It’s me again, one week older, and still learning the basics of native history around the Puget Sound. I’m looking for information on land “reservations.” These lands are apparently allocated to the Muckleshoot, Nisqually, Puyallup, Suquamish, Tulalip and Squaxin Island Tribes. A jumble of unruly questions comes to mind . . .
What was the chain of events that led these tribes to accept the reserved lands? And how do tribal members feel about it now?
What about the other nearby tribes, such as the Skagit, Swinomish, Sauk-Suiattle, Duwamish, Sahewamish, Skykomish, Snoqualmie, and Stillaguamish? If there is no reservation, do they have any land? Have they integrated with other population groups . . . Or have they simply disappeared?
In years past, I’ve driven by some of these reservations, and peered in from the outside. A nation within a nation. What does life look like from the other side of the border?
And why didn’t I learn this stuff in my high school “Washington State History” class? Was this basic information not being taught? Or was I just not listening?
Michelle Garred 