15 Ind. CI. C m . 1

BEFOXE

l3E STILL4GUAPfISH TRIBE

THE INDIAN CLkIPfS CO?fxISSION

OF IhQIfihTS, ) 1

P e t i t i o n e r , ) ) 1 Docket No. 207 1

THE UNITED STATES OF PJERICA, 1 1

Defendant .)

Decided: Feb 26 1965

FINDINGS OF FACT

The Commission makes t h e fo l lowing f i n d i n g s of f a c t .

1. The ~ t i l l a ~ & n i s h T r i b e of I n d i a n s , petitioners h e r e i n i s 2n

i d e n t i f i a b l e group of Ind ians w i t h i n t h e meaning of t h e I n d i a n C l a i m

Cormnission Act of August 13, 1946 (60 S t a t . 1049), and as such i s

e n t i t l e d t o main ta in t h i s cause of a c t i o n .

2. P e t i t i o n e r c la ims t h a t it had e x c l u s i v e a b o r i g i n a l use and

occupancy of t h e fol lowing desc r ibed t e r r i t o r y w i t h i n a l 2 r g e r a r e a

ceded t o t h e United S t a t e s i n t h e P o i n t E l l i o t t T r e a t y o f January 22,

1855 (12 S t a t . 927, I1 Kapp. 6 6 3 ) :

That c e r t a i n p o r t i o n of t l ie a5ove-descri1,ed l and and t e r r i t o r y around and inc lud ing tlie S t i l l a g u a m i s h Biver and t h e watershed t h e r e o f , front i t s hendwaters t o i t s mouth.

A l l of s a i d l and is s t t u a t e d i n t h e Puget Sound a r e a i n what is now t h e

S t a t e of Washington. . .

P e t i t i o n e r f u r t h e r claims t h a t t h e r i g h t of s a i d p e t i t i o n e r t o t h e

cbove d e s c r i b e d land and t e r r i t u r y and t o t h e occapancg t h e r e o f was

at all t imes undisputed and acknowledged Ly t h e Uni ted S t a t e s . T h i s

c l a i m i s denied by t h e defendant.

15 Ind. C 1 . Counn;. L 2

During the progress oE the hearing rlle a t torneys f o r t he p e t i t i o n e r

c t i p u l a t e d t h a t :

I would l i k e the record t o show a t t h i s time t h a t a s a t t o rney fo r t he S t i l l aguax i sh , tha t we abandon claim t o that a rea which D r . Ri ley hzs just r e f e r r ed t o as "Quadsak"; and a s at torney f o r the R ik i a l lu s I mwed t h a t t h a t a r e a be included i n the Kik ia l lu s claim, so t h a t ul a r e a south of t he mouth of the Skagi t River designated a s "Kikiallus" and an a r e a designated a s "Quadsak" i n the nor th por t ion of Camano I s l and a l l be included i n the aroa belonging t o the Kik ia l lu s T r ibe , and t h a t the a r ea t o the e a s t of t h e dot ted l i n e drawn by Miss Snyder on up t o the North and South Forks of the S t i l l aguanish River on Pet , Ex, 4 and Deft. Ex. A be t h e a r e a claimed by the Stil laguamish Tribe. (Deposition of D r . C a r r o l l Riley, p. 47.)

Later the p e t i t i o n e r i n a requested f inding l imi t ed i t s claim t o

t h e following area:

Beginning a t Warm Beach about 5 miles south of Stanwood; thence e a s t t o t he City of Grani te F a l l s ; thence eastward on 2 l i n e t en mi les south of the South'Fork of the Stil laguarnish River t o a poin t 10 miles south of Monte Cr i s to ; thence nor th t o Darrington; thence north t o a poin t 10 mi les nor th of Darr ington; thence west t o the northernmost po in t on Lake Cavanaugh; thence southwestward t o Bryant; thence west t o East Stanwood. (Pet . Req. Fdg. 13)

3. On January 22, 1855, the s a i d ' ~ t i 1 l a ~ u a m i s h and c e r t a i n o t h e r

t r i b e s of Indians on the one p a r t , and t h e United S t a t e s of A m e r i c a on

t h e o ther p a r t , entered i n t o a t r e a t y i n wr i t ing , co~nmonly known and

r e f e r r e d t o a s t h e Treaty of Point E l l i o t t , supra, which was approved

and r a t i f i e d by the Senate of the United S t a t e s on March 8, 1859, and

proclaimed by the R e s i d e n t of t h e United S t a t e s on Apr i l 11, 1859. That

by the t e r m s of s a id t r e a t y , the p e t i t i o n e r ceded, r e l i nqu i shed , and

conveyed t o t h e United S ta t e s a11 i ts separa te t r i b a l r i g h t s , t i t l e s and

i n t e r e s t i n and t o i t s s a i d lands.

15 Ind. C1. Camm. 1 3

By the terms of sa id t r e a t y , i n consideration of the above mentioned

cession by the Indian t r i b e s , t h e United S ta tes agreed t o pay t o a l l

of the said t r ibes together the sum of one hundred f i f t y thoussnd d o l l a r s

($150,000). Pet i t ioner clalms t h a t s a i d sum of money was a completely

inadequate and unconscionable considerat ion f o r sa id lands s o ceded and

relinquished.

4 . The pet i t ioner and defendant s t ipu la ted a t the opening of t h e

hearing i n t h i s case as follows:

* * * there s h a l l be f i r s t a determination i n the matter of Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians versus the United S t a t e s of America, Docket No. 207, t h e question whether t h e Claimant, under the law and f a c t s t o be adduced, had, a t the time of the alleged wrongful a c t s by t h e Defendant, aboriginal o r Indian t i t le , within the.meaning of t h e Act, t o the lands described i n the Pet i t ion , or any pa r t thereof, and i f so, whether the Defendant unlawfully deprived the Claimant thereof, postponing u n t i l a f t e r such determination, should such determination be favorable t o C l a i w n t , proof as t o t h e v d c e thereof, or as t o any other questions of f a c t r a i sed by the pleadings not here tofore determined by the Conrmission.

5. (a) By Act of August 14, 1848 (9 S ta t . 323), Congress c rea ted

t h e Terr i tory or' Oregon within the area of which l ived v s i o u s Indian

t r i b e s and bands, including the StiLlaguamisS Indians. The A c t made a l l

land laws of the United Sta tes applicable t o Orego3 Ter r i to ry , and i n

Sect ion 1 provided t h a t no'ihiag the re in contaiiied "shal l be construed

t o impair the r igh t s of persons o r property now pertaining t o t h e . . Indians i n sa id t e r r i t o r y s o long as such r i g h t s remain unextinguished

by t r e a t y betwcen the. United S ta tes and such Indizns **.'I

(b) By an Act dated Ju3e 5, 1850 (9 S ta t . 437), Conzress author ized

t h e negot ia t ion of t r e a t i e s with t h e Indian t r i b e s i n the T e r r i t o r y of

15 Ind. C1. c&. 1

Oregon fo r the extinguishing of t h e i r claims t o lands Lying w e s t of the

Cascade NountairLs.

( c ) By Act of March 2, IS53 (10 S ta t . l72), Congress organized the

Terr i tory of Washington out of the north hal f of Oregon Terr i tory , and

by Section 12 of sa id Act provision w2s made tha t all laws of Congress

r e l a t i n g t o Oregon Terr i tory , not inconsistent with s a i d 1853 Act, were

continued i n force i n the newly created Washington Terr i tory . Section 2

of the Act provided fo r ghe appointment of a Governor who was a l s o t o

perform the dut ies of Superintendent of Indian Affairs i n the Terr i tory .

6. The f i r s t white contact made with the Indians i n what is now . . '. .

t h e S ta te of washington occurred i n 1759 when' Juan de ~ k c a reached the

S t r a i t s named a f t e r him. Captain George Vancouver v i s i t e d the a rea i n ,.. "-.

1892 and t h e Hudson Bay Company and the Northwest Company soon became ,*-

a c t i v e i n t h e region.

On December 26, 1853, Isaac Stevens, the f i r s t Governor and ex-

o f f i c i o Superintendent of Indian Affairs of Washington Terr i tcry ,

wrote t o t h e missioner of Indian Affairs suggesting the urgent neces- : -

s i t y f o r making t r e a t i e s immediately with the Indians w e s t of t h e Cascade

Mountains i n Washington Terri tory. He pointed out t h a t these t r i b e s

l i v e d on d i f fe ren t water courses on bays and i n l e t s of Puget Sound, and

they had selected spots t h a t were t h e i r permanent homes which they

wislied t o reserve, but would s e l l the r e s t of t h e i r lands t o t h e whites.

7. Following the sa id l e t t e r of Governor I saac Stevens, Congress

made an appropriation on July 31, 1854 (10 Stat . 315), of $150,000 t o

extinguish land claims of Indians i n the Washington Terr i tory . On

August 30, 1854, Governor Stevens was not i f ied by t h e Acting Commissioner

15 Ind. C 1 . Conn?l. 1 5

of Indian Affairs of h i s o f f i c i a l appointment a s t rea ty coxmissioner t o

negotiate t r e a t i e s with a l l t r ibes i n the Washington Terr i tory .

