Territorial History, Reservations, Treaties & Mining
Exploring the West Prior to State/Provincehood: Tribal Homelands
The Spanish first land-based venture outside of Nootka Bay was to dig a few mines on Vancouver Island. After sea otter and beaver furs, mining was the driving force of explorers who wished to “harvest the riches and return home.” Explorers, trappers and miners walked everywhere, and they carried rifles looking for valuable metals. It was only later that the rich farmland in the Willamette Valley and Puget Sound attracted farmers and their fences (bringing with them the concept of property rights and land ownership). Forest Groves and Forest Glades, tended informally for 1,000s of years began to disappear. For the 40,000 Indigenous Peoples then left alive in the Northwest, it meant War; Pioneer Blockhouses were needed. Judge any written history of this time as to their mentioning (or not) the use of islands (Fox Island) to isolate, starve, and manage the Indigenous. It was a long-proven way of dealing with Native Americans. Like the Rocky Mountain regions, Canadian provinces’ history lagged that of California and the Oregon Territory. By the Civil War (starting in the mid 1830’s) 400,000 immigrants had used the Oregon Trail to begin the Pioneer (farmers) Flood of the West. Unlike the explorers, trappers and miners, they were arriving to stay. They were not returning to the East with their exploited riches.
time-immemorial-tribal-sovereignty
Do you know, can you explain, the difference among the animals listed below? Pictured is the:
Reproducible Student Worksheet
Color or paint this Native Animal
Territorial History, Reservations & Mining
State of Washington History