Treaty of Olympia 1856 

Articles of agreement and convention made and concluded by and between Isaac I. Stevens, governor and 

superintendent of Indian affairs of the Territory of Washington, on the part of the United States, and the 

undersigned chiefs, headmen, and delegates of the different tribes and bands of the Qui-nai-elt and Quilleh-ute Indians, on the part of said tribes and bands, and duly authorized thereto by them. 

ARTICLE 1. 

The said tribes and bands hereby cede, relinquish, and convey to the United States all their right, title, and 

interest in and to the lands and country occupied by them, bounded and described as follows: Commencing 

at a point on the Pacific coast, which is the southwest corner of the lands lately ceded by the Makah tribe of 

Indians to the United States, and running easterly with and along the southern boundary of the said Makah 

tribe to the middle of the coast range of mountains; thence southerly with said range of mountains to their 

intersection with the dividing ridge between the chehalis and Quiniatl Rivers; thence westerly with said 

ridge to the Pacific coast; thence northerly along said coast to the place of beginning. 

ARTICLE 2. 

There shall, however, be reserved, for the use and occupation of the tribes and bands aforesaid, a tract or 

tracts of land sufficient for their wants within the Territory of Washington, to be selected by the President 

of the United States, and hereafter surveyed or located and set apart for their exclusive use, and no white 

man shall be permitted to reside thereon without permission of the tribe and of the superintendent of Indian 

affairs or Indian agent. And the said tribes and bands agree to remove to and settle upon the same within 

one year after the ratification of this treaty, or sooner if the means are furnished them. In the meantime it 

shall be lawful for them to reside upon any lands not in the actual claim and occupation of citizens of the 

United States, and upon any lands claimed or occupied, if with the permission of the owner or claimant. If 

necessary for the public convenience, roads may be run through said reservation, on compensation being 

made for any damage sustained thereby. 

ARTICLE 3. 

The right of taking fish at all usual and accustomed grounds and stations is secured to said Indians in 

common with all citizens of the Territory, and of erecting temporary houses for the purpose of curing the 

same; together with the privilege of hunting, gathering roots and berries, and pasturing their horses on all 

open and unclaimed lands. Provided, however, That they shall not take shell-fish from any beds staked or 

cultivated by citizens; and provided, also, that they shall alter all stallions not intended for breeding, and 

keep up and confine the stallions themselves. 

ARTICLE 4. 

In consideration of the above cession, the United States agree to pay to the said tribes and bands the sum of 

twenty-five thousand dollars, in the following manner, that is to say: For the first year after the ratification 

hereof, two thousand five hundred dollars; for the next two years, two thousand dollars each year; for the 

next three years, one thousand six hundred dollars each year; for the next four years, one thousand three 

hundred dollars each year; for the next five years, one thousand dollars each year; and for the next five 

years, seven hundred dollars each year. All of which sums of money shall be applied to the use and benefit 

of the said Indians under the directions of the President of the United States, who may from time to time, 

determine at his discretion upon what beneficial objects to expend the same; and the superintendent of 

Indian affairs, or other proper officer, shall each year inform the President of the wishes of said Indians in 

respect thereto. 
ARTICLE 5. 

To enable the said Indians to remove to and settle upon such reservation as may be selected for them by the 

President, and to clear, fence, and break up a sufficient quantity of land for cultivation, the United States 

further agree to pay the sum of two thousand five hundred dollars, to be laid out and expended under the 

direction of the President, and in such manner as he shall approve. 

ARTICLE 6. 

The President may hereafter, when in his opinion the interests of the Territory shall require, and the welfare 

of the said Indians be promoted by it, remove them from said reservation or reservations to such other 

suitable place or places within said Territory as he may deem fit, on remunerating them for their 

improvements and the expenses of their removal, or may consolidate them with other friendly tribes or 

bands, in which latter case the annuities, payable to the consolidated tribes respectively, shall also be 

consolidated; and he may further, at his discretion, cause the whole or any portion of the lands to be 

reserved, or of such other land as may be selected in lieu thereof, to be surveyed into lots, and assign the 

same to such individuals or families as are willing to avail themselves of the privilege, and will locate on 

the same as a permanent home, on the same terms and subject to the same regulations as are provided in the 

sixth article of the treaty with the Omahas, so far as the same may be applicable. Any substantial 

improvements heretofore made by any Indians, and which they shall be compelled to abandon in 

consequence of this treaty, shall be valued under the direction of the President, and payment made 

accordingly therefor. 

ARTICLE 7. 

The annuities of the aforesaid tribes and bands shall not be taken to pay the debts of individuals. 

ARTICLE 8.

