Quinault Treaty
Encyclopedia
The Quinault Treaty was a treaty
agreement between the United States and the Native American
Quinault
and Quileute
tribes located in the western Olympic Peninsula
north of Grays Harbor, in the recently-formed Washington Territory
. The treaty was signed on 1 July 1855, at the Quinault River
, and on 25 January 1856 at Olympia
, the territorial capital. It was ratified
by Congress
on 8 March 1859, and proclaimed law on April 11, 1859.
Signatories included Isaac Stevens
, superintendent of Indian affairs and governor of Washington Territory, and representatives of the Quinault and Quileute, as well as the Hoh
tribe, which was considered a subset of the Quileutes. The Quinault Indian Reservation was established under the terms of the treaty. Indian signatories included the Quinault Head Chief Taholah and Sub-chiefs Wah-kee-nah, Yer-ay-let'l, and Kne-she-guartsh, the Quileute Head Chief How-yat'l and Sub-chiefs Kal-lape, Tah-ah-ha-wht'l, along with other tribal delegates.
, Treaty of Hellgate
, Treaty of Neah Bay, Treaty of Point Elliott
, and the Point No Point Treaty
.
The Quinault Treaty continued Isaac Stevens policy of consolidating tribes, often requiring tribes to move far from their homeland to a reservation to be occupied by several unrelated tribes. While not taking this policy as far as the Treaty of Point No Point did, the Quinault Treaty resulted in the establishment of the Quinault Reservation in the Quinault homeland but required the Quileute and Hoh to move there, although few did.
, which, according to Paul Prucha, was "a lingua franca
along the Pacific Northwest coast but hardly an effective tool for sensitive negotiations, for it had a vocabulary of only about 500 words, and a single word might be used to translate a number of different English words."
The final treaty contained 13 articles. The first described the land being ceded to the United States, which was defined as bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west, the southern boundary of the recent Makah cession to the north, which ran east to "the middle of the coast range of mountains" (meaning the Olympic Mountains
). The eastern cession boundary ran south "with said range" (the Olympics) to the ridge dividing the drainage basin
s of the Chehalis River and the Quinault River
. From there the line ran west along the watershed ridge to the Pacific Ocean. This somewhat vague definition was further confused by the way the Makah cession boundary had been defined as extending south to the lands occupied by the Quileute. This circular definition, along with the unclear phrases about where the line ran through the Olympics, resulted in confusion and legal problems which continue to the present day.
The second article of the treaty described how the reservation would be established and that the tribes would be required to move there. Article three promised the tribes the right of fishing "in all usual and accustomed grounds and stations". Hunting, gathering, and the pasturing of horses were also protected with certain provision. In article four the United States promised to pay $25,000 for the land cession, to be paid over a number of years. Article five provides an additional $2,500 to enable tribes to remove and settle upon the reservation. Article six described how the president could any future time and "as he deems fit" make a new reservation elsewhere and requires the tribes to move there, or require the tribes to be consolidated with other tribes on another reservation, with all federal annuities also consolidated. The president could also cause the reservation to be subdivided into lots and assigned to individuals and families. Articles seven and nine dealt with the prohibition of alcohol and debts. Article eight required the tribes to "acknowledge their dependence on the United States", and briefly outlined how crimes would be dealt with. In article ten the United States promised to establish and support for 20 years an agricultural and industrial school, free to the children of the tribes and located at the territorial central Puget Sound agency. A physician was also to be provided, also at the central agency. Article eleven required the tribes to free any slaves they held. Article thirteen forbid the tribes from trading "at Vancouver's Island or elsewhere outside the dominion of the United States", nor to allow "foreign Indians" to live in the reservation. The last article said that the terms of the treaty would take effect upon ratification by the President and the Senate.
by Executive Order on 11 September 1893. The reservation is only 443 acres (1.8 km²), but includes about a mile of the Pacific coastline south of the mouth of the Hoh River
.
due east to a watershed divide separating streams flowing north to the Strait of Juan de Fuca
and streams flowing to the Pacific. The phrases "to the middle of the coast range of mountains" and "to the summit of the coast-range of mountains" were assumed to mean the dividing crest of the Olympic Mountains separating the Pacific, Juan de Fuca, and Hood Canal
drainage basins. The phrase "thence southerly with said range of mountains to their intersection with the dividing ridge between the Chehalis and Quiniatl [sic] Rivers; thence westerly with said ridge to the Pacific coast" required further assumptions. The Fish and Wildlife project assumed the "southerly" line was to follow the main drainage divide between the Pacific and Hood Canal. This interpretation of the treaty is just one of many possible and holds no legal weight. The Fish and Wildlife Department writes, "These boundaries are clearly the product of much conjecture and assumption."
