"Chief Leshi, a prominent Nisqually Native American elder, played out his story in Lakewood.

South Puget Sound land in the 1850s was land in dispute. The British had already set up trading posts around the Pacific Northwest, and a growing number of American settlers were threatening that dominance, further squeezing out the Native American tribes that had lived here.

Something was bound to boil over, as the early years of pioneer settlement were filled with shifting alliances and mixed emotions, leading to the hanging of Leschi in Lakewood.

The Medicine Creek Treaty of 1854 was meant to solve the issue with the establishment of tribal reservations. At least, that was the thought of Washington Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens. He boiler-plated a treaty and told tribal leaders to sign or face trouble. They signed with little understanding a reservation, among those signers was Leschi.

Although that is a matter of debate."

Get the Story:
Leschi Hanging Drama Began and Ended in Lakewood (The Lakewood Patch 3/28)

Related Stories:
Review: Our shameful history in 'Bitter Waters of Medicine Creek' (3/14)
Book Review: Chief Leschi and 'Bitter Waters of Medicine Creek' (3/7)