Carver Camp/Steilacoom Tribe Canoe Family land at first stop on the 2009 Tribal Journey southern route at Solo Point south of Steilacoom. From front to back: Steilacoom Tribal Leader Danny Marshall, Danny's daughter Lacie Marshall-Deck, Carver Enrique Leon, Carver Sarah Storm, Skipper Merrie Gough. On shore, Steilacoom Tribal Council Member Ken Dittbenner.
Steilacoom Tribe paddles in 2009 Tribal Journey to Suquamish
Carver Camp/Steilacoom Tribe Canoe Family land at first stop on the 2009 Tribal Journey southern route at Solo Point south of Steilacoom. From front to back: Steilacoom Tribal Leader Danny Marshall, Danny's daughter Lacie Marshall-Deck, Carver Enrique Leon, Carver Sarah Storm, Skipper Merrie Gough. On shore, Steilacoom Tribal Council Member Ken Dittbenner.
Tribal Leaders discuss struggle for recognition
Steilacoom Tribal Leader Danny Marshall recently joined other Tribal Leaders on KBCC's Voices of Diversity to discuss their struggles for Federal Recognition. To listen to the show, click on the hyperlink above and scroll down to the March 11th show.
Membership
Support the Steilacoom Tribal Cultural Center & Museum. By becoming a member of the Steilacoom Tribal Museum Association (STMA), you not only help support the museum, you also get a 10% discount in the Gift Shop and free access to the Tribal Museum's exhibits (Tribal Citizens always get in for free).
More memberships allows the Cultural Center & Museum to have classes on beading, weaving, storytelling, and other traditional activities.
Supporting
$100
Patron
$500
Benefactor
$1,000
Nonprofit Organization
$40
Business/Corporation
$50
More memberships allows the Cultural Center & Museum to have classes on beading, weaving, storytelling, and other traditional activities.
| Student/Senior | $15 |
| Individual | $20 |
| Family | $30 |
| Contributing | $50 |
Supporting
$100
Patron
$500
Benefactor
$1,000
Nonprofit Organization
$40
Business/Corporation
$50
Grey Head, Leader of the Steilacoom Indians
By Nile Thompson, September 1988
One of the most influential Indian leaders in Western Washington during the mid-nineteenth century is little known today. However, he made a large contribution as a peacemaker, was a find orator, and held his Tribe together during a traumatic period. He was also a man of many names.
Between 1795 and 1815 a son was born to Hey-ko, the Steilacoom Headman at a village on Chambers Creek. The Headman of that site generally had the most influence and wealth of all the Headmen of the various bands of the Steilacoom Tribe. He-ko died while his son was a small boy. As a youth the son was given the name Chew-see-a-kit. His early life was filled with training that would give him the ability to assume his father's position.
In the early 1830s the Hudson's Bay Company came to the territory of the Steilacoom Indians and constructed Fort Nisqually with its numerous stations. Chew-see-a-kit was given the Christian name Samuel, or Sam. To distinguish him from a Hawaiian laborer of the same name, he was also called Indian Sam. The surname Young was added to Chew-see-a-kit's English name at some point, perhaps because of association with a British employee of that name.
Horses arrived in Steilacoom Indian territory about 1800. They had a dramatic impact on the culture of the Steilacoom, Nisqually, and upriver Puyallup Indians. As the most influential and wealthiest individual in his drainage basin, it's not surprising that Sam Young amassed the largest herd of horses in his Tribe.
Sam Young was also known to Indians by the nickname, Snew-kude-dupe-tum, meaning literally, "it was all changed into something else." This name poked fun at the Steilacoom leader because his hair had prematurely turned totally white. The Americans who arrived in the 1840s called him Grey Head.
Patkanim, the Chief of the Snoqualmie, called an intertribal council at Whidbey Island in 1848. There he and his followers urged the 8,000 Indians in attendance to kill all the British and Americans in the Puget Sound area. Sam Young, however, displayed his political talents and influence by successfully arguing against Patkanim's proposal.
When the Territorial War broke out in 1855 as a result of the treaty making process, many Steilacoom Indians were interred at the Steilacoom Reserve on Fox Island and at Squaxin Island. However, Sam Young and his band of Steilacoom Indians living on Chambers Creek, totaling 70 individuals, remained at home near Fort Steilacoom. In 1856, the members of the Steilacoom Tribe selected Sam Young as their Chief to deal with the territorial government. The knowledge that the Americans desired to conduct transactions with a paramount Tribal leader was perhaps the key factor in this centralization of political authority.
Sam Young, as the Chief of the Tribe, made a compassionate speech at the Fox Island Council the following year in an attempt to convince Governor Isaac Stevens to create a separate reservation on Chambers Creek for his Tribe. Stevens did not provide for a Steilacoom reservation in the Medicine Creek Treaty because the town of Steilacoom was population center for white citizens in the territory and he hoped it would become the terminus of the transcontinental railroad.
Sam Young's speech was as follows:
His plea failed.
Without a reservation of their own, a sizable number of Steilacoom Indians chose to remain in their traditional territory and maintain the integrity of their Tribe. In contrast to his speech, Sam Young did not move onto a reservation. He remained in his traditional home on Chambers Creek and retained his role as Chief of the Steilacoom Tribe.
