History

Legend has it that the Nisqually tribe's first village was set up in what is now called Skate Creek by their ancestors, the Squalli-absch. These ancestors migrated from the Great Basin to escape problems like dry land and food scarcity. They established winter villages at Elbe and Mashel and gradually settled in the Nisqually River area in rural Thurston County, Washinton. They lived there peacefully for about 10,000 years until European settlers arrived in 1840.

The Treaty of Medicine Creek, created by Governor Isaac Stevens with Chief Leschi of the Nisqually tribe, caused a lot of resentment. The treaty took millions of acres from the Indians and forced them to live on uninhabitable shrubland. This eventually led to the Puget Sound Indian War. After the war, the Nisqually were given a new reservation, but the land was still too small to support them. In 1917, the U.S. Army took about 3,000 acres of their land to set up the Fort Lewis Military Reserve, causing many Nisqually to leave their reservation.

Puget Sound War

The Puget Sound War was an armed conflict that took place in The Puget Sound War was a conflict in 1855-56 in Washington's Puget Sound area, involving the U.S. military, local militias, and Native American tribes including the Nisqually, Muckleshoot, Puyallup, and Klickitat. Additionally, Haida and Tlingit raiders clashed with the U.S. Navy during their raids on local tribes.

Though the war was limited in scale and impact, it is often remembered for the 1856 Battle of Seattle and the execution of Nisqually Chief Leschi, a key figure in the conflict. Some events, like the Battle of Seattle, may have been influenced by the contemporaneous Yakima War, and people at the time didn't clearly distinguish between the two wars.

Chief Leschi

In an 1857 trial, Leschi was convicted of murder following the Puget Sound Indian War of 1855-56, a verdict many viewed as a grave injustice. After nearly 150 years, Leschi was given another day in court. The panel, hearing testimonies from legal and military experts, historians, and Native people who upheld Leschi's innocence, symbolically exonerated him. This event called the Washington Historical Court of Justice and Inquiry, was celebrated as a significant and meaningful action that satisfied Leschi's descendants and redefined the history of Indian-settler relations in the region. It was the first time in U.S. history that the treatment of an Indian war leader in U.S. courts was publicly re-examined. (Blee 56)

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