I n c=rying out h i s duties as Superintendent of Indian Affai rs ,

Gwernor Stevens had previously, on March 22, 1854, appointed Colonel

Simons as I n d i a Agent fo r the Puget Sound D i s t r i c t wherein the claimed

lands were located, and directed him t o v i s i t t h e various t r i b e s i n

h i s D i s t r i c t , make a census of the t r i be s and bands, a s ce r t s i n as nearly

as possible the boundaries o£ the t e r r i t o ry clained by each, and at the

same time organize the small bands i n to t r i b e s and appoint chiefs f o r

each. D r . George Gibbs assisted Governor Stevens i n arranging t r e a t i e s

and a f t e r meeting with the various t r i b e s prepared a repor t on March 11,

1654. Apparently.using t h i s report and adding addi t ional information,

.Governor Stevens, on September 16, 1854, made an o f f i c i a l repor t t o

the Commissioner of Indian Affairs on the locat ion of Indian -Tribes,

t he i r estimated populations, and general f a c t s concerning them. Appended

thereto is a m_ap with a notation i n the handwriting of Governor Stevens

as follows: "Transmitted t o the Commissioner of Indian Affai rs with

repor t of t h i s d ~ t e . Washington, D. C., September 16, 1854 /s/ I saac

Stevens, Gwernor of the Terri tory of Washington." On t h i s map he names

the "Stolucwamish" r i ve r and across the area between t h e Snohomish River

and the Skagit River watershed is wri t ten the word "Stolucwamish." The : - mrd "Quehtl-manish" is w i t t e n i n the area eas te r ly frm the south fork

of t he Stillaguamish River. These names have reference t o the Stillaguamish

as, now known,

15 Ind. C1 . Comm. I 6

8. The expert evidence i n t h i s case consis ts of the testimony of

Sally Snyder, pe t i t ioner ' s qual i f ied anthropologtst who previously t e s t i -

f i e d i n Kikial lus Tribe v. United Sta tes , Docket 263, and i n Swinmish

Tribe v. United S t a t e s , Docket 233; and Dr. Carroll L. Riley, defendant 's

qual i f ied anthropologist, who had previously t e s t i f i e d i n The Snoaualmie

Tribe of Indians v. United Sta tes , Docket 93, and Duwamish Tribe v.

United Sta tes , Docket 109. I n a l l of the above cases the p e t i t i o n e r s

a r e t r i b e s who were p a r t i e s t o the Point E l - l io t t Treaty. It should be

noted fur ther t h a t both the pe t i t ioner and the defendant s t ipu lg ted t h a t

Sa l ly Snyder and Dr. Carrol l L. Riley are qual i f ied anthropologists .

Other evidence received consisted of h i s t o r i c a l documents, Government

records, w i t i n g of Indian agents and p r iva te individcals l i v i n g i n t h e

area, anthropological repor ts and sundry maps. Such documents a r e

dated from as ear ly as 1851 t o recent times.

John S i lva and Ester Allen, both Stillaguamish Indians, a l s o

t e s t i f i e d i n behalf of t h e pe t i t ioner .

9 . Miss Snyder t e s t i f i e d t h a t based upon documentary material and a

small percentage of f i e l d work she had determined t h a t the p e t i t i o n e r was

an aboriginal t r i b e of Indians known as t h e Stillaguamish t r i b e ; t h a t t h e

area it occupied at or p r io r t o 1855 was outlined i n red on a map

i d e n t i f i e d as Pet i t ioners Exhibit 4, which she prepared f o r use i n t h i s

proceeding. This exhibit was received i n evidence.

On t h i s map the witness had marked and numbered the loca t ion of

v i l l a g e s and camp s i t e s which she sa id had been hunting grounds and

legendary s i t e s used by the Stillaguamish Indians. Her opinion wi th

respect t o the location of these sites was based on severa l books and

15 Ind. C 1 . C m . -1 7

r epor t s and a r t i c l e s such a s , Nels Bruseth 's "Indian S t o r i e s and Legends

of t he Stil laguamish and All ied Tr ibes ," published at Ar l ing ton , A p r i l

1926; Diary of George 0. Wilson, 1849 t o 1857, Jou rna l of an Excuision

from Steilacooin, Oregon Te r r i t o ry , t o t h e St i l laguamish River ; "History

of t h e Twin City Country" by Gustave Joergerson, a l o c a l h i s t o r i a n , con-

ta ined i n a pamphlet sponsored by a Meadow-Moor Dairy, May 1950; "Narra-

t i v e of Svnuel Hancock, 1845 t o 1860," published i n 1926; t h e test imony

of James Dorsey a Stillaguamish Indian i n t h e United S t a t e s Court of

Claims case t h e Duwamish Tribe v. United S t a t e s , i n J u l y 1926.

Her information as t o t h e a r e a occupied and exp lo i t ed by t h e

Stil laguamish was gathered from t h e Annual Report of t h e Commission of

Indian Affa i r s , 1852, Indian Agent Report No. 71; t h e F i r s t Annual

Report of Indian Agent E. A. S t a r l i n g f o r t h e D i s t r i c t of Puget Sound,

w r i t t e n from Steilocoom, Oregon T e r r i t o r y , on September 1, 1852; Message

of t h e President of the United S t a t e s t o t h e two Houses of Congress a t

t h e commencement of the second se s s ion of t h e 33rd Congress, December 4 ,

1854; Part 1, Executive Document No. 1 by I s a a c Stevens -- t h i s i n c l u d e s

an es t imate of Indian t r i b e s i n t h i s t e r r i t o r y . Arncng'other documents

were Les l i e Sp ie r ' s "Tribal D i s t r i b u t i o n i n Washington", General S e r i e s

i n Anthropology No. 3, Nashua 1936, which i s based upon o l d sources ;

Marion Smith's "The Coast Sa l i sh of Puget Sound", American Anthropology,

Volume 43, pp. 194 to 211, 1941; Bureau of American Ethnology, B u l l e t i n 30,

"Handbook of North American Indians", under S t i l laguamish.

These l a t e r references p lace t h e S t i l l a g u ~ m i s h i n t h e S t i l l a g u a n i s h

watershed. Most of them simply name t h e St i l laguamish River and do

15 Ind. C l . C m . I

- not d is t inguish the North Fork from the South Fork.

Pe t i t ioner ' s Exhibit'No. 1 i s a reproduction of page 637 from

"Handbook of American Indians, North of Mexico," ed i t ed by Frederick

Webb Hodge, which defines "StilLaguamish as a d iv is ion of Sal ish formerly

l i v i n g on a r i v e r of the same name i n N.W. Washington. They a r e a branch

o f , or closely re la ted t o , the Snohomish and are now on Tula l ip reservat ion,

bu t t h e i r number i s not separately reported **.*' Exhibit No. 2 is a

reproduction of two pages from "General Series i n Anthropology, No. 3,

T r i b a l Dis t r ibut ion i n Washington," by Lesl ie Spier , page 35. He locates

them on the Stillaguamish River.

10. Miss Snyder prepared pe t i t ioner ' s Exhibit No. 5 which -purports

t o be a tabulated summary of her findings with respect t o each v i l l a g e

o r camp s i te named on her map, Exhibit 4 . I n the second column from the

l e f t under t h e word "source" she indicates where she obtained the infor-

mation f o r h e r comments on the v i l l ages designated on Exhibit 4 , She

explains t h i s matter as follows: "Each v i l l a g e is numbered, and then

each reference gives the i n i t i a l o r i n i t i a l s of t h e source - B f o r

Bruseth; 3, D. f o r James Dorsey; J. f o r Jorgenson; W. f o r Wilson." None

of :he source material refer red t o is i n evidence; i n f a c t not even a

quota t ion is made from it. Apparently a l l of these a u t h o r i t i e s were

ava i l ab le to M i s s Snyder and pe t i t ioner ' s counsel, bu t f o r some reason

urrkdbm t o the Commission, none of the books o r articles or reproductions

of pe r t inen t matter have been placed i n evidence. Miss Snyder's comments

on t h e v i l l a g e s i t e s l i s t e d on Exhibits 4 and 5 are found i n h e r deposi t ion

beginning on page 41 and continuing through page 52.

15 Ind. C l . Comm. 1 9

Under the circumstances the Comiss ion be l i eves t h 2 t t h i s documentary

mater ia l should be examined by the Comiss ion r a t h e r than r e l y on t h e

bare statement t h a t it was the ma te r i a l used by Miss Snyder and upon which

she formed her opinion. From t h e Congressional Library we obtained a

copy of t h e Bruseth pamphlet. I n h i s foreward t h e author s t a t e s t h a t

twenty years e a r l i e r the author made notes of t h e Ind ian s t o r i e s t h a t has

been r e l a t e d t o him. He gives c r e d i t t o James Dorsey of T ra f ton , Wash-

in ton , of whom more w i l l be s a i d l a t e r i n t hese f ind ings , and t o James

R i c e "of Hazel f o r advice and cor rec t ions as t o names of p l aces and

checking up on matters coztained i n t hese s t o r i e s . " I n 1910 t h e au thor

looked over old camp s i t e s , presumably those of t h e S t i l l aguamish alth.ough

he was vague a s t o the s p e c i f i c Indians he was t a l k i n g about i n h i s

numerous unrelated sho r t s t o r i e s and legends of miscel laneous Indian

t r i b e s apparently located i n t he genera l a r e a of t h e S t i l l aguamish River

* (Commission's Exhibi t 1).

