Kanasket (alternately spelled Kanaskat) was a chief of the Klickitat people. He was present at the signing of the Treaty of Medicine Creek, [1] and participated in the Puget Sound War, fighting against white settlers and the U.S. Army.
At Medicine Creek, Kanasket protested what he saw as a bad deal for the Nisqually tribe, and told their chief, Leschi (c. 1808-1858). Those present told him to leave, stating "You are half-Klickitat; you have nothing to say; the treaty is made." [1] In September 1855, Kanasket and Chief Leschi met with officials of Washington Territory at Muckleshoot Prairie, but the outcome is not known. Later, after the start of the Puget Sound War, along with Quiemuth (half brother of Leschi, c.1798-1856) of the Mishalpam ("Mashel River People") or Mica'l Band of Nisqually, Chief Kitsap of the Muckleshoot, and Powhowtish, Kanasket was credited with leading a group of 80 warriors that attacked an army camp, [2] killing Lieutenant William A. Slaughter. In this same attack, two corporals and a private were killed, as well as three privates being wounded. [3]
On February 29, 1856, Kanasket was leading a group towards an army camp at Lemmon's Prairie, when they were spotted by a Private Kehl. Kehl shot Kanasket, who was at the lead of the group. Kanasket was paralyzed from the waist down from being shot in the spine. His companions fled, while he was dragged into the camp. Carrying on him a Kentucky rifle, a spear, and a butcher knife, Kanasket attempted to attack with the knife, but was subdued by two men. When one of the soldiers recognized him, Kanasket said in the Chinook jargon, "Kanasket-Tyee-mamalouse nica-nica mamalouse Bostons" ("I'm Kanasket, chief, kill me, for I kill Bostons"). He reportedly went on to state "My heart is wicked towards the whites, and always will be, and you had better kill me." Silas Casey ordered that he be hung, and he began to yell out in his own language, and Erasmus Keyes presumed he was yelling for help, as two shots had been fired at the camp, so Corporal O'Shaughnessy shot him in the head. [3]
Several places bear Kanasket's name. Washington has a settlement called Kanaskat, and a nearby state park titled Kanaskat-Palmer State Park.
Pierce County is a county in the U.S. state of Washington. As of the 2020 census, the population was 921,130, up from 795,225 in 2010, making it the second-most populous county in Washington, behind King County, and the 59th-most populous in the United States. The county seat and largest city is Tacoma. Formed out of Thurston County on December 22, 1852, by the legislature of Oregon Territory, it was named for U.S. President Franklin Pierce. Pierce County is in the Seattle metropolitan area.
Fox Island is an island and census-designated place (CDP) in Pierce County, Washington, United States, in Puget Sound. It is located approximately 5 miles (8 km) from Gig Harbor. The island was named Fox by Charles Wilkes during the United States Exploring Expedition, to honor J.L. Fox, an assistant surgeon on the expedition. The population was 3,921 at the 2020 census, up from 3,633 at the 2010 census.
Seattle was a leader of the Duwamish and Suquamish peoples. A leading figure among his people, he pursued a path of accommodation to white settlers, forming a personal relationship with Doc Maynard. The city of Seattle, in the U.S. state of Washington, was named after him. A widely publicized speech arguing in favor of ecological responsibility and respect for Native Americans' land rights had been attributed to him.
The Yakama are a Native American tribe with nearly 10,851 members, based primarily in eastern Washington state.
The Nisqually are a Lushootseed-speaking Native American tribe in western Washington state in the United States. They are a Southern Coast Salish people. They are federally recognized as the Nisqually Indian Tribe, formerly known as the Nisqually Indian Tribe of the Nisqually Reservation and the Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation.
Isaac Ingalls Stevens was an American military officer and politician who served as governor of the Territory of Washington from 1853 to 1857, and later as its delegate to the United States House of Representatives. During the American Civil War, he held several commands in the Union Army. He was killed at the Battle of Chantilly, while at the head of his men and carrying the fallen colors of one of his regiments against Confederate positions. According to one account, at the hour of his death Stevens was being considered by President Abraham Lincoln for appointment to command the Army of Virginia. He was posthumously advanced to the rank of Major General. Several schools, towns, counties, and lakes are named in his honor.
The Nisqually River is a river in west central Washington in the United States, approximately 81 miles (130 km) long. It drains part of the Cascade Range southeast of Tacoma, including the southern slope of Mount Rainier, and empties into the southern end of Puget Sound. Its outlet was designated in 1971 as the Nisqually Delta National Natural Landmark.
