Treaty of 1855 remembered

[The Straight Story]

Treaty of 1855 remembered

Original document on display

PENDLETON, Ore. - ''In 1855, when our people gathered in the Walla Walla Valley, it was their intent and purpose to preserve a way of life when they made their mark on this treaty, this piece of paper. They had me and you in their minds and in their hearts,'' said Armand Minthorn, Cayuse, a member of the board of trustees for the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation (CTUIR).

A portion of the original pages of that historic document was unveiled at an exhibit at the Tamastslikt Cultural Center on May 20 in commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the signing of that treaty. These pages, on loan from the National Archives and Records Administration, will remain part of the exhibit on display through Dec. 31. (Visitors may find it difficult to read the original pages, so enlarged copies are also displayed to allow reading of the treaty as it was written.) The names and marks of the 36 members of the Cayuse, Walla Walla and Umatilla tribes who signed the treaty show clearly.

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Negotiations began on May 28, 1855 and concluded with the signing on June 9. Isaac I. Stevens, governor and superintendent of Indian affairs for the territory of Washington state, initially insisted that these three tribes join either the Yakama or Nez Perce on their reservations, but that idea was rejected.

Those tribes signed separate treaties. The result was the turning over of 31 million acres of land - including 6.4 million acres from the CTUIR - to the U.S. government in three separate treaties. The tribes reserved permanent homelands for themselves and future generations, plus rights that would help preserve their culture and way of life: rights still practiced today.

Some of those original signers later died violent deaths when the rights and legal protection promised them were denied and overturned.

http://www.indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096411028

[bemildred]

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