Next is the a f f i d a v i t and o r a l testimony of JamesDorsey presented

before the Court of Claims. Comiss ion ' s Exh ib i t s 2 and 3 a r e cop ie s

of p a r t of t h e record i n t he case of t h e Duwamish e t a l . , Ind ians v.

* Brief e x t r a c t s from some of these documents r e l i e d upon by M i s s Snyder and a l s o by D r . Riley which have some probat ive va lue have

. been reproduced and a re numbered a s Commission's Exh ib i t s . W e n o t e h e r e t h a t counsel should have reproduced t h e s e e x t r a c t s . We want it understood t h a t i n doing t h i s we a r e no t s e t t i n g a gene ra l pre- cedentwhich we expect t o follow i n o the r cases . Those no t repro- duced could no t be located.

15 Ind. C l . Comm. 1 . ' 10

United Sta tes , No. F-275, decided June 4, 1934 (79 C t . C I S . 539).

- - 1n- h i s a f f i d a v i t M r . Dorsey s t a t e s tha t he was born i n 1850 a t or

near Snohaish Counry, Washington; t h a t he l ived h i s whole l i f e i n the

v i c i n i t y of h i s b i r t h place and i n recent years has l ived a t or near

Trafton, Washington, on the Scillaguamish River, 20 miles from h i s b i r t h -

place; t h a t he i s a member of the Stillaguamish Tribe of Indians, and

i s famil iar with a l l the l i is tory of the. t r i b e generally.

Hr. Dorsey does not understand English'and t e s t i f i e d by means of an

in te rp re te r . I n h i s o r a l testimony he s t a t e d tha t t h e a f f i d a v i t co r rec t ly

s t a t e s the names and v i l l a g e s , the number of houses and the s i z e of the

houses of the Indians and the location. (See Comm. Ex. .2)

I n the a f f i d a v i t (Comm. Ex. 3) i s a somewhat de ta i l ed desc r ip t ion of -- a 3

3 v i l l a g e locations and hunting and berrying s i t e s , the pe r t inen t p a r t s of .&F

which may be summarized as follows:

(1) A v i l l a g e with three l a rge homes a t or near the present s i t e

of Stanwood, Washington, where an estimated 250 people l ived.

(2) A v i l l a g e a t o r near Florence with 3 pot la tch houses. John

S i l v a homesteaded t h i s t r a c t .

(3) A v i l l a g e across the Stillaguamish River where poss ib ly 460

people l ived. There was a "strong" house fo r s to r ing blankets , f u r s , e t c . ,

located here. Gardner Goodridge homesteaded t h i s area.

( 4 ) A v i l l a g e i n Lots 5-6, Township 32, Section 30 N. R. 4 E.W. M.

i n Snohomish County, Washington, consist ing of one l a rge home with about

f i v e famil ies l iv ing i n it. The Chief 's name was Good-wich. James

Cuthbert homesteaded the lands i n sa id area.

15 Ind. C l . C m : 1 11

(5) A vi l lage nvned Sel-ta-ch which contained 3 horns, housing about

5 fazoilies. The chief was nanied Sa-Quil-Ten. About 200 people l ived here.

(6) A vi l lzge with two houses and some cabins which served as a

v i s i t i ng center. The chief was Zis-a-ba and there was a bur ia l ground a t

t h i s same location. Birminghzn or Warm Beach is the present day name of

t h i s v i l lage .

(7) A v i l l age between Florence and Silvzaa. This had one l s r g e

house i n which several families lived. Potatoes were grown there ; the

chief was Quil-Que-Ka2am, and Robert Robb homesteaded the t r e c t .

(8) A t a v i l lage near Stanwood was a cemetery vihich was desecrated

by the whites.

( 9 ) Across the Stillaguamish River, f r m the next above mentioned

v i l l a g e was another burial ground or cemetery.

(30) A bur ia l ground on the place once owned by Capt . Marvin. It

has been abandoned and has grown up i n brcsh.

(11) A bur ia l ground located i n Section 30, Tp. 32 N. R. 4 E.W.K.

now used for agriculture.

(12) A vi l l age a t Hat Slough 4 miles south of Stsnwood. It contained

two large homes, housing possibly LOO people.

(13) Avi l l age on lands owned by J. H. Persun and W. H. Ford. It

had two large houses commonly occupied and several hundred people. There

!was a l s o a cemetery here.

(14) A vi l l age near Trafton which contained 4 l a rge buildings,

2 homes and a smoke house. Two hundred people l ived i n f h i s v i l l a g e an2

the re was a l so a cemetery here.

15 Ind. C1 . Corn. 1

( 1 5 ) . A t Oso t h e t r i b e had a large camping grounds. It was a congregat-

ing place fo r them during the berrying and hunting seasons.

(16) A v i l l q e near Hazel with two large homes, 150 t o 200 people,

and a cemetery.

(17) A s i t e on M t . Higgins near Hazel was a camping o r hunting grounds.

Berries were a l s o picked and dr ied here. This s i t e was used by people

from a l l of t h e v i l l a g e s named abwe,

The Indians had f i s h t r aps at the v i l l a g e s mentioned. Also t r aps and

deadfa l ls w e r e i n common use by Stillaguamish people. The a f f i d a v i t

c loses with t h i s statement:

That s a i d Stillaguamish Tribe maintained, both by claim, by occupaxy and by defense i f necessary and sometimes same w a s necessary against other t r i b e s , reasonably wel l defined t e r r i t o r i a l l i m i t s , confined f o r the most p a r t t o the aforesaid Stillaguamish

5; -2 River, both branches and t r i b u t a r i e s . That o ther Tribes, such

as Sauk and Skagits, made v i s i t s and upon agreement were allowed and inv i t ed t o j o i n i n hunting expeditions, and t h e St i l l2guanish Tribe was invi ted by other ad jo i l ing Tribes t o do likewaise i n t h e t e r r i t o r y of sa id other t r i b e s , but u n t i l the coming of t h e white people, sa id Tribe was p r a c t i c a l l y unmolested i n t h e occupancy of s a i d t e r r i t o r y a b w e mentioned; t h a t a f t e r the coming of t h e white people, the l a t t e r f o r the most p a r t paid l i t t l e respect t o t h e r i g h t s of the Indian people; dispossessed them of t h e i r lands, in te r fe red with t h e i r f i s h t r aps , drove them from camping grounds and i n many cases desecrated b u r i a l grounds and p lo t s .

W e note t h a t t h e a f f i d a v i t is l a rge ly i n the language of a lawyer.

I n it are Legal descript ions of v i l l a g e areas and some l e g a l conclusions

c l e a r l y beyond t h e capacity of an uneducated Indian t o e luc ida te o r under-

s tand, These circumstances weaken, i n our judgment, i t s probative value.

Also, no spec i f i c dates a r e given f o r t h e v i l l a g e s except t h a t they were

known by the witness sometime during h i s l i f e period, apparently f o r t h e

most pa r t , during h i s Late adult l i f e .

15 Ind, C l . Comm. -1 13

The o r a l testimony of Janes Dorsey was taken i n a depos i t ion at

Arl ington, Washington on the 4th day of Narch 1927. It was accepted a s

p u t of the record at the hearing before t h e C e ~ r t of Claims i n t h e /.

Duwamish case, suora. From i t we summarize what we consider t h e important

a n d pe r t i nen t items '(c-. Ex. 2) :

; M r . Dorsey s t a t e d t h a t he did not know h i s age, bu t from what he had .-

been t o l d by o ther people he might-be 70 o r 75 years of 2ge; t h a t h e knew

where t h e old houses were located; and.he knew t h e boundaries of t h e

St i l leguamish country. When shown a map (Pet . Ex. D*) he s a i d h e could

no t read, bu t t h a t t h e boundzry marked on t h e map was t h e boundvy of t h e

St i l laguamish country.

H e s t a t e d t h a t t he v i l l z g e s and t h e houses descr ibed i n h i s a f f i d a v i t

were St i l laguamish houses and were loca ted on the S t i l l a g u m i s h River .

He i d e n t i f i e d t h e a f f i d a v i t (Cormn. Ex. 3) as h i s a f f i d w i t 2nd dec l a red i t

t o be cor rec t . He sa id t h a t no reserva t ions were ever s e t a s i d e f o r t h e .-

St i l laguamish 'Indians, and t h a t it took a long time t o b u i l d t h e houses

f o r they were subs t an t i a l l y b u i l t out of lumber.

With r e f e rence t o growing food s t u f f s he s a i d t h e Indians d e u e d

cons iderable ground and plantei! potatoes on it t o h e l p wi t5 t5eir food ,

supply; h e est imated some 40 t o 50 ac re s were clearzd.

He t e s t i f i e d t h a t the f i r s t w h i t e . s e t t l e r came t o t h e river area

!immediately after t h e t r e a t y was made; o ther white s e t t l e r s t hen came

i n t o the Indiax cowtry.

-

* Even though it had been received i n evidence, we were una5le t o f i n d E x h i b i t D i n t h e f i l e s of the Duwmish case, supra, no2 s t o r e d i n the Nat iona l Archives, Washington, D. C.

15 Inti. C l . C m . I ."

The country occupied by the Stillaguamish Indians w a s good country

with much timber on i t . Along the r i v e r bottom it was e a s i l y c leared,

but "on other places it was heavily tim3eredS1'

&I crcss examination by Mr. Starmont, at torney f o r the defendant, Mr.