In 1878, the Indian agent stationed at the Puyallup Reservation conducted a survey of southern Puget Sound Indians residing off-reservation, socio-policial entities in Pierce County, the Gig Harbor Tribe and the Steilacoom Tribe. His census recorded only full-blooded, influential Indians. Among the names was "Old Man Hey-ko." This was Sam Young who had taken his father's name.
In the late 1870s, Sam Young, somewhere between 60 and 80 years of age, relinquished his position of Tribal Chief to John Steilacoom, the spun of a cousin.
Around 1883, the youngest son of Sam Young was kidnapped from the family home on Chambers Creek by Puyallup Tribal Police and forced to attend school on the Puyallup Reservation. The expressed policy of the Indian agent there was to attempt to reduce the number of off-reservation and hoping that they would find romantic interests there. In this instance it worked, with Frank Young marrying on the reservation in 1894 and becoming a member of the Puyallup Tribe.
Sam Young died about 1902. His life had been a political success in many ways. He had succeeded his father, acquired many names and many horses (each a sign of wealth), delivered two famous speeches, became the recognized paramount leader of his Tribe and kept his Tribe together in the face of the uncertainties that reigned at the time reservations were settled. Unfortunately, there was also failure. He had failed in his attempt to secure a reservation for his people and to have a son in the Steilacoom Tribe that one day would be Chief.
One of the most influential Indian leaders in Western Washington during the mid-nineteenth century is little known today. However, he made a large contribution as a peacemaker, was a find orator, and held his Tribe together during a traumatic period. He was also a man of many names.
Between 1795 and 1815 a son was born to Hey-ko, the Steilacoom Headman at a village on Chambers Creek. The Headman of that site generally had the most influence and wealth of all the Headmen of the various bands of the Steilacoom Tribe. He-ko died while his son was a small boy. As a youth the son was given the name Chew-see-a-kit. His early life was filled with training that would give him the ability to assume his father's position.
In the early 1830s the Hudson's Bay Company came to the territory of the Steilacoom Indians and constructed Fort Nisqually with its numerous stations. Chew-see-a-kit was given the Christian name Samuel, or Sam. To distinguish him from a Hawaiian laborer of the same name, he was also called Indian Sam. The surname Young was added to Chew-see-a-kit's English name at some point, perhaps because of association with a British employee of that name.
Horses arrived in Steilacoom Indian territory about 1800. They had a dramatic impact on the culture of the Steilacoom, Nisqually, and upriver Puyallup Indians. As the most influential and wealthiest individual in his drainage basin, it's not surprising that Sam Young amassed the largest herd of horses in his Tribe.
Sam Young was also known to Indians by the nickname, Snew-kude-dupe-tum, meaning literally, "it was all changed into something else." This name poked fun at the Steilacoom leader because his hair had prematurely turned totally white. The Americans who arrived in the 1840s called him Grey Head.
Patkanim, the Chief of the Snoqualmie, called an intertribal council at Whidbey Island in 1848. There he and his followers urged the 8,000 Indians in attendance to kill all the British and Americans in the Puget Sound area. Sam Young, however, displayed his political talents and influence by successfully arguing against Patkanim's proposal.
When the Territorial War broke out in 1855 as a result of the treaty making process, many Steilacoom Indians were interred at the Steilacoom Reserve on Fox Island and at Squaxin Island. However, Sam Young and his band of Steilacoom Indians living on Chambers Creek, totaling 70 individuals, remained at home near Fort Steilacoom. In 1856, the members of the Steilacoom Tribe selected Sam Young as their Chief to deal with the territorial government. The knowledge that the Americans desired to conduct transactions with a paramount Tribal leader was perhaps the key factor in this centralization of political authority.
Sam Young, as the Chief of the Tribe, made a compassionate speech at the Fox Island Council the following year in an attempt to convince Governor Isaac Stevens to create a separate reservation on Chambers Creek for his Tribe. Stevens did not provide for a Steilacoom reservation in the Medicine Creek Treaty because the town of Steilacoom was population center for white citizens in the territory and he hoped it would become the terminus of the transcontinental railroad.
Sam Young's speech was as follows:
"I am very proud to think the Governor has come to visit us again. I was a small boy when my father died. I think if my father were now living he would like to talk to you all today. I have always lived with the whites. I have many horses more horses than any of the Indians here present.
Now what I want to say is this. My home is at Shilicum (Steilacoom) Creek and there is where I want to live and die. I do not find fault with the Governor for selecting the Reservations he has today. No one can blame him for he has tried all ways to please the Indians on the Sound and they are never satisfied. I wish to tell the Governor that every Indian loves his own people best. Still, I am willing to do any(thing) in order to bring about peace once more.
I hope others will speak."
His plea failed.
Without a reservation of their own, a sizable number of Steilacoom Indians chose to remain in their traditional territory and maintain the integrity of their Tribe. In contrast to his speech, Sam Young did not move onto a reservation. He remained in his traditional home on Chambers Creek and retained his role as Chief of the Steilacoom Tribe.
In 1878, the Indian agent stationed at the Puyallup Reservation conducted a survey of southern Puget Sound Indians residing off-reservation, socio-policial entities in Pierce County, the Gig Harbor Tribe and the Steilacoom Tribe. His census recorded only full-blooded, influential Indians. Among the names was "Old Man Hey-ko." This was Sam Young who had taken his father's name.
