitsap Peninsula. Governor of Washington Territory Isaac Stevens (1818-1862) convened the treaty council on January 25, with the S'Klallam, the Chimakum, and the Skokomish. Leaders argued against signing Governor Steven's terms, but by the second day were persuaded to do so. Under the treaty, tribes of the northern Kitsap Peninsula ceded ownership of land in exchanged for small reservation and hunting and fishing rights.
On the first day of the council, treaty provisions were translated from English to the Chinook Jargon for the 1,200 assembled natives. Charles M. Gates writes, "Though Stevens won acceptance for his proposals, he was required to defend them with some stubbornness. The issues in dispute were thoroughly aired and a number of chiefs spoke their minds with some vigor" (Pacific Northwest Quarterly).
Skokomish leader Hool-hol-tan expressed the following:
"I wish to speak my mind as to selling the land. Great chief! What shall we eat if we do so? Our only food is berries, deer, and salmon. Where then shall we find these? I don't want to sign away my right to the land. Take half of it and let us keep the rest. I am afraid that I shall become destitute and perish for want of food. I don't like the place you have chosen for us to live on. I am not ready to sign the paper" (quoted in Pacific Northwest Quarterly).
L'Hau-at-scha-uk, a To-anhooch, said, "I do not want to leave the mouth of the River. I do not want to leave my old home, and my burying ground. I am afraid I shall die if I do" (quoted in Pacific Northwest Quarterly).
Others objected that the land was being bought too cheaply, that they now understood what it was worth. The whites responded that it was poor land, worth little.
By the end of the day tribal leaders had begun to concede. They requested to think and talk about it overnight, and the following morning arrived with white flags, ready to sign. Various chiefs and headmen added their marks to the document, which had been prepared beforehand, with no intention of serving as a basis for negotiation. The complete text of the treaty follows.
Treaty of Point No Point, 1855
Articles of agreement and convention made and concluded at Hahdskus, or Point no Point, Suquamiah Head, in the Territory of Washington, this twenty-sixth day of January, eighteen hundred and fifty-five, by Isaac I. Stevens, governor and superintendent of Indian affairs for the said Territory, on the part of the United States, and the undersigned chiefs, headmen, and delegates of the different villages of the S'Klallams, viz: Kah-tai, Squah-quaihtl, Tch-queen, Ste-tehtlum, Tsohkw, Yennis, Elh-wa, Pishtst, Hunnint, Klat-la-wash, and Oke-ho, and also of the Sko-ko-mish, To-an-hooch, and Chem-a-kum tribes, occupying certain lands on the Straits of Fuca and Hood's Canal, in the Territory of Washington, on behalf of said tribes, and duly authorized by them.