Dorsey sa id he was the chief of the t r i b e ; t h a t h e couldn' t read because

he hadn' t had an education, and t h a t the boundary l i n e drawn on the map

(Ex. D, supra) was drawn from h i s descr ip t ion of t h e t e r r i t o r y occupied

by the S t i l lquamish people. H e sa id he prepared h i s a f f i d a v i t "as it is

from my own knowledge without any other t o assist m e i n preparing it.''

On r e d i r e c t examination by at torney Gr i f f in , M r . Dorsey s a i d t h e

houses were b u i l t t o l a s t and were used by one generat ion a f t e r another;

t h a t it was a custom for Indians t o go from one v i l l a g e t o another, and

flu-<

% t h a t it was a custom among a l l of t h e Indians t o go f romoneplace t o

dF another and t h a t they were never put out. He s t a t e d , "No., they don't d r ive

them away, these people, d i f fe ren t t r i b e s , a r e a l l f r i end ly and always

welcome t o go i n t o t h e i r houses." According t o Indian law, custom and

understanding, these people from t h e d i f fe ren t t r i b e s w e r e aL1 more or less

re la ted . They went t o a l l these places and were welcomed as a mat ter of

r i g h t . Members of the t r i b e s intermarried and when houses were b u i l t ,

members of t h e t r i b e and members of other t r i b e s would he lp b u i l d them.

There was s o c i a l intercourse among t h e various t r i b e s .

: .On recross examination by Mr. Starmont, Mr. Dorsey s a i d t h a t i f f o r

example, t h e Skagits or Duwamish came t o v i s i t , they would have a r i g h t

t o do so, especia l ly the Duwamish because the Stillaguamish "are more

intermarried and they a re welcome t o t h a t house t h e same zs i f they owned

t h e house."

15 Ind. C 1 . C m . 1 15

The witness a l s o s a i d t h a t p r r c t i t a l l y a l l of t h e Indians i n western

Washington "consider themselves as r e l a t ives . "

Tne Nels Sruseth booklet contzining I n d i m s t o r i e s 2nd legends of the

S t i l k g u u n i s h 2nd a l l i e d t r i b e s , published i n 1926, has s e v e r a l r e f e rences

t o t h e S t i l l aguvnish Indians aid t h e i r loca t ions , t h e most importznt one

is found on page 8.

"OLD IXDIAN CAXPS

Here and the re may y e t be found t r a c e s of o ld Indian camps. On a l i t t l e tour of i nves t iga t ion i n 1910, tI..e.writer looked over t h ree old camp s i t e s . The most i n t e r e s t i n g =md casio,s t t o f i n d was t h e one at Nrs. Leque's p lace a sho r t d i s t ance e a s t of Stan- wood. This canp must have been used f o r a long t i n e . There was a mound covering at l e a s t h a l f an acre , and a t s a t p o i n t s as much as f i v e f e e t h igher than the . l e v e l of t h e cd jo in ing land. It seemed t o be b u i l t up e n t i r e l y of c l z ~ s h e l l s , rocks, bones and re fuse . Some of t h e cla.nshells were i m e n s e , 5 and 6 inches long. The loca t ioa of t h e canp was ideal--on t h e r i v e r bank with unoSstructed view f o r a long way both up and d ~ w i ~ strezm. A l i t t le slough swings i n behiod t h e camp on t h e southc2s t s i d e , making a f i n e place t o h ide a nusber of canoes. Xo doubt t h i s w a s at one time a very busy place. You m2y f i n d t r e c e s of t h e i r camps from Stazwood t o H a t Slough, bu t hardly. 2ny =s conspicuous as t h i s one.

A t t h e Pilchuck creek cross ing , on t h e o ld Sryant-Cedukone road, sone men l eve l l i ng grouzd f o r a m i l l s i t e dound a c i r c u l 2 r p i t of rocks about a foot urider t h e su r f zce of t h e s o i l , ev iden t ly

- an o ld f i r ep l ace . The Indiaas say t h i s was e teinporary c a p used f o r genera t ioa a f t e r generat ioa, b e i q near a b i g ber ry burn arid . good hunt ing groclnds. A t t h e upper Pilchuck, near w>ere t h e N. P. ra i lway br idge c iosses t h e creek, was t h e j u n c t i o l of Skag i t and S t ~ l u k q u m i s h trails. mzre one t i n e very lozg ag3 occurred 2 b a t t l e between some hunting p a r t i e s , and t 3 e r e a f t e r S to lukqumish Indians were r a t h e r ca re fu l when pass iag i t , on accoitnt of bad t n a 2 o w i s .

! Other. so-cal led a u t h o r i t i e s r e l i e d upon by Miss Snyder, t o w i t ,

Gustav Joergerson, author of " H i s ~ o r y of t h e Twin county", and t h e

Diary of George 0. Wilson, 1849-1857, Journzl of zn Excursion from

Steilacoom, Oregon Yerr i tory , t o t h e S t i l l agu=is% River , we 'nave been

15 Ind. Cl. Comm. 1 16

unable t o locate, s o could not exanine t h i s material .

From the Congressional Library we obtained copies of "The Narrat ive

of Samuel Hancock, 1845-1860"; and X u i a n Smlth's a r t i c l e i n t h e American

Anthropology, Vol. 43, pp. 194 t o 211, 1941. (See Corn. Exs. 4 and 5).

The references t o the ~ t i l l a ~ u a m i s h Indians by these authors were very

general. They placed them on the Stillaguamish River i n the S t a t e of

Washington. That pract ica l ly sums up t h i s very meager evidence.

A copy of the annual report of the Commissioner of Indian Af fa i r s ,

1852, including Indian Agent Report No. 71, w a s obtained from t h e rec-

ords of the Deputment of the I n t e r i o r and has been received as Connnis-

s ion ' s Exhibit NO; 6. It contains t h e following comments on t h e S t i l l a -

guamish t r ibe :

"Below the Sin-a-ho-mish come t h e Sto-luck-qua-mish, (River People,) or, as t h e i r name is usually corrupted, Stei la-qua- - mish, whose country is on a stream bearing t h e i r name; and sti l l north of them the Kik-i-al-lis. No opportunity has afforded i t s e l f fo r accurate inquiry i n t o the numbers of e i ther . The f i r s t are sa id by some t o amount t o two hundred, while the l a t t e r may perhaps be set down at seventy-five ..." We obtained from the same source the repor t of Indian Agent E. A.

S ta r l ing f o r the D i s t r i c t of Puget Sound, another'document r e l i e d upon

by Miss Snyder, and have received it i n evidence as Commission's Ex-

h i b i t No. 7. Mr. S tar l ing includes a tabula t ion of Indian t r i b e s i n

t h e Puget Sound area and locates t h e Stillaguamish group cons i s t ing of

175!1ndians as occupying the Stillaguamish River and v i c i n i t y . He

r e p o r t s that "- Stillaguamish speak the Sno-ho-mish tonguew and

t h a t :

15 Znd. Cl.. C m . 1 17

The charac te r of a l l t he se Indians is similar a s a g e n e r a l thing. They al l depend upon f i s h , b e r r i e s , and r o o t s f o r t h e i r main subs is tence , and a l l possess a d e s i r e t o copy a f t e r t h e whites. The pr ide they t ake i n dress ing i n c l o t h , and of being taught t o have dropped t h e i r savageness, and t o have approached, however d i s t a n t l y , t o t h e manners and l ikeness of t h e whi tes , forms a most marked d i f f e rence between them and the Indians formerly inhabi t ing t h e e a s t e r n p a r t of the United S t a t e s . * * *

11. The testimony of p e t i t i o n e r ' s witness , Sa l ly Snyder, as t o . s p e c i f i c use and occupancy o r j o i n t u se with o ther Indian t r i b e s of the

claimed land and the lands ad jacent t h e r e t o may be s u b s t a n t i a l l y sum-

marized as fol lows (Dep. of S a l l y Snyder, Sept. 8, 1955) :

(I) That t he re was j o i n t use of t h e nor thern p a r t of Camano I s l a n d ,

of Warm Beach, and probably t h a t v i c i n i t y ; t he re was a p o s s i b i l i t y of

the Snohomish using Kent's P r a i r i e ; t h e r e was use of t h e Sack P r a i r i e

. by t h e Stil laguamis5; and use of t h e nor th and south fo rks of t h c

S t i l l aguamish .River by t h e Snohomish and t h e Sauk t o g e t t o t h e sa l t

water. (Dep. p, 68)

(2) mat the re was probably j o i n t use, of t h e area i n t h e d i v i d e

between t h e no r th fork of t h e Stil laguamisfi River and t h e headwaters of

creeks t h a t r u n i n t o t h e Skagi t River, and s i n c e t h i s a r e a d i d n o t

form a b a r r i e r , she presumed t h e r e was j o i n t use of t h e hun t ing areas,

but n o t of the stremns running i n t o t h e Skagi t River. (Dep. p. 69)

(3) That these a reas , t o t h e east p a r t i c u l a r l y , would b e regarded

:as l and i n which both Sauk and St i l lagcamish hunted. (Dep. p. 74)

15 Ind. C 1 . Con;m. 1 . . 18

( 4 ) That according t o Indizn h i s to r i an James Dorsey the re were

Clal lan Indian predztors i n the area near the mouth of the S t i lhguamish

River for a period of about 25 y e u s , or from 1840 t o about 1855. (!Jep.

