Historic Indian treaty signed to settle land claims

TACOMA, Wash. -- Puyallup Indian leaders and government officials signed a $162 million treaty Saturday settling the tribe's historic claims to vast tracts of valuable waterfront property in the Tacoma area.

Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii -- who helped lead six years of negotiations between the tribe and local, state and federal government agencies -- called the agreement a 'showcase' for future settlements of claims of other Indians in the nation.

In exchange for giving up rights to the valuable industrial and residential properties, the 1,400-member Puyallup Indians will receive $162 million in cash, property and economic development programs.

Henry John, chairman of the Puyallup tribal council, said the agreement 'will bring about dramatic change between the tribes and surrounding communities.'

'There is no way to erase the wrongs committed, not even with an agreement this large,' John said. 'But this gives us the opportunity to solve many of the problems caused by the wrongs.'

During the signing ceremony attended by hundreds of people, Inoyue recalled that during his first of a dozen trips to Tacoma, the people on both sides of the issue were 'sullen' and 'angry' and 'bitter.'

'But I always felt there was a better answer than litigation,' Inoyue said. 'I felt that a negotiated settlement, with Indians standing tall defending their rights, is mutually beneficial.'

Gov. Booth Gardner, one of the signers to the agreement, said, 'The real agreement is the commitment we all feel in our hearts and minds.

'Let no one now or in the future doubt the sincerity of these words,' Gardner said. 'They may be printed on paper, but they are engraved in our hearts.'

Contributing to the settlement fund were the federal government, $77.25 million; Port of Tacoma, $43 million; state of Washington, $21 million; city of Tacoma, $6.1 million; Pierce County, $2.6 million and a variety of private businesses, $11.5 million.

Every adult member of the tribe will receive $20,000 as part of the settlement -- the largest Indian claims treaty since the $960 million, 40-million-acre Alaska Native Claims act of 1971. Similar individual payments will be made to younger tribe members when they turn 21.

The 1,900-acre Puyallup Reservation in Pierce County was established by the 1854 Medicine Creek Treaty, but most of the land over the years became part of the city and port of Tacoma, leaving unsettled questions of ownership over some $750 million worth of developed property.

The negotiations were prompted by a 1983 lawsuit filed by the Port of Tacoma that claimed 12.6 acres of former Puyallup River bed land. But the tribe's claim to the land was upheld by an appeals court, opening up the possibility of tribal claims to additional land.

The court ruling resulted in community leaders agreeing to negotiate the Puyallup Indian's land claims. During the six years of negotiations an initial $140 million proposal was rejected by the tribe, a tribal leader was ousted, and the settlement was sweetened by the offer of direct payments to tribal members.

In exchange for giving up the disputed land, the tribe will receive about 300 acres for a marine terminal, and millions of dollars in cash for fisheries enhancement, other forms of economic development, and health and social service programs.

Another $51 million will go for construction of a longer bridge over an improved waterway or a road around it.