In the late 1870s, Sam Young, somewhere between 60 and 80 years of age, relinquished his position of Tribal Chief to John Steilacoom, the spun of a cousin.
Around 1883, the youngest son of Sam Young was kidnapped from the family home on Chambers Creek by Puyallup Tribal Police and forced to attend school on the Puyallup Reservation. The expressed policy of the Indian agent there was to attempt to reduce the number of off-reservation and hoping that they would find romantic interests there. In this instance it worked, with Frank Young marrying on the reservation in 1894 and becoming a member of the Puyallup Tribe.
Sam Young died about 1902. His life had been a political success in many ways. He had succeeded his father, acquired many names and many horses (each a sign of wealth), delivered two famous speeches, became the recognized paramount leader of his Tribe and kept his Tribe together in the face of the uncertainties that reigned at the time reservations were settled. Unfortunately, there was also failure. He had failed in his attempt to secure a reservation for his people and to have a son in the Steilacoom Tribe that one day would be Chief.
Steilacoom Red
(Steilacoom spring is now obscured)
The Steilacoom are one of a number of related Tribes living between the Cascade Mountains and the Pacific Ocean that are collectively referred to as the Coast Salish. The Interior Salish reside east of the Cascades. In pre-contact times, Coast Salish groups used a variety of dyes, stains, and paints for decorating objects and for personal adornment. The color most closely linked to ceremonies was red. Red paint was formed from red clay. One belief holds that the first Salish Indians were molded from red clay:
"Now, man by man and woman by woman, Dukweibahl taught each Tribe to wash. He told the people, "Dive under the water and come ashore and rub yourselves good. You have to be clean before you come out of the water. It was from that time the people learned about combs. As each Tribe got through, he gave them a comb and told them to comb their hair. And he gave them paint to paint their faces."
Indians in the Steilacoom Band (along Chambers Creek and on Puget Sound north and south of the creek) obtained mud rich in iron-oxide from a spring located two blocks east of the Steilacoom Tribal Cultural Center & Museum. The spring (now called Iron Springs) and its rust colored mud were called liq'tɘd in lushootseed (pronounced 'liq'tud) which translates as "red paint". Licton Springs in Seattle is also named for this red clay.
The clay was burnt over a fire to darken it to a redder shade. It was then ground into a fine powder and mixed with deer tallow in a bowl or mortar. The tallow allowed the paint to adhere to a surface.
Some of the uses of red paint were blush, ceremonial face paint, rouge, sunscreen, family canoe interiors, paddles, and other ceremonial paraphernalia.
Steilacoom Flower
A prominent feature on the hills and plains of Steilacoom (in the area of our main village) was a pink flower known as Indian Pink (Lythophragma parviflorum) pictured above. Therefore, among the Puget Sound tribes, the name Steilacoom was taken to mean the people of the Indian Pink area. 'Steilacoom' is actually an anglicization of the Whulshootseed (sometimes spelled 'Lushootseed') word č'tilqwɘbš (pronounced "CH'tilQWubSH"). Today the Steilacoom Flower is also known as smallflower fringecup or small-flowered woodland star.
Although the Steilacoom Flower is no longer common in incorporated areas, efforts are under way to reintroduce and preserve the plant in Steilacoom, Lakewood, and University Place.
Learn more about the 'Steilacoom Flower' at the Burke Museum Herbarium Database.
Steilacoom Tribe History Prior to Statehood
1792
Peter Puget leads first recorded European tour of southern Puget Sound; meets Indians in offshore island area.
1800
Arrival of the horses in Steilacoom territory; rapidly integrated into the culture of both the Steilacoom and Nisqually Tribes.
1824
Hudson's Bay Company expedition visits a Steilacoom village.
1832
Hudson's Bay Company trading post established in Steilacoom territory after learning that the fur trade had already "much ruined" the beaver population of the Nisqually River.
1841
Red River settlers move into Steilacoom territory from Winnipeg area; many of these were part Indian (Sioux, Cree, etc.) and intermarried with Steilacoom Indians.
1849
US Army establishes Fort Steilacoom.
1851
Townsite of Steilacoom established.
1854
Treaty of Medicine Creek signed between Nisqually, Puyallup, Steilacoom, Squaxin, and other smaller Tribes and the U. S. Government.
1855
Territorial War begins in response to proposed Nisqually Reservation and other treaty issues. Some Steilacoom Indians join in the fighting with the Nisqually; at least 120 are interned on Fox Island, others stay in the neighborhood of Fort Steilacoom, some are shipped to Squaxin Island, and a few continue to work for the Puget Sounds Agricultural Company.
1856
Fox Island Council marks end to Territorial War on Puget Sound. Steilacoom leader Sam Young addresses Tribes and requests a reservation along Steilacoom Creek (now Chambers Creek) from Governor Stevens. Reservation settlement begins; some Steilacoom decide to remain in traditional territory after not being given a reservation of their own.
1858-1860
Catholic priests on a mission among the Indians record baptisms of members "de la tribu de Steilacoom."
1858-1861
Only an estimated 32% of the members of the Medicine Creek tribes are living on reservations.
1859-1862
Town of Steilacoom has 500 residents - 100 whites and 300 Indians. Steilacoom Indians residing there are mainly in "Shacks along the waterfront."