( 5 ) That according t o Nels Bruseth, the Kent P r a i r i e was used

as a digging place .for crops, and t h a t i t was used not only by t h e

Sti l laguanish, but by the Sauk and by the Snohornish. (Dep. p. 48)

( 6 ) That there was a t r a i l between Kent P r a i r i e and the head of

Quilceda Creek between which the Stillaguamish and t h e Snohomish t raveled

back and forth. Kent Pra i r ie , and Sauk P r a i r i e were o f t en gather ing

places f o r people from dis tant points. (Dep. p. 60) .

(7) That i n answer t o the questions a s t o (a) whether o r not the

Stillaguamish were part ly headwater Indians and (b) as t o t h e c e r t a i n t y

of t h e boundaries herein as compared with other cases i n which she has

t e s t i f i e d , she replied:

a. "Well, they are located on t h e headwater and they have a v i l l age on the headwater and t o t h a t ex ten t , yes, bu t at t h e r i v e r mouth there is a grea t deal of polut ion of t h e water and s h e l l f i sh ordinari ly don't t h r i v e t h e r e o r i f they l ive , they a re not used by the Indians s ince mussels, f o r example, cannot to le ra te any polution whatsoever or they are absolutely inedible. I would say t h a t the Sti l laguamish are essent ia l ly r i v e r people; t h a t they l i v e on freshwater beaches."

b. " A l l t he northern boundary and eas te rn boundary, and t h e bound- between the S t illaguamish-Kikiallus is, but t h e southern boundary is not, which is, as i n many cases i n which

:.I have t e s t i f i e d , there a r e areas I am absolutely c e r t a i n of and others I am not s o sure of ." (Dep. pp. 89, 90)

(8) As t o whether Lakes Shoecraft and Goodwin were used j o i n t l y by

t h e Tulal ips and other Indians, she made t h i s statement:

" ~ n o e c r & t and Gocdxin ( lakes) are j u s t south of the Sti l laguanish boundxy as I have drawn it, and i n Snohmish t e r r i t o r y , and t h i s u e a between C-oodwin and the mouth of the Sti lkguamish was 2 f l a t t e r r i t o r y . There were no bound- axies, g e o g r a ~ h i c borders, between them, 2nd i t i s qui te poss ib le tha t they were used but I have no reference a s t o the use of these lakes by the Stillaguarnish ." (Dep . p. 89) (Parenthet ica l material ~ u p p l i e d )

(9) That she did not thi* Granite F a l l s was i n t h e St i l laguvnish

area, althougfi she did not know, but it msy have been used by StiLLa-

guamish for f i sh ing because wa te r fa l l s are considered usually good f i s h -

ing spots. (Dep. p. 87)

(10) That W z r m Beach was a v i s i t i n g center fo r neighboring t r i b e s .

(Dep. pp. 41, 42, 5 9 )

(11) That she. thwgh the Sti l laguvnish were a p a r t of t h e Snohomish,

but t h a t other wr i t e r s had l i s t e d them zs being pa r t of the Skzgit,

and she agreed with them also.

(12) Thst t h e area fo r which there is v i r t u a l l y nothing from any '

documentary sources, and as far as she was aware from t h e informants,

i s the South Fork of the Stillaguamis3 beyond Jim Greek, a l m g which

the re i s n ' t any v i l l a g e or c m p site l i s t e d on Pet. Ex. 4 . The only

reference she made was t o t h e head of the South Fark of t h e Stillaguzmish

River. Between t h a t and t h e Sorth Fork of the Sauk River the re was a

cznoe portage. This she learned from a Sauk Indian informarzt. This

portage was used by the Sti l laguanish t o g e t i n t o the S a d River area ,

where they occasionally hunted, whic5 does indicate , a= least, t h a t t h e

South Fork of the r i v e r was traveled by the Sti l legu2nish and probably

used by them. Sh= drew her conclusion p a r t l y from negetive evidenc2 of

15 Ind. CL. C m . 1

any t r i b e s o the r than the Stil laguamish using the South Fork of t h e

St i l laguamish River (Dep. pp. 58, 5 9 ) .

(13) That apparent ly the StilLaguamish may have used occasionalLy

Lake McMurray, but he r re ference t o L&e Mcburray was t h a t it w a s used

j o i n t l y by t h e Kikial lux and the Nookachamps. (Dep. p. 60)

(14) That t h e a f f i l i a t i o n of t he gorup she had ind ica t ed as

Quadsak, had been debated. I f they a r e no t pa r t of t h e StilJaguamish,

although she thought they were, then the e n t i r e lower r i v e r area wss

h e l d i n common by t h e Quadsak and t h e Stil laguamish. (Dep. p. 65)

(15) That t he c l o s e s t v i l l a g e t o t h e St i l laguamish beyond i t s

western boundary (as drawn by Miss Snyder) w a s a K i k i a l l u s v i l l a g e on

t h e mainland near t he mouth of t h e S t i l l aguan i sh River . (Dep. p.. 70)

(16) That she agreed with James Dorsey t h a t Sauk and Skagi t Ind ians

joined i n hunt ing expeditions with t h e St i l laguamish Indians as ind iv id -

u a l s . (Dep. p. 82)

(17) That when asked as t o whether t h e use made of t h e claimed

areas by o the r t r i b e s was adverse t o t h e St i l laguamish River I n d i a n s o r

premissive, she r ep l i ed , "I am absolu te ly unaware of any h o s t i l i t i e s

between the Stillaguamish and the neighboring t r i b e s . The S t i l l aguamish

had t r o u b l e with t h e Clallam, but , of course, we know t h a t Nor thern

Puget Sound (Indians) had t roub le wi th t h e Clallam." (Dep. p. 60) '

:- (18) In answer t o t h e question, "As far as a c t u a l phys i ca l u s e and

occupation, could you go through your map, l e t s say 640 a c r e s which

forms a sec t ion , and say, wel l , t h a t t h i s p a r t i c u l a r area was used f o r

such and such?" she rep l ied : . .

15 Ind. C1. Comm. 1 21

"It is not poss ib l e . Ir! other words, we a r e t ak ing t h e general p a t t e r n a d t r y i n g t o r e l a t e it t o t h i s a r ea . That i s what I did today i n answering some of your ques t ions , from t h e mater ia l and evidence I have i n s imi l z r a r eas , p re fe rab ly contiguous ones. Tney are i n a very s i m i l a r e r ea c o n t i g u o ~ s t o Stillagu3;nish end I simply don ' t have the informat ion t o exploi ta t ion." (Dep. p. 91)

(19) She agreed with t'ne Commission's Finding 13 i n b1.luckleshoot

Tr ibe v. United S t a t e s , 3 Ind. C1. Connn. 658, 663, which s t a t e d i n essence - t h a t throughout t h e whole of t he Puget Sound Area, i nc lud ing t h e a r e a

claimed here in , t h e economy of t h e abo r ig ina l occupants was cen te red on

t h e b2ys and r i v e r s . It appears from evidence t h a t s u b s i s t e n c e w 2 s never

as r e a l a problem t o these people as it was t o s m e of t h e more e a s t e r n

Indians. (Dep. p, 76) Seine of t h e a r eas r e f e r r e d t o i n numbers 1 t o

19 i n the above summary were j u s t beyond t h e a r e a c l a ined by p e t i t i o n e r .

12. John S i l v a t e s t i f i e d on Juce 12, 1952, as a w i t n e s s f o r t h e

pe t i t i one r . Re s a i d he was 4 3 years of age, a member o f , and t h e Chair-

man of t he St i l laguamish Tr ibe ; and t h a t t h e r e were 50 e n r o l l e d m e ~ b e r s

of t h e t r i b e at t h e time of h i s testiriony. He f u r t h e r s t a t e d t h e t h e

was f ami l i a r with t h e t e r r i z o r y of t h e t r i b e ; t h z t h i s g r a ~ d f e t h e r and

his f a the r had t o l d him 2bout it as it w a s i n h i s g ra i ld fa thc r ' s titne,

bu t no d e t a i l s were given by him as t o what h i s f a t h e r arrd g randfa the r

t o l d him, only h i s conclusions as t o what they s z i d . H i s exzminat ion

on t h i s po in t proceeded as follows: ? .

A. Well, w2 s t a r t e d i n at Conway Q. Now, remember, no t any l i n e t h a t you egreed t o w i t h

anybody e l s e . What did they t e l l you t h e t e r r i t o r y was? A. Well, t h a t i s it. Q. A l l r i g h t .