The said tribes and bands acknowledge their dependence on the Government of the United States, and 

promise to be friendly with all citizens thereof, and pledge themselves to commit no depredations on the 

property of such citizens; and should any one or more of them violate this pledge, and the fact be 

satisfactorily proven before the agent, the property taken shall be returned, or in default thereof, or if 

injured or destroyed, compensation may be made by the Government out of their annuities. Nor will they 

make war on any other tribe except in self-defence, but will submit all matters of difference between them 

and other Indians to the Government of the United States, or its agent, for decision and abide thereby; and 

if any of the said Indians commit any depredations on any other Indians within the Territory, the same rule 

shall prevail as is prescribed in this article in case of depredations against citizens. And the said tribes and 

bands agree not to shelter or conceal offenders against the laws of the United States, but to deliver them to 

the authorities for trial. 

ARTICLE 9.

The above tribes and bands are desirous to exclude from their reservations the use of ardent spirits, and to 

prevent their people from drinking the same, and therefore it is provided that any Indian belonging to said 

tribes who is guilty of bringing liquor into said reservations, or who drinks liquor, may have his or her 

proportion of the annuities withheld from him or her, for such time as the President may determine. 

ARTICLE 10. 

The United States further agree to establish at the general agency for the district of Puget Sound, within one 

year from the ratification hereof, and to support for a period of twenty years, an agricultural and industrial 

school, to be free to the children of the said tribes and bands in common with those of the other tribes of 
said district, and to provide the said school with a suitable instructor or instructors, and also to provide a 

smithy and carpenter's shop, and furnish them with the necessary tools, and to employ a blacksmith, 

carpenter, and farmer for a term of twenty years, to instruct the Indians in their respective occupations. And 

the United States further agree to employ a physician to reside at the said central agency, who shall furnish 

medicine and advice to their sick, and shall vaccinate them; the expenses of the said school, shops, 

employees, and medical attendance to be defrayed by the United States, and not deducted from their 

annuities. 

ARTICLE 11.

The said tribes and bands agree to free all slaves now held by them, and not to purchase or acquire others 

hereafter. 

ARTICLE 12. 

The said tribes and bands finally agree not to trade at Vancouver's Island or elsewhere out of the dominions 

of the United States, nor shall foreign Indians be permitted to reside on their reservations without consent 

of the superintendent or agent. 

ARTICLE 13. 

This treaty shall be obligatory on the contracting parties as soon as the same shall be ratified by the 

President and Senate of the United States. 

In testimony whereof, the said Isaac I. Stevens, governor and superintendent of Indian affairs, and the 

undersigned chiefs, headmen, and delegates of the aforesaid tribes and bands of Indians, have hereunto set 

their hands and seals, at Olympia, January 25, 1856, and on the Qui-nai-elt River, July 1, 1855. 

Isaac I. Stevens, Governor and Sup't of Indian Affairs. 

Tah-ho-lah, Head Chief Qui-nite-'l tribe, his x mark. (L.S.) 

How-yat'l, Head Chief Quil-ley-yute tribe, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Kal-lape, Sub-chief Quil-ley-hutes, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Tah-ah-ha-wht'l, Sub-chief Quil-ley-hutes, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Lay-le-whash-er, his x mark. (L.S.) 

E-mah-lah-cup, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Ash-chak-a-wick, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Ay-a-quan, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Yats-see-o-kop, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Karts-so-pe-ah, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Quat-a-de-tot'l, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Now-ah-ism, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Cla-kish-ka, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Kler-way-sr-hun, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Quar-ter-heit'l, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Hay-nee-si-oos, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Hoo-e-yas'lsee, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Quilt-le-se-mah, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Qua-lats-kaim, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Yah-le-hum, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Je-tah-let-shin, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Ma-ta-a-ha, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Wah-kee-nah, Sub-chief Qui-nite'l tribe, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Yer-ay-let'l, Sub-chief, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Silley-mark'l, his x mark. (L.S.) 
Cher-lark-tin, his x mark. (L.S.) 

How-yat-'l, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Kne-she-guartsh, Sub-chief, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Klay-sumetz, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Kape, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Hay-et-lite-'l, or John, his x mark. (L.S.) 

Executed in the presence of us; the words "or tracts," in the II. article, and "next," in the IV. article, being 

interlined prior to execution. 

M. T. Simmons, special Indian agent. 

H. A. Goldsborough, commissary, &c. 

B. F. Shaw, interpreter. 

James Tilton, surveyor-general WashingtonTerritory. 

F. Kennedy. 

J. Y. Miller. 

H. D. Cock. 

Jan. 25, 1856. Ratified Mar. 8, 1859. Proclaimed, Apr. 11, 1859.