1878
Partial census taken of off-reservation Steilacoom Indians includes Sam Young and other leaders.
1880
Rev. Myron Eells visits and photographs the "Steilacoom Indians at Home."
1883
Sam Young's youngest son kidnapped from family home on Chambers Creek by Puyallup Tribal police and forced to attend agency school.
1889
Washington gains statehood.
Peter Puget leads first recorded European tour of southern Puget Sound; meets Indians in offshore island area.
1800
Arrival of the horses in Steilacoom territory; rapidly integrated into the culture of both the Steilacoom and Nisqually Tribes.
1824
Hudson's Bay Company expedition visits a Steilacoom village.
1832
Hudson's Bay Company trading post established in Steilacoom territory after learning that the fur trade had already "much ruined" the beaver population of the Nisqually River.
1841
Red River settlers move into Steilacoom territory from Winnipeg area; many of these were part Indian (Sioux, Cree, etc.) and intermarried with Steilacoom Indians.
1849
US Army establishes Fort Steilacoom.
1851
Townsite of Steilacoom established.
1854
Treaty of Medicine Creek signed between Nisqually, Puyallup, Steilacoom, Squaxin, and other smaller Tribes and the U. S. Government.
1855
Territorial War begins in response to proposed Nisqually Reservation and other treaty issues. Some Steilacoom Indians join in the fighting with the Nisqually; at least 120 are interned on Fox Island, others stay in the neighborhood of Fort Steilacoom, some are shipped to Squaxin Island, and a few continue to work for the Puget Sounds Agricultural Company.
1856
Fox Island Council marks end to Territorial War on Puget Sound. Steilacoom leader Sam Young addresses Tribes and requests a reservation along Steilacoom Creek (now Chambers Creek) from Governor Stevens. Reservation settlement begins; some Steilacoom decide to remain in traditional territory after not being given a reservation of their own.
1858-1860
Catholic priests on a mission among the Indians record baptisms of members "de la tribu de Steilacoom."
1858-1861
Only an estimated 32% of the members of the Medicine Creek tribes are living on reservations.
1859-1862
Town of Steilacoom has 500 residents - 100 whites and 300 Indians. Steilacoom Indians residing there are mainly in "Shacks along the waterfront."
1878
Partial census taken of off-reservation Steilacoom Indians includes Sam Young and other leaders.
1880
Rev. Myron Eells visits and photographs the "Steilacoom Indians at Home."
1883
Sam Young's youngest son kidnapped from family home on Chambers Creek by Puyallup Tribal police and forced to attend agency school.
1889
Washington gains statehood.
Steilacoom Tribe Government
Steilacoom Tribe Government Today
Today the Steilacoom Tribe is lead by Chairman Danny Marshall along with a Tribal Council.
Tribal Council
Danny K. Marshall, Chairman
Ken DittBenner, Vice-Chairman
Linda Ross, Secretary
Lacie Ugelstad, Treasurer
Steve Thomas
Dawn Hardison-Stevens
Percy Hicks
Jeff Ackerman
Rebecca Unzueta
An Unbroken Line of Leadership
Since the time of the Medicine Creek Treaty, the Steilacoom Tribe has used traditional methods to face the multitude of obstacles it has encountered. The efforts of the Tribe have produced an unbroken line of leadership that has held the Tribe together even without a reservation.
Traditionally, each Steilacoom band had a headman. The position was hereditary, being passed from father to son; but special circumstances required the ruling family to identify another successor. Whomever the family selected was subject to the approval of the band membership. Subchiefs, generally brothers or cousins of the headman, aided him in accomplishing organizational tasks. There was no overall chief of the entire tribe although the headman of the main village on Chambers Creek generally had more prestige (and thus influence) than the others.
The following chronology provides a glimpse at how the position of headman was filled in historic times.
1848
Sam Young, Steilacoom band headman, displays his political talents at an intertribal council, successfully arguing against Snoqualmie chief Patkanim’s proposal to kill all British and Americans in the Puget Sound area.
1856
Sam Young is elected chief of the entire Tribe in an effort to centralize political authority for negotiations with the Americans. The following year, Young represents the Tribe in negotiating with Governor Stevens.
ca. 1878
Young retires as Tribal Headman at almost 80 years of age. Since none of his sons remain in the Tribe, the position is passed on to John Steilacoom, son of pretreaty headman and a relative of Young’s.
1906
John Steilacoom dies but his eight year old son cannot assume the role. While his family waits to put forward someone else as the new Tribal leader, descendants of Betsy Latour (a cousin of Jon Steilacoom’s mother) keeps the Tribe functioning, acting as subchiefs.
ca. 1914
Joseph McKay, nephew of John Steilacoom, assumes the leadership of the Tribe.
1929
McKay resigns to join Puyallup Tribe and share in judgment funds. Again, Latour descendants take over the main leadership positions of the Tribe.
ca. 1939
Tribal leader William Bertschy (a Latour descendant) is told by his employer, the US. Navy, that he cannot be in Tribal politics and keep his job; he chooses his job. In 1940 Lou Andrews (Bertschy’s cousin) selects Joe Eskew, an unenrolled Lummi with administrative skills, as the family choice for successor. A year later, Eskew is ousted by the general membership after his leftist leanings are discovered. Andrews and others conduct Tribal business during the war years and beyond while seeking a replacement.