Chief Leschi was a chief of the Nisqually Indian Tribe of southern Puget Sound, Washington, primarily in the area of the Nisqually River.
Kitsap was a leader of the Suquamish people during the 19th century. Kitsap was the orchestrator of a region-wide coalition that sought to end the constant slave raids perpetrated by the Cowichan. His wealth and prestige allowed him to build the Old Man House, one of the most famous longhouses on Puget Sound. Kitsap, who met one of the first European expeditions into Puget Sound, was quick to ally with European traders, and set a precedent for Suquamish attitudes towards white settlers in the future.
The history of Washington includes thousands of years of Native American history before Europeans arrived and began to establish territorial claims. The region was part of Oregon Territory from 1848 to 1853, after which it was separated from Oregon and established as Washington Territory following the efforts at the Monticello Convention. On November 11, 1889, Washington became the 42nd state of the United States.
The Yakima War (1855–1858), also referred to as the Plateau War or Yakima Indian War, was a conflict between the United States and the Yakama, a Sahaptian-speaking people of the Northwest Plateau, then part of Washington Territory, and the tribal allies of each. It primarily took place in the southern interior of present-day Washington. Isolated battles in western Washington and the northern Inland Empire are sometimes separately referred to as the Puget Sound War and the Coeur d'Alene War, respectively.
August Valentine Kautz was a German-American officer. He served in the Rogue River Wars and Puget Sound War. He served as a general in the Union cavalry during the American Civil War. He was the author of several army manuals on duties and customs eventually adopted by the U.S. military.
The Puget Sound War was an armed conflict that took place in the Puget Sound area of the state of Washington in 1855–56, between the United States military, local militias and members of the Native American tribes of the Nisqually, Muckleshoot, Puyallup, and Klickitat. Another component of the war, however, were raiders from the Haida and Tlingit who came into conflict with the United States Navy during contemporaneous raids on the native peoples of Puget Sound. Although limited in its magnitude, territorial impact and losses in terms of lives, the conflict is often remembered in connection to the 1856 Battle of Seattle and to the execution of a central figure of the war, Nisqually Chief Leschi. The contemporaneous Yakima War may have been responsible for some events of the Puget Sound War, such as the Battle of Seattle, and it is not clear that the people of the time made a strong distinction between the two conflicts.
Fort Steilacoom was founded by the U.S. Army in 1849 near Lake Steilacoom. It was among the first military fortifications built by the U.S. north of the Columbia River in what was to become the State of Washington. The fort was constructed due to civilian agitation about the massacre in 1847 at the Whitman mission.
The Treaty of Medicine Creek was an 1854 treaty between the United States, and nine tribes and bands of Indians, occupying the lands lying around the head of Puget Sound, Washington, and the adjacent inlets. The tribes listed on the Treaty of Medicine Creek are Nisqually, Puyallup, Steilacoom, Squawskin, S'Homamish, Stehchass, T'Peeksin, Squi-aitl, and Sa-heh-wamish. The treaty was signed on December 26, 1854, by Isaac I. Stevens, governor and superintendent of Indian Affairs of the territory at the time of the signing, along with the chiefs, head-men and delegates of the stated tribes. For the purpose of the treaty, these representatives who signed the treaty were stated to have been, "regarded as one nation, on behalf of said tribes and bands, and duly authorized by them."
The Battle of Seattle was a January 26, 1856, attack by Native American tribesmen upon Seattle, Washington. At the time, Seattle was a settlement in the Washington Territory that had recently named itself after Chief Seattle (Sealth), a leader of the Suquamish and Duwamish peoples of central Puget Sound.
Chief Patkanim was chief of the Snoqualmoo (Snoqualmie) and Snohomish tribe in what is now modern Washington state.
William Fraser Tolmie was a surgeon, fur trader, scientist, and politician.
The Vancouver Barracks was the first United States Army base located in the Pacific Northwest, established in 1849, in what is now contemporary Vancouver, Washington. It was built on a rise 20 feet (6.1 m) above the Fort Vancouver fur trading station established by the Hudson's Bay Company (HBC). Its buildings were formed in a line adjacent to the Columbia River approximately 2,000 yards (1,800 m) from the riverbank.
Kanaskat, Washington is an unincorporated community in King County, Washington, United States.