15 Ind. C 1 . Comm. I

That is it. It has been t h a t way. I have hunted the re lots of times. We have hunted a l l . over them h i l l s . A l l r igh t . Where d i d you start? We s t v t there a r Conway and Pilchuck, and Deer Creek. You s z u t a t Conxay on zhe west? Yes. Tnat is the to-vn known 2s Conwzy? Yes. And tSen you go eas t t o &ere? I go e a s t t o Pilchuck. Pilchuck, tha t is a creek, i s n ' t i t ? Y e s . It -- the headwaters of t h e Pilchuck? Y e s . Thence where? The headwaters of the Stillaguamish. Thence where? m e n we go t o the Sultan Basin. From thence you go t o the headwaters of t h e Sultan River, is t h a t t rue? Yes. Thence where? The= we come back down t o t h a t where it empties i n t o the Skykomish there, then we c u t down t o the Tu la l ip Reserva- t ion , Then you cut down t o the northeast corner of t h e Tu la l ip Reservetion? Yes. Thence h e r e ? Tinen we go r i g h t down there t o Alger Bay, -- no t h a t is wrong. Anyway, jus t t h i s s i d e of the T d z l i p Reservation l i n e s . men where? m e n we go r i g h t back up t o Conway. I see. Whzt was it, -- w a s it your informat.ion t h a t t h e Stillaguamish Tribe always occupied t h i s t e r r i t o r y ? They have. Did they obtain t h e i r t o t a l subsistence from t h i s t e r r i t o r y ? Y e s . Or d i d they l i v e en t i r e ly ox: of i t ? !fhey have always l ived r i g h t there i n t h a t t h e r e spot , u n t i l i n later years they married i n t o the ' Skagits . Prior t o the Treaty, did they permit any other t r i b e t o encroac'n upon t h e i r t e r r i t o r y , except i n an occasionally f r iendly manner? They did; they used t o come up there and g e t goats f o r t h e wool and one thing and another. As I understand i t , you were about the only t r i b e t h a t hunted goats, i s n ' t t h a t t rue? That i s r igh t .

15 Ind. C l . C m . 1. 23

Q. And t h i s was q u l t e a comodi ty f o r t r ed ing between your t r i b e and other t r i b e s ?

A. Tiat i s r i gh t . Q. And you did nor permit o ther t r i b e s t o come a d hunt

the goats? Tne Stil laguzmiah hunted 211 t h e goats? A. Well, they were f r i end ly with them, and sonetimes

there would be f r iends go h u n t i ~ g toge ther . Q. And t5is w2s a comodity yon t rzded with o ther t r i b e s

f o r tfiings you needed? A. Yes.

M r . Gi lber t : I th i ck t k z t i s all.

CROSS EXA?iINATION

(By M r . Marshall) Did you hzve yoxr v i l l e g e s along t h e weter? We did, yes, wa ha3 b ig ho l~ses , -- we had seventeen of them al together . Could you ge t your g m e r i g h t near t he v i l l a g e s ? The gane was r e a l p l e n t i f u l at t h a t time, yes . Did you ge t your f i s h n e u there? It w a s r e a l p l en t i fu l . As tfie s t ream went d r i e r , I could see the Cime l.:f..cn I could s tznd on one s i d e ar?d see the f i s h c l e a ~ zcross going up. It would be s o th i ck 2 person would look l i k e you could almost walk across the r i v e r on them. Did you ever have- acy meetings wi th o ther t r i b e s a t your a c e ? -- zdjoining your crea? Oh, at d i f f e ren t times, yes. I h2ve known them t o come and be a l l i n a group, you know. Any plece where severs1 t r i b e s got toge ther a d go t t h e i r c2;nas roDts, o r azything l i k e t h t t ? I don't remember then t e l l i n g me about t h a t , bu t I do k r , ~ they used t o come t h e r e and s t a y tm or t h r e e days a t a t i n e . (Tr. pp. 8, 9, LO, zr,d 11; June 9, 1952)

13. Esther Allen t e s t i f i e d t k a t she was a member of t h e S t i l l e g u a n i s h

h i b e and had been i ts secret2ry s i n c e J u l y Ist, 1926. She gave h e r zge

if 47 year= and s t a t ed *at she was a r e l a t i v e of John Si lva . She s a i d

t h e r e had been a t r i b z l coccc i l s i n c e 1914 23d t h a t t 3 e counci l meets

once a year . Only the g r m d chi ldren znd g r e s t grandchi ldren of the

t r i b e are now e l ive . S:?e has te lked wiz5 olde: India3s of t h e t r i b e

15 Ind. C 1 . C m . 1

a s t o t r i b a l h i s to ry and i n 1926 she "took the f u l l h i s to ry of a l l ocr

t r i b a l r i g h t s and t r i b a l re la t ionships , and our ancestors names and

things l i k e that ." She had been to ld by her g rea t grandfather, grand-

f a t h e r , her great grandmother, and grand mother t h a t the St i l laguanish

t r i b e was once powerful, tha t it was t h a t way before the t r e a q . She

heard M r . S i l v a say wh2t the t e r r i t o r y of the t r i b e was and she f e l t . .

h e was approximately correct . She s t a t e d t h a t these Indians had always

l i v e d i n t h a t t e r r i t o r y ; t h a t the Skagit bounded them on the north, t h e

Sauk on t h e east, the Snohomish on t h e east-west and the Kikia l lus on t h e

west. Her grandparents claimed t h a t before the coming of t h e white man

t h e r e were 200 Stillaguamish Indians who were quie t , peaceful r i v e r In-

dians, t h a t Stillaguamish i n Indian language means r i v e r people. She

claimed h e r head w a s not c l ea r as t o who signed the t rea ty . ., . .

At t h i s point p e t i t i o n e r ' s counsel offered i n evidence p e t i t i o n e r ' s

Exhibi t No. 3, which purported t o be a copy of an a f f i d a v i t by one

James Dorsey which was previously received i n evidence i n t h e case of

!Che b a n i s h e t al. , Indians v. United S ta tes , i n t h e Court of C l a i m s ,

b u t t h e e x h i b i t was objected tb and t h e record does not d i s c l o s e t h a t t h e

o f f e r was received. No such exh ib i t was i n the f i l e s i n t h i s case.

On cross examination the witness t e s t i f i e d t o a v a r i e t y of inc iden t s ,

only a few of which, as far as we can see, had any relevancy t o t h e

ques t ion of Indian t i t le, s ince apparently these matters she mentioned

came into existence subsequent t o t h e Point E l l i o t t Treaty. Upon f u r t h e r

quest ioning she sa id the Indian people d idn ' t know anything about pota toes

u n t i l a f t e r the white man came; t h a t " A l l we knew was f i sh ing . We

15 Ind. Cls. Comm. 1 25

gathered, a s I say, the b e r r i e s , a d dr ied our f i s h and hunted. There

i s one thing we used t o go t o f4ount Higgins f o r , and t h a t was t o g e t t h e

goa ts , and t h i s goat we had fo r our meat, and we used the wool." They

a l s o went t o V i c t o r i a and traded the h ides f o r g roce r i e s . There was good

timber i n the S t i l l a g u ~ m i s h t e r r i t o r y . The Indians s tayed near t h e r i v e r

bu t went i n t o the fo re s t t o ge t t S e i r meat and t h e r e was p len ty of game

i n those days. The game was c lose t o t h e v i l l 2 g e s as were t h e f i s h ,

firewood and be r r i e s . They o f t en went clamning and gathered mussel

s h e l l s . They were known as f r iendly Indians.

Miss Allen 's testimony considered a s a whole, seems t o i n d i c a t e

t h a t much of what she sa id applied t o t h e claimed a r e a during a per iod

of time many yea r s a f t e r the Point E l l i o t t Treaty of 1855.

14. D r . Ri ley, defendant's e thnologis t , t e s t i f i e d g e n e r a l l y and s p e c i f -

i c a l l y concerning nonexclusive use and o ther uses of t h e a reas . claimed as

fol lows (Tr. 111):

(l.) "Ke_ntf s P r a i r i e , which is somewhere near t h e p re sen t /town of/ Arlington * * * was u t i l i z e d by t h e Skagi t people, - a l s o by t h e Snohonish people and of course, people from

f a r t h e r down the Stil laguamish River and others" (Tr. 13-14).

(2) "Costel lo says t h a t much of t h e time t h e Snoqualmies occupied a l a rge port ion of the Stil l2guamish and Skykomish Valley, * * * I think what Cos t e l lo is saying t h e r e is simply t h a t t h e Snoqualmies were using the S t i l l aguan i sh River , probably as e i t h e r a hunting o r f i s h i n g ares . * * * my Snoqualmie informant * * *- s a i d t h a t they / t h e .Snoqualmi.7 used t h e Snohomish River and occasional ly They would go up and use Pilchuck Creek and they would use t h e S t i l l2guamish River a r e a and then would, i n f a c t , go a l l t h e way down t o t h e mouth, bu t t h a t was, of course, as f a r as hunt ing was concerned. * * J: There was a portage between t h e Pi lchuck and t h e S t i l l aguanish . * * * The Sn~homish used it, t h e people on the Stil laguamish River seemed t o have used it and the Snoqualmie used it" (Tr. 65-67).

(3) The "North Fork of the Stillaguamish River was u t i l i z e d t o some degree as a highk-ay. Tnere a r e accounts and M r . Bruseth mentioned one and I hzve one from a Skagit informant, of the Gpper Skagit portage ecross the area--the r a t h e r f l a t a rea between the Sauk River and the Upper North Fork of t h e Stillagu7miish River . Acd then down the Stillaguamish River f o r v v i o u s purposes. Going down t o the ocean perhaps on clainming expeditions. * * * there was a contact a l l up and down t h e Stillaguamish River from the Sauk River, SO t h a t I would say t h a t those were p re t ty close zlso. * * * The North Fork seemed . to-have been * * * a highway f o r people from t h e Upper Skagit and pa r t i cu la r ly from Sauk River" (Tr . 13, 6 2 ) .