1951
Andrews family proposes Louis Layton, an unenrolled Colville, as the new Tribal leader and he is accepted by vote of the general membership. Layton proves to be an excellent choice and is considered by some outside observers to be the “best chairman on Puget Sound.”
1975
Layton steps down. He and the Andrews family select Lou Andrews’ niece, Joan (Edwards) Marshall, to be his successor. When the Steilacoom Tribal Museum opens in April 1988 she (now Joan Ortez) still held the position. In July 2006 Joan passes away at the age of 70.
2006
Danny Marshall, son of Joan, is voted in as Tribal Chairperson of the Steilacoom Tribe. He continues to hold this position today.
Today the Steilacoom Tribe is lead by Chairman Danny Marshall along with a Tribal Council.
Tribal Council
Danny K. Marshall, Chairman
Ken DittBenner, Vice-Chairman
Linda Ross, Secretary
Lacie Ugelstad, Treasurer
Steve Thomas
Dawn Hardison-Stevens
Percy Hicks
Jeff Ackerman
Rebecca Unzueta
An Unbroken Line of Leadership
Since the time of the Medicine Creek Treaty, the Steilacoom Tribe has used traditional methods to face the multitude of obstacles it has encountered. The efforts of the Tribe have produced an unbroken line of leadership that has held the Tribe together even without a reservation.
Traditionally, each Steilacoom band had a headman. The position was hereditary, being passed from father to son; but special circumstances required the ruling family to identify another successor. Whomever the family selected was subject to the approval of the band membership. Subchiefs, generally brothers or cousins of the headman, aided him in accomplishing organizational tasks. There was no overall chief of the entire tribe although the headman of the main village on Chambers Creek generally had more prestige (and thus influence) than the others.
The following chronology provides a glimpse at how the position of headman was filled in historic times.
1848
Sam Young, Steilacoom band headman, displays his political talents at an intertribal council, successfully arguing against Snoqualmie chief Patkanim’s proposal to kill all British and Americans in the Puget Sound area.
1856
Sam Young is elected chief of the entire Tribe in an effort to centralize political authority for negotiations with the Americans. The following year, Young represents the Tribe in negotiating with Governor Stevens.
ca. 1878
Young retires as Tribal Headman at almost 80 years of age. Since none of his sons remain in the Tribe, the position is passed on to John Steilacoom, son of pretreaty headman and a relative of Young’s.
1906
John Steilacoom dies but his eight year old son cannot assume the role. While his family waits to put forward someone else as the new Tribal leader, descendants of Betsy Latour (a cousin of Jon Steilacoom’s mother) keeps the Tribe functioning, acting as subchiefs.
ca. 1914
Joseph McKay, nephew of John Steilacoom, assumes the leadership of the Tribe.
1929
McKay resigns to join Puyallup Tribe and share in judgment funds. Again, Latour descendants take over the main leadership positions of the Tribe.
ca. 1939
Tribal leader William Bertschy (a Latour descendant) is told by his employer, the US. Navy, that he cannot be in Tribal politics and keep his job; he chooses his job. In 1940 Lou Andrews (Bertschy’s cousin) selects Joe Eskew, an unenrolled Lummi with administrative skills, as the family choice for successor. A year later, Eskew is ousted by the general membership after his leftist leanings are discovered. Andrews and others conduct Tribal business during the war years and beyond while seeking a replacement.
1951
Andrews family proposes Louis Layton, an unenrolled Colville, as the new Tribal leader and he is accepted by vote of the general membership. Layton proves to be an excellent choice and is considered by some outside observers to be the “best chairman on Puget Sound.”
1975
Layton steps down. He and the Andrews family select Lou Andrews’ niece, Joan (Edwards) Marshall, to be his successor. When the Steilacoom Tribal Museum opens in April 1988 she (now Joan Ortez) still held the position. In July 2006 Joan passes away at the age of 70.
2006
Danny Marshall, son of Joan, is voted in as Tribal Chairperson of the Steilacoom Tribe. He continues to hold this position today.
Steilacoom Tribe History
See also, Steilacoom Tribe History Prior to Statehood.
Before contact with Europeans, the Steilacoom Tribe was an independent group inhabiting the Tacoma Basin southwest of what is now the city of Tacoma. The basin contains two major waterways: Chambers Creek (or the Steilacoom River) and the Segwallitchu River. The Steilacoom speak a subdialect of the Puget Sound Salish language known as Whulshootseed (sometimes spelled "Lushootseed"). There were approximately 600 Steilacoom Indians living in five bands within the drainage basin. The Steilacoom were in six sites on Chambers Creek, the Sastuck were in three sites on Clover Creek, the Spanaway were at Spanaway Lake, the Tlithlow were on Murray Creek, and the Segwallitchu were in two sites on the Segwallitchu River. Unlike their closely related neighbors, the Puyallup and Nisqually Tribes, the Steilacoom did not have a glacier fed river. The principal feature of the Steilacoom territory was a group of spirit inhabited lakes.
