On Thursday, June 10, Fort Nisqually Living History Museum will host the second in a series of virtual panel discussions with diverse communities impacted by the Puget Sound Treaty War. The June panel will focus on the era leading up to, and including, the signing of the Medicine Creek Treaty.
The Puget Sound Treaty War (1855-1856) was an armed conflict between soldiers of the regular U.S. Army, Washington Territorial volunteers and tribes involved in the Medicine Creek Treaty. The treaty, the first of several consecutive treaties negotiated by Governor Isaac Stevens in quick succession, sought the relocation of local tribes to reservations in exchange for cash payments and the preservation of hunting and fishing rights. The treaty became a catalyst for the conflict.
“What I like is that the tribal people on the panel are involved in what is being discussed,” said Nettsie Bullchild, Director of the Nisqually Tribal Archives and Tribal Historic Preservation Office, during the first panel held last March. The program, which drew a virtual audience of nearly 500, was the first in a series of “long overdue” discussions around the topic. It is available on the museum’s YouTube channel.
The panel series, which seeks to increase representation of Native voices in the telling of 19th Century history, will receive the 2021 Award for Outstanding Achievement in Broadening Perspectives in Preservation from Tacoma Landmarks Preservation Commission Historic Preservation Office on Friday, May 28, 2021.
Tickets for the June panel discussion are FREE and can be found online at fortnisqually.org.
