Treaty of Point Elliott

A bronze plaque with gold typeface, on a flat rectangular rock slab.
Plaque near the location of the signing of the Treaty of Point Elliott, Mukilteo, Washington.

The Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855, or the Point Elliott Treaty,[1]—also known as the Treaty of Point Elliot / Point Elliot Treaty[2]—is the lands settlement treaty between the United States government and the Native American tribes of the greater Puget Sound region in the recently formed Washington Territory (March 1853), one of about thirteen treaties between the U.S. and Native Nations in what is now Washington.[3] The treaty was signed on January 22, 1855, at Muckl-te-oh or Point Elliott, now Mukilteo, Washington, and ratified 8 March and 11 April 1859. Between the signing of the treaty and the ratification, fighting continued throughout the region. Lands were being occupied by European-Americans since settlement in what became Washington Territory began in earnest from about 1845.[4]

Signatories to the Treaty of Point Elliott included Chief Seattle (si'áb Si'ahl) and Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens. Representatives from the Duwamish, Suquamish, Snoqualmie, Snohomish, Lummi, Skagit, Swinomish, (in order of signing) and other tribes also signed.

The treaty established the Suquamish Port Madison, Tulalip, Swin-a-mish (Swinomish), and Lummi reservations. The Native American signers included Suquamish and Dwamish (Duwamish) Chief Seattle, Snoqualmoo (Snoqualmie) and Sno-ho-mish Chief Patkanim as Pat-ka-nam, Lummi Chief Chow-its-hoot, and Skagit Chief Goliah. The Duwamish signatories to the Point Elliott Treaty of January 22, 1855 were si'áb Si'ahl as Chief Seattle, and Duwamish si'áb Ts'huahntl, si'áb Now-a-chais, and si'áb Ha-seh-doo-an. The treaty guaranteed both fishing rights and reservations.[5] Reservations were not designated for the Duwamish, Skagit, Snohomish, and Snoqualmie peoples.

  1. ^ See, for example, Treaty of Point Elliott, 1855, HistoryLink.org (accessed 2009-04-09); Treaty of Point Elliott Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Washington State Historical Society (accessed 2009-04-09); Treaty of Point Elliott, 1855, US GenWeb Archives (accessed 2009-04-09).
  2. ^ With one t; see for example Treaty of Point Elliot on the site of the University of Oregon (accessed 2009-04-09); History of The Samish Indian Nation Archived 2006-10-03 at the Wayback Machine on the site of the Samish Indian Nation (accessed 2009-04-09), which uses both spellings; McDermott Introduces Legislation Seeking Federal Recognition For The Duwamish Tribe, February 8, 2007 on the site of Congressman Jim McDermott (accessed 2009-04-09).
  3. ^ (1) Lange
    (2) Thirteen treaties, 26 December 1854–7 July 1883, most in 1855.
    (2.1) Fraley
  4. ^ (1) Morgan (1951, 1982), p. 14
    (2) it was offed by Governor Stevens "Page 10". Treaty between the United States and the Duwamish, Suquamish, and other allied and subordinate tribes of Indians in Washington Territory: January 22, 1855, ratified April 11, 1859. University of Washington Libraries: Digital Collections. 1999-05-21. Retrieved 2006-07-21.
  5. ^ Long (20 January 2001, Essay 2951)