In 1855, representatives of the Indigenous peoples of the area now known as Seattle, including the Duwamish and Suquamish, signed the Treaty of Point Elliott. As part of this treaty, many Indigenous people agreed to move in their tribal groups to reservations outside of the Seattle area, but some remained. In 1865 the Board of Trustees of Seattle passed Ordinance No. 5 banning Indigenous people from living in the city unless they worked for a non-Indigenous resident and lived on their employer’s property.
Hwehlchtid (called Salmon Bay Charlie by the settlers) of the Shilshole people lived on the southern shore of Salmon Bay, near present-day Ballard, which was then outside of Seattle. Hwehlchtid and his wife Chilohleet'sa (Madeline) remained in their traditional homeland long after others of their tribe had moved away. This photo, taken around 1905, shows their home at Shilshole with a canoe docked outside. Although the wood planks of the house were not hand-hewn as in older dwellings, the traditional smoke hole with its adjustable cover is visible.
Caption source information: "City of the Changers: Indigenous People and the Transformation of Seattle’s Watersheds," by Coll Thrush, Pacific Historical Review, (2006) Vol. 75, No. 1, pages 89–117, Accessed at http://web.mit.edu/people/spirn/Public/Granite%20Garden%20Research/Urban%20Environmental%20History/Thrush%202006%20Indigenous%20People%20Seattle.pdf