Treaty
A treaty is an express agreement under international law entered into by actors in international law, namely sovereign states and international organizations. A treaty may also be known as an agreement, protocol, covenant, convention or exchange of letters, among other terms...
agreement between the United States and the Native American
Native Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
Quinault
Quinault (tribe)
The Quinault are a group of Native American peoples from western Washington in the United States.-Lands:The Quinault Indian Reservation, at , is located on the Pacific coast of Washington, primarily in northwestern Grays Harbor County, with small parts extending north into southwestern Jefferson...
and Quileute
Quileute
The Quileute , also known as the Quillayute , are a Native American people in westernWashington state in the United States, currently numbering approximately 750. The Quileute people settled onto the Quileute Indian Reservation after signing the Quinault Treaty in 1855...
tribes located in the western Olympic Peninsula
Olympic Peninsula
The Olympic Peninsula is the large arm of land in western Washington state of the USA, that lies across Puget Sound from Seattle. It is bounded on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north by the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and the east by Puget Sound. Cape Alava, the westernmost point in the contiguous...
north of Grays Harbor, in the recently-formed Washington Territory
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
. The treaty was signed on 1 July 1855, at the Quinault River
Quinault River
The Quinault River is a long river located on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. It originates deep in the Olympic Mountains in the Olympic National Park. It flows southwest through the "Enchanted Valley". Several miles above Lake Quinault the river is joined by its main...
, and on 25 January 1856 at Olympia
Olympia, Washington
Olympia is the capital city of the U.S. state of Washington and the county seat of Thurston County. It was incorporated on January 28, 1859. The population was 46,478 at the 2010 census...
, the territorial capital. It was ratified
Ratification
Ratification is a principal's approval of an act of its agent where the agent lacked authority to legally bind the principal. The term applies to private contract law, international treaties, and constitutionals in federations such as the United States and Canada.- Private law :In contract law, the...
by Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
on 8 March 1859, and proclaimed law on April 11, 1859.
Signatories included Isaac Stevens
Isaac Stevens
Isaac Ingalls Stevens was the first governor of Washington Territory, a United States Congressman, and a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War until his death at the Battle of Chantilly...
, superintendent of Indian affairs and governor of Washington Territory, and representatives of the Quinault and Quileute, as well as the Hoh
Hoh
Hoh is a Native American tribe in western Washington state in the United States. The tribe lives on the Pacific Coast of Washington on the Olympic Peninsula. The Hoh moved onto the Hoh Indian Reservation, at the mouth of the Hoh River, on the Pacific Coast of Jefferson County, after the signing...
tribe, which was considered a subset of the Quileutes. The Quinault Indian Reservation was established under the terms of the treaty. Indian signatories included the Quinault Head Chief Taholah and Sub-chiefs Wah-kee-nah, Yer-ay-let'l, and Kne-she-guartsh, the Quileute Head Chief How-yat'l and Sub-chiefs Kal-lape, Tah-ah-ha-wht'l, along with other tribal delegates.
Context
The Quinault Treaty was one of the last of several signed during Washington Territory's first decade. Acquiring land cession from the Native Americans was one of Isaac Stevens' primary goals as the first governor of the territory. Other similar cession treaties Stevens negotiated in the 1850s include the Treaty of Medicine CreekTreaty of Medicine Creek
The Treaty of Medicine Creek was an 1854 treaty between the United States, and the Nisqually, Puyallup and Squaxin Island tribes, along with six other smaller Native American tribes.-Site:...
, Treaty of Hellgate
Treaty of Hellgate
The Treaty of Hellgate was signed in Hellgate on July 16, 1855 between Indian commissioner Isaac Stevens and the Native American tribes located in western Montana. The treaty was ratified by Congress, signed by President James Buchanan, and proclaimed on April 18, 1859.The tribes involved in the...
, Treaty of Neah Bay, Treaty of Point Elliott
Treaty of Point Elliott
The Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855, or the Point Elliott Treaty,—also known as Treaty of Point Elliot / Point Elliott Treaty—is the lands settlement treaty between the United States government and the nominal Native American tribes of the greater Puget Sound region in the recently-formed...
, and the Point No Point Treaty
Point No Point Treaty
The Point No Point Treaty was signed on January 26, 1855 at Point No Point, on the northern tip of the Kitsap Peninsula. Governor of Washington Territory, Isaac Stevens, convened the treaty council on January 25, with the S'Klallam, the Chimakum, and the Skokomish tribes...
.
The Quinault Treaty continued Isaac Stevens policy of consolidating tribes, often requiring tribes to move far from their homeland to a reservation to be occupied by several unrelated tribes. While not taking this policy as far as the Treaty of Point No Point did, the Quinault Treaty resulted in the establishment of the Quinault Reservation in the Quinault homeland but required the Quileute and Hoh to move there, although few did.
Negotiations
The treaty negotiations were conduted in Chinook JargonChinook Jargon
Chinook Jargon originated as a pidgin trade language of the Pacific Northwest, and spread during the 19th century from the lower Columbia River, first to other areas in modern Oregon and Washington, then British Columbia and as far as Alaska, sometimes taking on characteristics of a creole language...
, which, according to Paul Prucha, was "a lingua franca
Lingua franca
A lingua franca is a language systematically used to make communication possible between people not sharing a mother tongue, in particular when it is a third language, distinct from both mother tongues.-Characteristics:"Lingua franca" is a functionally defined term, independent of the linguistic...
along the Pacific Northwest coast but hardly an effective tool for sensitive negotiations, for it had a vocabulary of only about 500 words, and a single word might be used to translate a number of different English words."