A prominent feature on the hills and plains of Steilacoom (in the area of our main village) was a pink flower known as Indian Pink (Lythophragma parviflorum) pictured above. Therefore, among the Puget Sound tribes, the name Steilacoom was taken to mean the people of the Indian Pink area. 'Steilacoom' is actually an anglicization of the Whulshootseed (sometimes spelled 'Lushootseed') word č'tilqwəbš (pronounced "CH'tilQWubSH"). Today the Steilacoom Flower is also known as smallflower fringecup or small-flowered woodland star.
The Steilacoom were perhaps the most affected of all western Washington Tribes by early white settlement. Located within our territory were the first trading post, the first United States Army fort, the first church, the first jail and the first incorporated town north of the Columbia River.
Following two decades of increased settlement by whites in their homeland, the Steilacoom Tribe were a party to the Medicine Creek Treaty in 1854. Advised by the Indian Office in Washington, DC not to place reservations in areas with expected concentrations of white citizens, the treaty negotiators for the United States did not place a reservation near the blossoming town of Steilacoom. Therefore the treaty did not provide them with a separate reservation but directed them onto reservations established for their neighbors, the Puyallup, Nisqually and Squaxin.
In 1856 the Steilacoom and other Tribes signing the Medicine Creek Treaty met with Governor Stevens to voice their grievances concerning the treaty. The chief of the Steilacoom Tribe summed up the feelings of many tribal members in discussing the lack of a separate reservation:
"Now what I want to say is this. My home is at Shilacum (Steilacoom) Creek and there is where I want to live and die. I wish to tell the Governor that every Indian loves his native land best. Every Indian loves his own people best."
Sam Young, Chief of the Steilacoom Tribe,
at the Fox Island Council, August 4, 1856.
Following the signing of the treaty, some Steilacoom Tribal members did move onto a number of reservations throughout the region including the Puyallup, Nisqually, Skokomish and Tulalip. However, many Steilacoom Indians, including Sam Young, refused to move away from their aboriginal homeland. These were the ancestors of the modern-day Steilacoom Tribe.
We have survived by means of a mixture of traditional activities and our ability to use traditional skills outside of our own culture. Although we did not receive a reservation, we continue to thrive today by maintaining our social and political organization.
Even though the Steilacoom Tribe signed a ratified treaty with the United States and has maintained an unbroken line of political leadership, the Tribe today is not recognized by the federal government. However, we were dealt with as a Tribe by the Bureau of Indian Affairs on an on-again, off-again basis from the 1910s through the 1960s. Local, County, State and other Federal agencies do recognize the Tribe today.
Members of the Tribe are united by a common bond: the quest to hold onto our Steilacoom Indian heritage, to preserve and protect our identity as a distinct and viable Indian Tribe, and to regain rights and privileges guaranteed by the Medicine Creek Treaty. Unlike most other treaty signing Tribes, we have had to maintain our identity without the benefit of a land base and Federal resources.
There have been hard times but the continuation of a distinct Steilacoom Tribal identity has never been in doubt. It is something that will always survive. A simple paragraph written by an Oregon resident in support of Federal Recognition provides a positive note for all people to live by. He said: "No person, agency, or government has the right to deprive a people of their heritage, and all people have a natural right to their customs, culture and ancestry."
The Steilacoom Tribal Cultural Center, containing the Tribal office, Museum, Gift Shop and archives, is located at 1515 Lafayette Street in the historic town of Steilacoom. At the door as you enter, in proud commemoration of our ancestors, are inscribed these words:
The Steilacoom Tribal Cultural Center is hereby dedicated in memory of the Tribal ancestors who walked here before us to be shared for all time with those that follow.
Credits/Sources
Marshall, Dan n.d. The Steilacoom Indian Tribe. Steilacoom, WA: The Steilacoom Tribal Cultural Center.
Thompson, Nile n.d. Permanent Historical Exhibit, Steilacoom Tribal Museum.
Thompson, Nile 1994 Steilacoom. Native America in the Twentieth Century: An Encyclopedia, pp. 617-618. New York: Garland Publishing, Inc.
Thompson, Nile and Dan Marshall 1990 Steilacoom Tribe of Indians. A Time of Gathering: An Intertribal Welcome (Statements from Thirty-six Washington Tribes), p 37. Seattle: Thomas Burke Memorial Washington State Museum.
Original content by Kevin Ward, 2001. Updated 2007, 2012, 2019
An Unbroken Line of Leadership
Since the time of the Medicine Creek Treaty, the Steilacoom Tribe has used traditional methods to face the multitude of obstacles it has encountered. The efforts of the Tribe have produced an unbroken line of leadership that has held the Tribe together even without a reservation.
Traditionally, each Steilacoom band had a headman. The position was hereditary, being passed rom father to son, but special circumstances required the ruling family to identify another successor. Whomever the family selected was subject to the approval of the band membership. Subchiefs, generally brothers or cousins of the headman, aided him in accomplishing organizational tasks. There was no overall chief of the entire tribe although the headman of the main village on Chambers Creek generally had more prestige (and thus influence) than lthe others.
The following chronology provides a glimpse at how the position of headman was filled in in historic times.
1848
Sam Young, Steilacoom band headman, displays his political talents at an intertribal council, successfully arguing against Snoqualmie chief Patkanim’s proposal to kill all British and Americans in the Puget Sound area.
