Land area

Land of the Niskwali, Puyallup and others in Washington, ceded 1854 (area 345)

Shape traced from the 1899 maps; approximate. Open on the map

1854
Ceded to the United States
By Treaty of Medicine Creek, 1854

In the record

Ceded by the Niskwali, Puyallup and allied tribes in the 1854 Treaty of Medicine Creek, land in Washington. The area covers about 1.9 million acres in what is now Washington.

The 1899 record names Puyallup as the people of this land.

How it was taken: a treaty made under documented pressure. HistoryLink says the 62 signatures are disputed and the treaty was explained only in Chinook Jargon, and the National Park Service says Stevens pressured Puget Sound tribes into the 1854-55 treaties.

Today, Muckleshoot Indian Tribe and Puyallup Tribe of Indians carry the history of the people named here.

Written from the records linked here; open any of them for its sources.

See this cession on the map

Shapes come from C. C. Royce’s 1899 maps as georeferenced by the US Forest Service. They are approximate and are not legal descriptions of land. Royce recorded land the United States treated as ceded; the shape does not show a nation’s territory.

Who is doing the work

This history belongs to living nations. Start with them:

Working with these nations

Puyallup Tribe of Indians Nation government 1989 Land Claims Settlement (about $162-163M)

Land return and Native-led work nearby

Duwamish Tribal Services (Real Rent Duwamish) Native-led Real Rent Duwamish: Seattle residents pay voluntary 'rent' Give on their site Website
Na'ah Illahee Fund Native-led Indigenous-led regranting for Land Back (building on E'lip Tilikum Land Conservancy), land and water protection,… Give on their site Website
Potlatch Fund Native-led Native philanthropy and grantmaking to Native individuals and Native-led organizations Give on their site Website

Native legal and land defense, nationally

Native American Rights Fund (NARF) Native-led Litigation and legal advocacy for tribal sovereignty, treaty rights, land and resources Give on their site Website
NDN Collective (LANDBACK Campaign) Native-led LANDBACK campaign (launched 2020; Mount Rushmore closure and return of Black Hills public lands), Indigenous… Give on their site Website
Indian Land Tenure Foundation (ILTF) Native-led Land recovery and control by tribes and individual Indian landowners Website
Decolonizing Wealth Project (Indigenous Earth Fund; California Tribal Land Return) Native-led Reparative philanthropy Give on their site Website

Gifts go straight to each organization; this atlas takes nothing. Listing is not endorsement: how organizations are listed.

Connections

Links marked “suggested” were matched automatically by name or date and have not yet been reviewed by a person.

Sources

Royce, Indian Land Cessions (1899), Schedule entry dated 1854-12-26primary record
Kappler, Indian Affairs: Laws and Treaties, text for 1854-12-26primary record
Royce’s map sheet: Washington 1 (Library of Congress)primary record
USDA Forest Service, Tribal Lands Ceded to the United States (digitized Royce maps)reference work

The record’s fields

Area number in the 1899 record: 345
Dates in the 1899 record: 1854-12-26
Kind of instrument: Treaty or agreement
Peoples as named in the 1899 record: Niskwali; Puyallup; Sa-heh-wamish; S'Homamish; Squaxin; Squiaitl; Steh-chass; Steilacoom; T'Peeksin
States: WA
Counties: Kitsap; Mason; Pierce; Thurston
Map sheets in the 1899 record: Washington 1
Geometry: Approximate shape from Royce’s 1899 maps

Research notes

geometry_role is 'cession' for every USFS feature: no field in the source distinguishes cessions from reservations.

Kind: Land area
Confidence: Medium

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