Pamuya's Story

I watch. The trees are swaying, the leaves dappling the ground with strange, beautiful patterns made by sunlight. I can hear the birds chirping and I feel the dirt beneath my feet. My name is Pamuya, and my name means ‘water moon.’ I am sixteen years old, and the eldest daughter. My father is a brilliant hunter, and his name is Qelataqa. I also have two siblings, a brother and a sister. My brother, Chogan, is a hunter like Father, and my younger sister Siha is gatherer and weaver. I am the cook of our clan, and also a weaver, and I am very responsible. I try to keep myself calm and be a sensible person to keep us safe. My clan, the Clan of the Eagle, has lived here in peace for many years, and our main concern is to survive.

The 20th Day of the 3rd Winter Cycle
Today I walked into the forest to collect shells to make myself a necklace, when I saw a deer leap through the forest. I watched as it leaped through the trees, and I was content to watch that beautiful deer. The sight and scene were perfect.

The 24th Day of the 3rd Winter Cycle
I was wearing the special necklace out of the shells, from when I saw the deer. I was out at the beach, bleaching clams so I could dye the strips of cedar bark I was going to make into a basket, when a large animal caught my sight. It had a large, wooden shell - it seemed almost like a huge canoe, with its long, shelled flippers resembling our paddles. It seemed to have tall, blunt spikes on its back, with white flaps that must have been used as camouflage, making it
seem like there were low-hanging clouds in the sky. Then, I realized the animal could be an angry spirit, so I raced back to the village to warn our chiefs, Rayen and Avonqco, of the danger. They nodded, and we went back to our normal activities.

Soon after, a pale-skinned man with strangely colored clothes and unfamiliar instruments entered the camp. In a weird accent, he called out, “I wish to see your chief!”

Both Rayen and Avonqco approached the strange man. “Who are you?” Avonqco asked suspiciously. “You don’t look like you come from one of the nearby tribes.”

“True, I do not,” said the strange man. “But I bring with me some things that will be helpful to you in the future. Please, may we trade?”

“Of course we can,” Rayen told the man.

Our chiefs traded our artwork, our furs, our bowls, clothes, and baskets, for the things that the man carried. We received two rows of shiny teeth out of a sharp stone called “metal,” with a handle made of skin at each
end, called “saws”; two sticks with squares of sharp metal at one end called “axes”; perfectly round and brightly-colored stones with holes in the middle called “beads”; and more.
Then, Rayen and Avonqco realized he had scammed us, and we planned to get our things back.

The 28th Day of the 3rd Winter Cycle
Many years have passed since I last wrote in this. But today, Chogan and Qelataqa told us about many small longhouses very far upstream. Another man came to our village, as well. He looked very sick. He coughed loudly, and asked us for our help. We discussed this throughout the tribe, and Rayen and Avonqco said we would send them food upstream, on their side of the river, and they said that they would do anything to repay us.

The 20th Day of the 1st Spring Cycle
I married, and had two daughters. Many are dead, and living conditions are worse. But we are hopeful for the future…

The 26th Day of the 2nd Winter Cycle

Nine cycles and six days have passed, and we thought life was returning to normal, or at least the most normal as it could ever be, when a settler walked into the village. We paid him little of our attention, until he called out those too-familiar words: “I wish to see your chief!” Followed by, “I am Governor Isaac Stevens, here to propose a treaty!”

Rayen and Avonqco stepped out to greet him and Rayen asked, “Can we read what the treaty says?”

And Governor Stevens produced a piece of paper, and read it aloud to us. “Articles of Agreement with Isaac Stevens, governor of the Territory of Wahington, and the chiefs of the Indians of Puget Sound this twenty-sixth day of December, in the year one thousand eight hundred and fifty-four.

“The tribes of Puget Sound will give up all rights to the land occupied by them and will be given four tracts of land on Puget Sound. This land will be reservations for the Indians.

“The tribes must agree to move to this land within a year.

“The tribes will be allowed to fish in their usual places, but can only erect temporary houses at those places.

“The United States will pay $32,000 for all of the land given up to the United States.

“In the future, the President of the United States can move the Indians from these reservations to other reservations if he chooses.

“The tribes promise to be friendly with all citizens.

“The United States government will provide a school for twenty years to teach agriculture and other skills so the Indians can become carpenters, blacksmiths, and farmers.

“The tribes will agree not to trade with tribes outside of the United States.

“The undersigned Isaac I. Stevens, governor of the Territory, and the chiefs of Puget Sound set forth their hands and seals at this place and on the date of this treaty.”

It took some hours to decide, and to figure out some confusing details, but in the end, Rayen and Avonqco signed the treaty.

We are leaving tomorrow. I hope things do not get worse.