Quinault Treaty, 1856
Articles of agreement and convention made and concluded by and between
Isaac I. Stevens, governor and superintendent of Indian affairs of the
Territory of Washington, on the part of the United States, and the undersigned
chiefs, headmen, and delegates of the different tribes and bands of the
Qui-nai-elt and Quil-leh-ute Indians, on the part of said tribes and bands, and
duly authorized thereto by them.
ARTICLE 1.
The said tribes and bands hereby cede, relinquish, and convey to the
United States all their right, title, and interest in and to the lands and
country occupied by them, bounded and described as follows: Commencing at a
point on the Pacific coast, which is the southwest corner of the lands lately
ceded by the Makah tribe of Indians to the United States, and running easterly
with and along the southern boundary of the said Makah tribe to the middle of
the coast range of mountains; thence southerly with said range of mountains to
their intersection with the dividing ridge between the chehalis and Quiniatl
Rivers; thence westerly with said ridge to the Pacific coast; thence northerly
along said coast to the place of beginning.
ARTICLE 2.
There shall, however, be reserved, for the use and occupation of the
tribes and bands aforesaid, a tract or tracts of land sufficient for their
wants within the Territory of Washington, to be selected by the President of
the United States, and hereafter surveyed or located and set apart for their
exclusive use, and no white man shall be permitted to reside thereon without
permission of the tribe and of the superintendent of Indian affairs or Indian
agent. And the said tribes and bands agree to remove to and settle upon the
same within one year after the ratification of this treaty, or sooner if the
means are furnished them. In the meantime it shall be lawful for them to reside
upon any lands not in the actual claim and occupation of citizens of the United
States, and upon any lands claimed or occupied, if with the permission of the
owner or claimant. If necessary for the public convenience, roads may be run
through said reservation, on compensation being made for any damage sustained
thereby.
ARTICLE 3.
The right of taking fish at all usual and accustomed grounds and
stations is secured to said Indians in common with all citizens of the
Territory, and of erecting temporary houses for the purpose of curing the same;
together with the privilege of hunting, gathering roots and berries, and
pasturing their horses on all open and unclaimed lands. Provided, however, That
they shall not take shell-fish from any beds staked or cultivated by citizens;
and provided, also, that they shall alter all stallions not intended for
breeding, and keep up and confine the stallions themselves.
ARTICLE 4.
In consideration of the above cession, the United States agree to pay to
the said tribes and bands the sum of twenty-five thousand dollars, in the
following manner, that is to say: For the first year after the ratification
hereof, two thousand five hundred dollars; for the next two years, two thousand
dollars each year; for the next three years, one thousand six hundred dollars
each year; for the next four years, one thousand three hundred dollars each
year; for the next five years, one thousand dollars each year; and for the next
five years, seven hundred dollars each year. All of which sums of money shall
be applied to the use and benefit of the said Indians under the directions of
the President of the United States, who may from time to time, determine at his
discretion upon what beneficial objects to expend the same; and the
superintendent of Indian affairs, or other proper officer, shall each year
inform the President of the wishes of said Indians in respect thereto.
ARTICLE 5.
To enable the said Indians to remove to and settle upon such reservation
as may be selected for them by the President, and to clear, fence, and break up
a sufficient quantity of land for cultivation, the United States further agree
to pay the sum of two thousand five hundred dollars, to be laid out and
expended under the direction of the President, and in such manner as he shall
approve.
ARTICLE 6.
The President may hereafter, when in his opinion the interests of the
Territory shall require, and the welfare of the said Indians be promoted by it,
remove them from said reservation or reservations to such other suitable place
or places within said Territory as he may deem fit, on remunerating them for
their improvements and the expenses of their removal, or may consolidate them
with other friendly tribes or bands, in which latter case the annuities,
payable to the consolidated tribes respectively, shall also be consolidated;
and he may further, at his discretion, cause the whole or any portion of the
lands to be reserved, or of such other land as may be selected in lieu thereof,
to be surveyed into lots, and assign the same to such individuals or families
as are willing to avail themselves of the privilege, and will locate on the
same as a permanent home, on the same terms and subject to the same regulations
as are provided in the sixth article of the treaty with the Omahas, so far as
the same may be applicable. Any substantial improvements heretofore made by any
Indians, and which they shall be compelled to abandon in consequence of this
treaty, shall be valued under the direction of the President, and payment made
accordingly therefor.
ARTICLE 7.
The annuities of the aforesaid tribes and bands shall not be taken to
pay the debts of individuals.
ARTICLE 8.