. .. . (4 ) "Dorcey seems t o be very much' i n t h i s whole p a t t e r n of h o s p i t a l i t y , speaking, l e t ' s say, of the Sauk Indians coming i n or the Indians from the Sauk River coming i n t o the S t i l l a - guamish River and t h i s s o r t of thing, u t i l i z i n g places l i k e Kent's P r a i r i e and u t i l i z i n g the River t o ge t down t o the Sound and of course, he wasn't the only one * * *. Unquestionably it was reciprocal . The Sauk P r a i r i e , f o r example, seemed t o have been a gathering ground for I n d i a s , f o r very l a rge numbers of Indians. * * * people from the Stillaguamish River, people from t h e Lower Skagit River, perhaps even people from t h e Nooksack o r even possibly people from beyond t h a t and, of course, people from e a s t of t h e mountains" (Tr. 68).

( 5 ) Many of the t r i b a l maEs "designate the Nqentl-Na-Mish betveen t h e forks of the ~ ~ t i l l ~ ~ u a m i s ~ River. * * * The Gibbs 1856 map shows the Stillaguamish somewhere around Arling- ton, 'apparently and again the Xqentl-Na-Mish s%ew&ere near t h e head of the South Fork. * * * Stevens i n Lh i s / 1854 map again shows the Stillaguamish on t h e north p a r t of t&e r i v e r from> l ington on east . H e shows t h e Quehtlmamish LNqent 1-Na- His+/ between the North Fork and t h e South Fork. * * * A mikitary map of 1858 * * * appeals t o show t h e Sihkemehu and t h e Quehtlmamish I~qentl-Na-Mis&/ on the S t illaguamish River drainage" (Tr. 56, 57, 59).

(6) He agreed with pe t i t ioner ' s witness, Sa l ly Snyder, t h a t the areas between t h e r i v e r drainages were j o i n t l y used by d i f - f e ren t groups of Indians, such as Sauk, Skagit, Snohomish and .StilLaguamish (Tr . 7 5) . -:. (7) The Granite F a l l s area woilld be "u t i l i zed , i n a l l probabil- i t y , by people from the Snohomish Valley and by people perhaps

. f r o m t h e Stillaguamish Valley" (Tr. 75).

(8) A s t o the use of the area near t h e mouth of the S t i l l agua- mish River, the "Snohomish seem t o have u t i l i z e d t h i s general

15 Ind. CL, Corn. 1 27

a r e a and the re was a P~adsak v i l l z g e somewsere i n t h e a r e a and i t mey hzve been ope ra t i l g . * * * Tken the Kik ia l lu s and the Lower Skzgi ts seem t o hzve been u t i l i z i n g the a rea . Af te r a l l , t he re i s n ' t much d iv i s ion between Camano I s l and and the Lower S t i l l a g u ~ n i s h River , so t h a t t h z r c were a l o t of people i n t h a t aree. It does seem t o have been one of those a reas of r a t h e r f r e e use" (Tr. 72) .

(9) "It is suggested by Miss Snyder a ~ d o thers , inc luding informants of my ohm, t h a t t 5 e Kik ia l lu s were d a m on the S t i l l a g u z ~ i s h z rea , u z i l i z i n g at l e s t t he mouth of t he S t i l l a g u a i s h River. * * * i z s e e m t o have been already u t i l i z e d by a number of people; S i x e it was on t h e River Del ta , people i n t he upper r i v e r drainage bad t o go through . it t o go down t o the s e a coas t ; t h a ~ it hzd t o be t raversed by a number of people; and we do have i c d i c a t i o z s t h a t people were coming from as f a r =.s t>e Skzigit River drainage down t h e North Fork of t h e S t i l l eguan i sh River i n t o t h i s Bay area , t hen they n u s t have t raversed it. The peopLe of t h e Snohomis5 f e e l t h a t * * X- t he Snohomish were u t i l i z i n g t h a t s t ream at Least t o some degree; and t h e people of t h e KikiaLlus, they u t i l i z e d the a r ea t o some degree.' It is my orm f e e l i n g t h a t both did. * * * t he Quzdsalr v i l l a g e and t h e people of t h a t v i l l a g e obviously u t i l i z e d t h e 2rea" (Tr . 77, 9 4 ) .

(10) "Miss Snyder has i n c p ~ d e d i n he r bouadzries an i r . t rusion, a n extension of non-Stilleguamish t z r r i t o r y i n t o t h e a r e a a t t h e mouth of t h e S t i l l aguan i sh River * * * she f e e l s t h e t t h e Kik ia l lu s may have been i n t h a t area" (Tr . 46-47). (11) The "Quadsak appizrently had a v i l l a g e 03 t h e very Lower River , or. r i g h t a t t he mouth of t h e r i v e r , and one must pre- sume t h a t they u t i l i z e d t h a t area. They sure ly u t i l i z e d W a r m Beach t o t be south. * * * Other Indians ~ t l l i z e d t h a t a r e a too" (Tr, 38).

(12) "In f a c t t he Kik ia l lu s had contac ts wi th t h e Lower Skagi t people, people frm Upper Skagi t , people from Svaish and of course, with t he Quadsak people 2nd a l s o t h e Snohomish and from t h e Upper Stil laguzmish and perhips t h e Sauk and

~ b t h e r s " (e, 95). ! -

(13) " W a r m Beach is j u s t south of the moct3 of t h e S t i l l agua - m i s h River and t h a t a l s o must h2ve been very popular and very much u t i l i z e d . * * * people f r m t h e Snofiomish 2rea went t h e r e and used it and c e r t a i n peaple frm t h e S t i l l ag r rmish River and t h e same th ing i s t r u e between t h e d e l t a of t h e Skagi t River and the SnoSornish River, t>at pecple from t h e Skag i t used it, people from Idhidbey I s l and 2nd people from t h e S t i l l a g u m i s h River" (Tr . 13).

15 Ind. G I . Corn. I

(14) "Warm Beach was of course one other of those regions where a number of people came in. The Snohomish and people from the Loxer Stillaguamish River and people from f a r t h e r north, they a l l u t i l i z e d clamming and the l ike . * * gc t h e Coast from Warm Beach on up t o the Skagit River w a s an a r e a of pret ty f r e e u t i l i z a t i o n by a l o t of people, some of them coming from 'way up t h e r iver" (Tr. 7 3 ) .

(15) That "peoples Like t h e Yakima, t h e Kl ick i t a t s and o t h e r s have cme across the Cascades i n t o t h e various regions of t h e Puget Sound. And, as Gibbs says, the re was a g rea t i n t e r - mixture by people from the Cascades. This point , i n c i d e n t a l l y , was made by others, by Spier , f o r example * * * t h a t t h e r e was movement, considerable movement, across the Cascades from groups e a s t of t h e Cascades t o west of the Cascades. * * * i n the Nooksack and t h e Skagit River area a s well a s t h e Stillaguamish River. * * * There was, f o r example, as Gibbs points out , and a s Spier points out and a s JacoSs has pointed out, and others, t h i s movement back =d fo r th across t h e Cascades--trading expeditions, hunting expeditions and t h e l i k e * * * we have Sp ie r ' s statement t h a t t h e Chelan, among o t h e r s , such as t h e K i t t i t a t s and the Methow and others were hunting up i n the mountains on the western s i d e of the divide. My Skagit informant and a l s o my Snoqualmie informant mentioned groups coming i n and going a l l the way down t o t h e post * * *. I personally th ink t h a t you did have people from east of t h e mountains coming a l l t h e way down t o t h e r i v e r whether they would have been Chelan famil ies or groups of f ami l i e s coming in on the Upper Skagit and then- say going down t h e Sauk and crossing over on t h e portage i n t o t h e Stillaguamish" (Tr. 53- 55 ) .

. (16) "Camano Is land was u t i l i z e d by a number of people, in- cluding people from t h e Lower Skagit, the people from t h e Kikial lus v i l l a g e s and by the Snohomish and by people from the StilLaguamish River,--by people from the mouth of t h e St i lhguamish River,--by people from t h e mouth of t h e S t i l l a - guamish River and perhaps by others" (Tr . 12).

(U) "There i s indicat ion * * * ~ T h a f l the Sti l laguamish * * * Snohumish * * * Kikia l lus *- * * Lower Skagit * * * and * * * the Snoqualmie used Camano Island. . I'would th ink t h a t Camano ,Island was very much as a c e r t a i n other is land, and I be l i eve t h a t Dr. Taylor made t h e point t h a t c e r t a i n of t h e o ther b i g i s lands i n the Upper Sound, t h a t Indians from whole ninnbers of areas and a l s o of d i f f e r e n t v i l l a g e s and groups went t o them and u t i l i z e d them as a free-use area, I would f e e l very much the same way about Camano Island. * * * I don' t be l i eve

15 Ind . C l . Comm. 1 . . 29

t h a t permission was involved a t a l l i n t h a t s i t u a t i o n . $: * * I don' t be l ieve t h a t r e l a t i o n s i p was involved e i t h e r . * * * My f ee l ing i n the matter i s , and i t i s something t h a t I have checked again and again over a number of yea r s - - i s t h a t t h i s was a r i c h a rea and i t was an under-populated a rea and an a rea with a very generous nnd free-use f ee l ing . That is, out- s i d e the v i l l a g e a reas , an a rea of immediate economic importance t o t he v i l l a g e group, t he re tended t o be a p r e t t y f r e e u t i l i - zation" (Tr . 70, 71, 7 2 ) .

