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Explore stories in Northwest history through highlights from MOHAI’s collections. Search by keyword below or browse the entire online collection by entering the asterisk symbol (*). Filter your search by type of materials.

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400 results for: Indigenous Peoples

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Image of Ray Charles at ceremony to close Swinomish beaches, July 12, 1971
Photograph

Ray Charles at ceremony to close Swinomish beaches, July 12, 1971

In July 1971, the Swinomish tribal council voted to close 15 miles of beachland on their reservation to non-Indians. At issue were the general despoliation of the land and the depletion of marine life. The Swinomish were attempting to rebuild and preserve the diminishing butter clam population. Though outsiders were required to obtain a permit and observe state shellfish restrictions…
ID Number:2000.107.034.24.01
Date:1971
Image of Bob Eagle Staff and West Seattle High School ASB officers, Seattle, November 15, 1991
Photograph

Bob Eagle Staff and West Seattle High School ASB officers, Seattle, November 15, 1991

Principal of Seattle Public Schools' American Indian Heritage School and Program, Robert Bruce Eagle Staff (1952-1996) was born on the Cheyenne River Indian Reservation in South Dakota. He moved to Seattle in 1980 and worked as vice principal at Summit Alternative School before coming to Indian Heritage. A few days before his death, Mr. Eaglestaff learned that his doctoral dissertation…
ID Number:2000.107.053.15.01
Date:1991
Image of Stanley Moses and Jeff Sheldon removing salmon from a gillnet on Lake Washington, July 16, 1984
Photograph

Stanley Moses and Jeff Sheldon removing salmon from a gillnet on Lake Washington, July 16, 1984

After the Boldt decision of 1974, Indigenous tribes in western Washington were legally entitled to half the harvestable salmon run each year. Fishers from the Muckleshoot and Suquamish Tribes were allowed to fish from Lake Washington during specific four-hour windows, under the supervision of fishery officials representing both the state and the Tribes.Here, Stanley Moses (Muckleshoot) and his 12-year-old crew…
ID Number:2000.107.064.01.01
Date:1984
Image of Julian Lawrence and Louis Horn, Jr. netting salmon on Nooksack River, October 1991
Photograph

Julian Lawrence and Louis Horn, Jr. netting salmon on Nooksack River, October 1991

Fish hatcheries in Washington state provided most of the yearly salmon catch. In this image, Julian Lawrence (left) and Louis Horn, Jr. pull in their net while fishing for coho salmon on the Nooksack River. Lawrence and Horn, both members of the Lummi Nation, were catching salmon to use as breeding stock in the Lummi tribal hatchery. At the time,…
ID Number:2000.107.064.01.02
Date:1991
Image of Sports fishers picketing Boldt decision at Federal Building, Tacoma, March 5, 1974
Photograph

Sports fishers picketing Boldt decision at Federal Building, Tacoma, March 5, 1974

Beginning with treaties in 1854 and 1855, Indigenous tribes of Washington ceded their land to the United States but had reserved the right to fish as they had always done, including fishing at traditional locations that were off the designated reservations. Over time, the state of Washington had infringed on the treaty rights of the tribes despite losing a series…
ID Number:2000.107.064.02.01
Date:1974
Image of David Stepetin spreading eggs over hatching boxes at Nisqually Tribal Hatchery, January 1980
Photograph

David Stepetin spreading eggs over hatching boxes at Nisqually Tribal Hatchery, January 1980

In the 1970s, fish hatcheries owned and operated by Indigenous tribes in Washington were growing quickly. The Boldt decision in 1974 upheld the tribes' fishing rights, but the total numbers of fish were diminishing. In response, many Indigenous tribes started up hatcheries to raise salmon and steelhead (there were also non-Indigenous and government-operated hatcheries). In 1979, 18 Washington tribes operated…
ID Number:2000.107.064.02.02
Date:1980
Image of Slade Gorton listening to testimony on bill to decommercialize steelhead trout, Seattle, June 29, 1981
Photograph

Slade Gorton listening to testimony on bill to decommercialize steelhead trout, Seattle, June 29, 1981

In 1981, bills were introduced in the US Congress to make steelhead trout a game fish rather than one that could be fished commercially. At this time, non-Native fishers could not fish for steelhead commercially. Sports fishers hailed the bill, but Native fishers bitterly opposed it, fearing it could seriously affect their livelihood.A public hearing on the legislation, held on…
ID Number:2000.107.064.02.03
Date:1981
Image of Yakama fishers checking nets on Columbia River near Lyle, Washington, August 24, 1993
Photograph

Yakama fishers checking nets on Columbia River near Lyle, Washington, August 24, 1993

Protests in the 1960s and 1970s, known at the time collectively as the "fish wars," eventually led to the Boldt Decision (United States v. Washington, 1974), a federal ruling guaranteeing Washington tribes half the state's salmon and steelhead trout catch.In the 1990s, with growing water pollution nationwide, a study showed that tribal members living and fishing along the Columbia River…
ID Number:2000.107.064.02.04
Date:1993
Image of Dick Gregory at Thurston County Superior Court, Olympia, November 20, 1966
Photograph

Dick Gregory at Thurston County Superior Court, Olympia, November 20, 1966

Richard Claxton "Dick" Gregory (1932-) is an American comedian and civil rights activist, who helped call attention to Washington State laws restricting Native American rights. The "fish wars," as they were known at the time, led to the Boldt Decision, a federal ruling guaranteeing Washington tribes half the state's salmon and catch.In this image Dick Gregory, left, followed by Mad…
ID Number:2000.107.079.07.01
Date:1966
Image of Bill Holm with mask by Willie Seaweed, Seattle, September 10, 1983
Photograph

Bill Holm with mask by Willie Seaweed, Seattle, September 10, 1983

Bill Holm (1925-2020) was a art history professor at the University of Washington and curator of Northwest Coast Indian Art at the Burke Museum of Nature History and Cultur. Holm was known for his teaching and advocacy of Northwest Coast Indigenous art, and he spent several years working on a retrospective of the work of Willie Seaweed that opened at…
ID Number:2000.107.090.33.01
Date:1983
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MOHAI stands on the historic and contemporary lands and shores of the Duwamish, Suquamish, Muckleshoot, and other Coast Salish Nations. We acknowledge the forced displacement of Native Communities from this land while honoring the endurance of the Duwamish people who still live here.
Address: 860 Terry Ave N, Seattle WA, 98109
Phone: 206 324 1126
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