The said tribes and bands acknowledge their dependence on the Government
of the United States, and promise to be friendly with all citizens thereof, and
pledge themselves to commit no depredations on the property of such citizens;
and should any one or more of them violate this pledge, and the fact be
satisfactorily proven before the agent, the property taken shall be returned,
or in default thereof, or if injured or destroyed, compensation may be made by
the Government out of their annuities. Nor will they make war on any other
tribe except in self-defence, but will submit all matters of difference between
them and other Indians to the Government of the United States, or its agent,
for decision and abide thereby; and if any of the said Indians commit any depredations
on any other Indians within the Territory, the same rule shall prevail as is
prescribed in this article in case of depredations against citizens. And the
said tribes and bands agree not to shelter or conceal offenders against the
laws of the United States, but to deliver them to the authorities for trial.
ARTICLE 9.
The above tribes and bands are desirous to exclude from their
reservations the use of ardent spirits, and to prevent their people from
drinking the same, and therefore it is provided that any Indian belonging to
said tribes who is guilty of bringing liquor into said reservations, or who
drinks liquor, may have his or her proportion of the annuities withheld from
him or her, for such time as the President may determine.
ARTICLE 10.
The United States further agree to establish at the general agency for
the district of Puget Sound, within one year from the ratification hereof, and
to support for a period of twenty years, an agricultural and industrial school,
to be free to the children of the said tribes and bands in common with those of
the other tribes of said district, and to provide the said school with a
suitable instructor or instructors, and also to provide a smithy and
carpenter's shop, and furnish them with the necessary tools, and to employ a
blacksmith, carpenter, and farmer for a term of twenty years, to instruct the
Indians in their respective occupations. And the United States further agree to
employ a physician to reside at the said central agency, who shall furnish medicine
and advice to their sick, and shall vaccinate them; the expenses of the said
school, shops, employees, and medical attendance to be defrayed by the United
States, and not deducted from their annuities.
ARTICLE 11.
The said tribes and bands agree to free all slaves now held by them, and
not to purchase or acquire others hereafter.
ARTICLE 12.
The said tribes and bands finally agree not to trade at Vancouver's
Island or elsewhere out of the dominions of the United States, nor shall
foreign Indians be permitted to reside on their reservations without consent of
the superintendent or agent.
ARTICLE 13.
This treaty shall be obligatory on the contracting parties as soon as
the same shall be ratified by the President and Senate of the United States.
In testimony whereof, the said Isaac I. Stevens, governor and
superintendent of Indian affairs, and the undersigned chiefs, headmen, and
delegates of the aforesaid tribes and bands of Indians, have hereunto set their
hands and seals, at Olympia, January 25, 1856, and on the Qui-nai-elt River,
July 1, 1855.
Isaac I. Stevens, Governor and Sup't of Indian Affairs.
Tah-ho-lah, Head Chief Qui-nite-'l tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
How-yat'l, Head Chief Quil-ley-yute tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Kal-lape, Sub-chief Quil-ley-hutes, his x mark. (L.S.)
Tah-ah-ha-wht'l, Sub-chief Quil-ley-hutes, his x mark. (L.S.)
Lay-le-whash-er, his x mark. (L.S.)
E-mah-lah-cup, his x mark. (L.S.)
Ash-chak-a-wick, his x mark. (L.S.)
Ay-a-quan, his x mark. (L.S.)
Yats-see-o-kop, his x mark. (L.S.)
Karts-so-pe-ah, his x mark. (L.S.)
Quat-a-de-tot'l, his x mark. (L.S.)
Now-ah-ism, his x mark. (L.S.)
Cla-kish-ka, his x mark. (L.S.)
Kler-way-sr-hun, his x mark. (L.S.)
Quar-ter-heit'l, his x mark. (L.S.)
Hay-nee-si-oos, his x mark. (L.S.)
Hoo-e-yas'lsee, his x mark. (L.S.)
Quilt-le-se-mah, his x mark. (L.S.)
Qua-lats-kaim, his x mark. (L.S.)
Yah-le-hum, his x mark. (L.S.)
Je-tah-let-shin, his x mark. (L.S.)
Ma-ta-a-ha, his x mark. (L.S.)
Wah-kee-nah, Sub-chief Qui-nite'l tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Yer-ay-let'l, Sub-chief, his x mark. (L.S.)
Silley-mark'l, his x mark. (L.S.)
Cher-lark-tin, his x mark. (L.S.)
How-yat-'l, his x mark. (L.S.)
Kne-she-guartsh, Sub-chief, his x mark. (L.S.)
Klay-sumetz, his x mark. (L.S.)
Kape, his x mark. (L.S.)
Hay-et-lite-'l, or John, his x mark. (L.S.)
Executed in the presence of us; the words "or tracts," in the II.
article, and "next," in the IV. article, being interlined prior to
execution.
M. T. Simmons, special Indian agent.
H. A. Goldsborough, commissary, &c.
B. F. Shaw, interpreter.
James Tilton, surveyor-general WashingtonTerritory.
F. Kennedy.
J. Y. Miller.
H. D. Cock.
Jan. 25, 1856. Ratified Mar. 8, 1859. Proclaimed, Apr. 11, 1859.