Steilacoom

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The Steilacoom or Steilacoomamish (also: Chillacum ) are an unrecognized Indian tribe that lived in what is now the US state of Washington . Their villages stood at the southern end of Puget Sound on Steilacoom Creek, which is now Chambers Creek . Their residential area consisted of a strip of land measuring around 10,900 acres , measuring a good 3 km by 13 km.

The connection to the rest of the coastal Salish to which they culturally belonged is unclear. So it is controversial whether they formed a subunit of the Puyallup or the Nisqually .

The name "Steilacoom" refers to a flower that grows at the mouth of the stream of the same name.

history

Early history

Like most coastal Salish, the Steilacoom were only stationary in winter. During the warm season, they were found on the islands in Puget Sound , where they caught fish and shellfish, particularly around and on Anderson (20.1 km²), Fox (16.5 km²) and McNeil Island (17.2 km²) ). They visited other groups by families and spent the summer with them. Exogamous marriage relationships existed between the autonomous villages, the place of residence was that of the husband (patrilocal). Their number was estimated at around 500 for the time before the colonization by Europeans and Americans. In contrast to the Nisqually, who had close contacts with the mounted Yakama and Klickitat , they never took over horse breeding.

Disintegration, smallpox, treaty with the USA, lack of recognition

Officers building at Fort Steilacoom
The Church of the Immaculate Conception Church. It was built in 1855, but was moved to its current location in 1864. It is the oldest Catholic Church in Washington. The first Protestant was not made until 1889

In 1833 they came into contact with the British fur traders who founded Fort Nisqually in 1833 on behalf of the Hudson's Bay Company . In 1846 the area came to the USA, which in August 1849 built Fort Steilacoom around 10 km north of the British fort (a military base until 1868). In return, the Americans paid the Puget Sound Company, a Hudson's Bay Company, a 15-year lease payment of $ 600,000 to Dr. William F. Tolmie left. The affected area was inhabited by Puyallup, Nisqually, Squaxin and Steilacoom. Port Steilacoom was built in 1850, and Steilacoom City in 1851 . Later the two places were called Upper and Lower Steilacoom. Now a school, a church, a shop and a hotel were built, and finally a sawmill on Steilacoom Creek. It belonged to Thomas Chambers and soon the creek was called Chamerbs Creek. The drive was water, which was provided by the artificial Lake Steilacoom, which was created in 1853 by building a dam.

Through the Treaty of Medicine Creek , which came about on December 26, 1854, the tribe was given, following the oral tradition of some descendants between Nisqually Flats and Commencement Bay. However, according to the treaty, they were referred to the estuary of Steilacoom Creek, where their main village was Tchtelcab. However, they were not given a reservation and were not recognized as an Indian tribe. In 1853 the group consisted of 175 people, in 1854 it is said to have been only 25. Most likely fell victim to the smallpox epidemic that raged in 1853.

During the Puget Sound War, the group was separated from the other coastal Salish, who were hostile to the white settlers, and brought to Fox Island.

Struggle for recognition

The Indian Reorganization Act of 1934 gave the group a constitution and a council of nine. There is also an honorary chief. When the government closed the reservation on Fox Island, the Steilacoom, the agency's request, refused to move to the Puyallup or Nisqually reservation.

Since the tribe was not recognized, they received no redress for the expropriation of the Fox Island Reservation, estimated at $ 10,727.57. With Docket 208, the Steilacoom submitted their claim to the responsible Indian Claims Commission. This estimated the value for the middle of the 19th century at $ 20,000. On July 31, 1974, the tribe received the sum of $ 9,146.32 after deducting payments made so far. The tribe applied for this money to be held in trust for a land exchange program.

Since 1973 and 1977 respectively, Snohomish and Duwamish and Steilacoom have been suing for recognition as an Indian tribe, but the case is still pending.

Todays situation

In June 1981 the tribe leased land from Pierce County. It was 5 acres in Fort Steilacoom Park. A teaching center was created here, in which traditional techniques or modern energy generation are taught in coordination with Fort Steilacoom College.

In 1986 the tribe had 615 members.

literature

  • Robert H. Ruby / John A. Brown: A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest , University of Oklahoma Press 1992, pp. 222-224.

See also

Remarks

  1. ^ A Brief History of the Oberlin Congregational Church of Steilacoom,
  2. ↑ Fort Steilacoom website , archive.org, October 17, 2014.
  3. ↑ The text of the treaty can be found here: Medicine Creek Treaty , archive.org, July 18, 2009.
  4. ↑ The two claims can be found here: Indian Claims Commission: Steilacoom Tribe v. US A (PDF; 971 kB) and Indian Claims Commission: Steilacoom Tribe v. US B (PDFs, 948 and 964 kB).
  5. ↑ See list of unrecognized tribes