1856
Sam Young is elected chief of the entire Tribe in an effort to centralize political authority for negotiations with the Americans. The following year, Young represents the Tribe in negotiating with Governor Stevens.
ca. 1878
Young retires as Tribal Headman at almost 80 years of age. Since none of his sons remain in the Tribe, the position is passed on to John Steilacoom, son of pretreaty headman and a relative of Young’s.
1906
John Steilacoom dies but his eight year old son cannot assume the role. While his family waits to put forward someone else as the new Tribal leader, descendants of Betsy Latour (a cousin of Jon Steilacoom’s mother) keeps the Tribe functioning, acting as subchiefs.
ca. 1914
Joseph McKay, nephew of John Steilacoom, assumes the leadership of the Tribe.
1929
McKay resigns to join Puyallup Tribe and share in judgment funds. Again, Latour descendants take over the main leadership positions of the Tribe.
ca. 1939
Tribal leader William Bertschy (a Latour descendant) is told by his employer, the US. Navy, that he cannot be in Tribal politics and keep his job; he chooses his ob. In 1940 Lou Andrews (Bertschy’s cousin) selects Joe Eskew, an unenrolled Lummi with administrative skills, as the family choice for successor. A year later, Eskew is ousted by the general membership after his leftist leanings are discovered. Andrews and others conduct Tribal business during the war years and beyond while seeking a replacement.
1951
Andrews family proposes Louis Layton, an enenrolled Colville, as the new Tribal leader and he is accepted by vote of the general membership. Layton proves to be an excellent choice and is considered by some outside observers to be the “best chairman on Puget Sound.”
1975
Layton steps down. He and the Andrews family select Lou Andrews’ niece, Joan (Edwards) Marshall, to be his successor. When the Steilacoom Tribal Museum opens in April 1988 she (now Joan Ortez) still held the position.
Danny Marshall is the current chairperson of the Steilacoom Tribe.
Traditionally, each Steilacoom band had a headman. The position was hereditary, being passed rom father to son, but special circumstances required the ruling family to identify another successor. Whomever the family selected was subject to the approval of the band membership. Subchiefs, generally brothers or cousins of the headman, aided him in accomplishing organizational tasks. There was no overall chief of the entire tribe although the headman of the main village on Chambers Creek generally had more prestige (and thus influence) than lthe others.
The following chronology provides a glimpse at how the position of headman was filled in in historic times.
1848
Sam Young, Steilacoom band headman, displays his political talents at an intertribal council, successfully arguing against Snoqualmie chief Patkanim’s proposal to kill all British and Americans in the Puget Sound area.
1856
Sam Young is elected chief of the entire Tribe in an effort to centralize political authority for negotiations with the Americans. The following year, Young represents the Tribe in negotiating with Governor Stevens.
ca. 1878
Young retires as Tribal Headman at almost 80 years of age. Since none of his sons remain in the Tribe, the position is passed on to John Steilacoom, son of pretreaty headman and a relative of Young’s.
1906
John Steilacoom dies but his eight year old son cannot assume the role. While his family waits to put forward someone else as the new Tribal leader, descendants of Betsy Latour (a cousin of Jon Steilacoom’s mother) keeps the Tribe functioning, acting as subchiefs.
ca. 1914
Joseph McKay, nephew of John Steilacoom, assumes the leadership of the Tribe.
1929
McKay resigns to join Puyallup Tribe and share in judgment funds. Again, Latour descendants take over the main leadership positions of the Tribe.
ca. 1939
Tribal leader William Bertschy (a Latour descendant) is told by his employer, the US. Navy, that he cannot be in Tribal politics and keep his job; he chooses his ob. In 1940 Lou Andrews (Bertschy’s cousin) selects Joe Eskew, an unenrolled Lummi with administrative skills, as the family choice for successor. A year later, Eskew is ousted by the general membership after his leftist leanings are discovered. Andrews and others conduct Tribal business during the war years and beyond while seeking a replacement.
1951
Andrews family proposes Louis Layton, an enenrolled Colville, as the new Tribal leader and he is accepted by vote of the general membership. Layton proves to be an excellent choice and is considered by some outside observers to be the “best chairman on Puget Sound.”
1975
Layton steps down. He and the Andrews family select Lou Andrews’ niece, Joan (Edwards) Marshall, to be his successor. When the Steilacoom Tribal Museum opens in April 1988 she (now Joan Ortez) still held the position.
Danny Marshall is the current chairperson of the Steilacoom Tribe.
No Reservation for the Steilacoom Tribe
The Medicine Creek Treaty of 1854 did not provide a separate reservation for the Steilacoom Tribe. This was due to the perception held by Governor Stevens and treaty drafter George Gibbs, that the town of Steilacoom would continue to be a main non-Indian population center in western Washington. Advised by the Indian Office in Washington, DC not to place reservations in areas with large concentrations of white citizens, the treaty negotiators for the United States set aside only the Nisqually, Puyallup, and Squaxin reservations. Unfortunately for the Steilacoom Tribe and some modern day white residents of Pierce county, the prediction that the town of Steilacoom would flourish while the Port of Tacoma/Fife area would remain relatively unused has not proven to be accurate.
Some Steilacoom Indians did decide to move onto the reservations at Nisqually, Puyallup, Skokomish, Tulalip, and Squaxin Island. Others, including Sam Young, preferred to remain in their traditional homeland.