The final treaty contained 13 articles. The first described the land being ceded to the United States, which was defined as bounded by the Pacific Ocean to the west, the southern boundary of the recent Makah cession to the north, which ran east to "the middle of the coast range of mountains" (meaning the Olympic Mountains
Olympic Mountains
The Olympic Mountains is a mountain range on the Olympic Peninsula of western Washington in the United States. The mountains, part of the Pacific Coast Ranges, are not especially high - Mount Olympus is the highest at - but the western slopes of the Olympics rise directly out of the Pacific...
). The eastern cession boundary ran south "with said range" (the Olympics) to the ridge dividing the drainage basin
Drainage basin
A drainage basin is an extent or an area of land where surface water from rain and melting snow or ice converges to a single point, usually the exit of the basin, where the waters join another waterbody, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, wetland, sea, or ocean...
s of the Chehalis River and the Quinault River
Quinault River
The Quinault River is a long river located on the Olympic Peninsula in the U.S. state of Washington. It originates deep in the Olympic Mountains in the Olympic National Park. It flows southwest through the "Enchanted Valley". Several miles above Lake Quinault the river is joined by its main...
. From there the line ran west along the watershed ridge to the Pacific Ocean. This somewhat vague definition was further confused by the way the Makah cession boundary had been defined as extending south to the lands occupied by the Quileute. This circular definition, along with the unclear phrases about where the line ran through the Olympics, resulted in confusion and legal problems which continue to the present day.
The second article of the treaty described how the reservation would be established and that the tribes would be required to move there. Article three promised the tribes the right of fishing "in all usual and accustomed grounds and stations". Hunting, gathering, and the pasturing of horses were also protected with certain provision. In article four the United States promised to pay $25,000 for the land cession, to be paid over a number of years. Article five provides an additional $2,500 to enable tribes to remove and settle upon the reservation. Article six described how the president could any future time and "as he deems fit" make a new reservation elsewhere and requires the tribes to move there, or require the tribes to be consolidated with other tribes on another reservation, with all federal annuities also consolidated. The president could also cause the reservation to be subdivided into lots and assigned to individuals and families. Articles seven and nine dealt with the prohibition of alcohol and debts. Article eight required the tribes to "acknowledge their dependence on the United States", and briefly outlined how crimes would be dealt with. In article ten the United States promised to establish and support for 20 years an agricultural and industrial school, free to the children of the tribes and located at the territorial central Puget Sound agency. A physician was also to be provided, also at the central agency. Article eleven required the tribes to free any slaves they held. Article thirteen forbid the tribes from trading "at Vancouver's Island or elsewhere outside the dominion of the United States", nor to allow "foreign Indians" to live in the reservation. The last article said that the terms of the treaty would take effect upon ratification by the President and the Senate.
After the treaty
Most of the Quileute and Hoh refused to move to the Quinault Reservation once it was established. Both received small reservations of their own. The Hoh Reservation was established by President Grover ClevelandGrover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
by Executive Order on 11 September 1893. The reservation is only 443 acres (1.8 km²), but includes about a mile of the Pacific coastline south of the mouth of the Hoh River
Hoh River
The Hoh River is a river in the U.S. state of Washington, located on the Olympic Peninsula. About long, the Hoh River originates at the Hoh Glacier on Mount Olympus and flows west through the Olympic Mountains of Olympic National Park and Olympic National Forest, then through the foothills in a...
.
Interpretation
In mapping Indian land cession the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife had to make some guesses and assumptions about the cession boundaries. The line between the Quinault and Makah cession was assumed to extend from current day Cape AlavaCape Alava
Cape Alava, in Clallam County, Washington, U.S.A., is the westernmost point in the contiguous 48 states, with a longitude of . The westernmost point is located in Olympic National Park and the Ozette Indian Reservation...
due east to a watershed divide separating streams flowing north to the Strait of Juan de Fuca
Strait of Juan de Fuca
The Strait of Juan de Fuca is a large body of water about long that is the Salish Sea outlet to the Pacific Ocean...
and streams flowing to the Pacific. The phrases "to the middle of the coast range of mountains" and "to the summit of the coast-range of mountains" were assumed to mean the dividing crest of the Olympic Mountains separating the Pacific, Juan de Fuca, and Hood Canal
Hood Canal
Hood Canal is a fjord forming the western lobe, and one of the four main basins, of Puget Sound in the state of Washington. Hood Canal is not a canal in the sense of being a man-made waterway—it is a natural waterway.-Geography:...
drainage basins. The phrase "thence southerly with said range of mountains to their intersection with the dividing ridge between the Chehalis and Quiniatl [sic] Rivers; thence westerly with said ridge to the Pacific coast" required further assumptions. The Fish and Wildlife project assumed the "southerly" line was to follow the main drainage divide between the Pacific and Hood Canal. This interpretation of the treaty is just one of many possible and holds no legal weight. The Fish and Wildlife Department writes, "These boundaries are clearly the product of much conjecture and assumption."
External links
- Treaty with the Quinaielt, etc., 1855, original treaty text (and spellings) and images, Government Printing Office, 1904.