(18) "Miss Sr.yderl' t e s t i f i e d "that s a l e of the people of the. Skagi t River were down i n the Cavanaugh Lake area" (Tr. 74) .- (19) "Lake McPiurray" was used "ce r t a in ly by people from t h e Skagi t River and a l s o from the St i l laguamish River" (Tr. 74) .

(20) "Gibbs * * ,t says t h a t groups a r e never excluded from f i s h e r i e s and the l ike- - the land and s e a a re open t o a l l who a r e not at war, which is, I th ink , t he general opinion of * * * a few l a t e r anthropologists . * * * Gibbs f e l t , a s I do, t h a t t he mountainous regions i n genera l were open t o gene ra l use and t h i s a l s o i s the genera l tendency of expression of modern informants. * * * Anyone could use those a reas i f they wanted to" (Tr. 52).

(21) "There seemed t o have been a general idea a t t h a t t ime t h a t o ther Tribes could come i n , o r a t l e a s t , o ther Indians from outs ide t h e a rea did come i n and use the v i l l a g e . * j: '* t h e o ld Puget Sound p a t t e r n of welcome and h o s p i t a l i t y t o ' outsiders--presumably ou t s ide r s , who a r e not obviously enemies raiding--and you s t i l l g e t t h i s kind of s t a t enen t - - I have go t t en it from informants and I have worked with perhaps oh 20 or 30 very old informants--real ly old informants and they had t h i s a s a general pa t t e rn , t h i s i dea t h a t t h e r e w a s r e a l h o s p i t a l i t y i n the old days. There was l o t s t o e a t and every- body came and everybody could share" (Tr. 6 4 - 6 5 ) .

Dr. C. L. Ri ley, defendznt 's e thno log i s t , t e s t i f i e d as fo l lows i n

t h e Snohomish case, Docket 125, which involves a claim f o r p a r t o f t h e

land claimed h e r e i n (Tr. N): . .

(1) He agreed with the s tatement of Mr . F. M. Elwell , --*p

t h e a l leged C h a i r m ~ ~ of the-Snofionish Tribe, t h a t t h e " t r i b e i n t h e no r theas t Inor thwes t / -po~t ion of t he Snohomish t e r r i t o r y is t h e S 'K ik ia l i s /Kikial lus/ ," - i . e . "the Kik ia l lu s v i l l a g e i s on it" (Tr. 26-286).

15 Ind. C l . Comm, 1 3 0 . .

(2) As t o the a v a i l a b i l i t y of f i s h , and other food, "I am sure they were very p l e n t i f u l . I am minded of D r . S u t t l e s ' statement which I agree with t h a t the re i s a tendency i n the Puget Sound s e a f o r informants t o inevi tably r e f e r back t o the good old days when everything, when food was s o p l e n t i f u l as t o be had simply by opeling the mouth, p r a c t i c a l l y , when one could walk across the r i v e r on the backs of the salmon, and D r . Su t t l e s sa id t h a t t h i s is almost s terotyped, t h a t t h i s is an almost automatic r eac t ion of any old informant. And as D r . Sut t les sa id , and I agree with it, t h i s is i n large pa r t t rue because there was a considerable r ichness of the area" (Tr, 287-288).

(3) Referring t o t h e ~ w a t s a k w b i k or huadsak, "At the mouth of the Stillaguamish the re is a v i l l a g e t h a t Srnith l is ts under her general heading of Swinomish incidental ly" (Tr . 29 1).

(4) Camano Island "seems t o have been used by t h e people from Coupeville and the lower Skagit v i l l a g e and seens t o have been used by the Snohomish v i l l a g e , one o r t h e o ther , or all, and seens t o have been used by t h e Kikia l lus and S t illaguamisht' (Tr . 29 1) . '(5) He agreed with p e t i t i o n e r ' s anthropologist t h a t t h e s h e l l f i s h beds were "not ' s e l f i s h ' beds, To a c e r t a i n ex ten t they were op&n t o o thers who were on a f r i end ly re la t ionship" (Tr. 295-296)-

(6) There were "No f i g h t s * * *, no necess i ty f o r f i g h t i n g wer lands" (hr . 296).

(7) The 350 Snohomish Indians could have subsis ted on t h e Snohomish Reservation, containing 22,490 acres (Tr. 299-300).

(8) As t o the population i n t h e Snohomish area, "In the period before the diseases, it is poss ib le t h a t the re were several thousand, yes, sir" (R.. 2%).

L5. Miss s a l l y Snyder and D r . Ri ley agreed t h a t because of t h e cum-

para t ive youth of the oldes t of Stillaguamish Indians avai lable , none of

theui .could qualify as informants . The informants which. were used by t h e s e

anthropologists came from adjoining Indian t r i b e s d o were a l l Puget

Sound and Point ~ l l i o t t Treaty Indians.

15 Ind. C l . Comm. 1 3 1

16. Name places such as Kent P r a i r i e were open, unforested a reas

where t h e Indians maintained t h e i r v i l l a g e s . Except f o r t hese openings

s u b s t a n t i a l l y a l l of the claimed a r e a was known as a r a i n f o r e s t because

of the heavy r a i n f a l l i n t he a r ea and the heavy growth of t r e e s and

undergrowth. The nature of these f o r e s t s did not encourage Indian ac-

t i v i t i e s except along t h e i r borders and along t r a i l s from one r i v e r

v a l l e y t o another. These trails were used i n common by a l l of t h e

near-by Indian t r i b e s , as were the bay a reas along the Sound where the

ga ther ing of seafood i n la rge q u a n t i t i e s took p lace a s a p a r t of t h e

year round a c t i v i t i e s of these t r i b e s . Root and ber ry crops were a l s o

harves ted from.the open spaces i n t h e r i v e r v a l l e y s and on some of t h e

mountainplateaus. Many of these ber ry and roo t growing a reas were used

i n common by these Indian t r i b e s .

17. I n t h e middle of the 1850's t he populat ion of the S t i l l aguamish

t r i b e was approximately 200 persons. l?hey were l i v i n g a t t h i s t ime i n

t h e St i l laguamish River va l l ey i n t h e v i c i n i t y of where the p re sen t town

of Arl ington, Washington, i s loca ted , They were pr imzr i ly f i s h - e a t i n g

Indians . Their d i e t was supplemented wi th roo t s , b e r r i e s and wi ld game.

They were a l s o an autonomous v i l l a g e group a t t he time of t h e P o i n t

E l l i o t t Treaty.

18. Based upon the evidence and the e n t i r e record i n t h i s ca se ,

t h e Commission f inds t h a t a t t he time t h e 1855 Point E l l i o t t T rea ty was

nego t i a t ed , and on March 8, 1859, when s a i d t r e a t y was r a t i f i e d by t h e

Senate , and f o r an undetermined period p r i o r t h e r e t o , t he S t i l l a g u 2 n i s h

t r i b e of Indians was i n the possession of and had exc lus ive ly used and

15 Ind. C1. Comm. 1 3 2

occupied from time immemorial, i n Indian fashion, a somewhat r ec t angu la r

t r a c t of land near the center of s a id claimed t r a c t . T h i s t r a c t of land

so exclusively used and occupied and he ld by t h e S t i l l aguamish t r i b e , and

which includes some of t h e i r claimed v i l l a g e a reas along t h e S t i l l aguamish

River and surrounding subsis tence a reas , and o u t l i n e d on de fendan t ' s

map Exhibi t "I", i s described as follows:

Beginning at t h e junct ion of the S t i l l aguamish River w i th Pilchuck Creek, thence nor ther ly a longs= idP i l chuck Creek t o t h e l i n e d iv id ing Skagi t and Snohomish Counties , thence e a s t e r l y along sa id l i n e t o i t s i n t e r s e c t i o n wi th Deer Creek, thence sout5erly along sa id creek t o where i t i n t e r s e c t s wi th the North Fork of the Stil laguamish River , thence southwes ter ly on 2 diagonal l i n e t o a point where the South Fork of t h e St i l laguamish River i n t e r s e c t s the 48' 10 ' l i n e i n Township 31 North between Ranges 5 and 6 Eas t as shown on s a i d map; thence southwesterly t o the center of t h e town of Edgecomb; thence wester ly t o t he Lakewood S t a t i o n on t h e S e a t t l e and Van Couver l i n e of t he Great Northern Rai l road; thence nor th- wester ly i n a s t r a i g h t l i n e t o t h e po in t of beginning.

(For convenience and c l a r i t y t h e Commission h a s superimposed on defendantf s map, Exhibi t "I", which was r ece ived i n evidence f o r i l l u s t r a t i v e purposes, an o u t l i n e i n r ed of t h e boundary o f s a i d t r a c t of land above described.)

We a l s o f i n d with r e spec t t o t h e remaining t r a c t of l and claimed by

p e t i t i o n e r , t h a t it d i d ' n o t ac tua l ly occupy and e x c l u s i v e l y posses s and

use t h e remainder o r any p a r t thereof of t h e claimed t e r r i t o r y as des-

c r ibed in Finding No. 2.

/s/ Arthur V. Watkins Chief Commissioner

'/s/ Wm. M. Hol t Associate Commissioner

T. Harold S c o t t Associate Comqissioner