"Now what I want to say is this. My home is at Shilacum [Steilacoom} Creek and there is where I want to live and die...I wish to tell the Governor that every Indian loves his native land the best. Every Indian loves his own people best."
Sam Young, Chief of the Steilacoom Tribe,addressing Governor Stevens on August 4, 1856.
Some Steilacoom Indians did decide to move onto the reservations at Nisqually, Puyallup, Skokomish, Tulalip, and Squaxin Island. Others, including Sam Young, preferred to remain in their traditional homeland.
Hours & Location
The Cultural Center & Museum is open Saturdays: 10:00am to 4:00pm. Special tours can also be arranged for other days and times by contacting the Tribe at the phone number or email below.
Address: 1515 Lafayette St, Steilacoom, WA 98388
Telephone: (253) 584-6308
Email: steilacoomtribe@msn.com
Social Media:
Facebook Instagram Google Maps Google Business Site
Address: 1515 Lafayette St, Steilacoom, WA 98388
Telephone: (253) 584-6308
Email: steilacoomtribe@msn.com
Social Media:
Facebook Instagram Google Maps Google Business Site
Steilacoom Tribe Federal Recognition
The Steilacoom Tribe is a non-Federally recognized Tribe which means that, unlike other Federally recognized Tribes (like the Puyallup or Nisqually), the Steilacoom Tribe has no dedicated reservation of its own, receives no financial or other support from the United States or State of Washington, and has no special rights related to fishing or other potential sources of income for the Tribe.
See Also, No Reservation for Steilacoom Tribe.
Articles on Steilacoom Tribe Federal Recognition
See Also, No Reservation for Steilacoom Tribe.
Articles on Steilacoom Tribe Federal Recognition
- Artman, C. J. 2008. March 12, 2008. Summary under the Criteria and Evidence for the Final Determination of the Steilacoom Tribe of Indians. Office of the Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior.
- Courey Toensing, G. December 31, 2008. Bush administration put the wreck in federal recognition. Indian Country Media Network.
- Shukovsky, P. August 12, 2002. Tribes fight to keep native culture alive. Seattle PI.
Ancient Futures Annual Campaign
Beginning in 2010, the Steilacoom Tribal Museum Association (STMA) has organized the Ancient Futures Annual Campaign each Spring to raise money for the Steilacoom Tribal Cultural Center and Museum. The Steilacoom Tribe is a non-Federally recognized Tribe so funds from the Ancient Futures Campaign support our efforts to maintain and restore the historic Oberlin Church building, as well as our programs to share the history and culture of the Steilacoom Tribe and shape the future of the Tribe.
As of 12/31/12 the Tribe has raised $16,000 through the Ancient Futures Annual Campaign.
STMA is a 501(c)3 organization so all donations are tax deductible.
As of 12/31/12 the Tribe has raised $16,000 through the Ancient Futures Annual Campaign.
STMA is a 501(c)3 organization so all donations are tax deductible.
The Steilacoom Tribe: A Brief History
The Steilacoom were the most affected of all western Washington Tribes by early white settlement. Located within the Steilacoom territory were the first trading post, the first United States Army fort, the first church, and the first incorporated town north of the Columbia River. In 1854, the Tribe signed the Medicine Creek Treaty, the first treaty in western Washington.
Advised by the Indian Office in Washington, DC, not to place reservations in a areas with large concentrations of white citizens, under protest from the Tribes involved, the treaty negotiators for the United States did not place a reservation near the blossoming town of Steilacoom. Many Steilacoom Indians refused to move away from their homeland. They survived by means of a mixture of traditional activities and their ability to use their traditional skills outside their culture.
Although it did not receive a permanent reservation, the Tribe has maintained social and political continuity up to the present day. At the time of the last census, the Tribe had a membership of 617. Approximately 94% of the Tribe descends from members who were living at the time of the treaty signing (6% are members adopted from other Tribes). A substantial number of Tribe members live in or near the traditional homeland with about 47% in 139 households residing within Pierce County. The traditional area of the Steilacoom encompasses territory as far north as Day Island, west of Tacoma, south to the Nisqually River and inland to the mountains. Major villages were located in today’s communities of Steilacoom, Lakewood, Spanaway, and Roy.
In 1988, the Tribe opened a new Cultural Center and Museum at 1515 Lafayette Street, within the historic district of the Town bearing their name, Steilacoom. The Steilacoom Tribal Cultural Center is located in the aboriginal homeland of the Tribe overlooking the water of Puget Sound. The Center houses changing museum exhibits, research facilities, a gift and coffee shop, and the Tribal headquarters. The Center has received visitors from around the world, including scheduled tours for schools and special groups.
On May 13, 1989, the Steilacoom Tribal Cultural Center was dedicated: “In the memory of the Tribal Ancestors who walked here before us, to be shared for all time with those that follow.
Danny Marshall is the current Chairperson of the Steilacoom Tribe
Contact Us
The Steilacoom Tribal Cultural Center & Museum
Open Saturdays: 10:00am to 4:00pm
Address: 1515 Lafayette St, Steilacoom, WA 98388
Telephone: (253) 584-6308
Email: steilacoomtribe@msn.com
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Open Saturdays: 10:00am to 4:00pm
Address: 1515 Lafayette St, Steilacoom, WA 98388
Telephone: (253) 584-6308
Email: steilacoomtribe@msn.com
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