photo courtesy of Washington State
HISTORIC SOCIETY COLLECTION INDIAN CHILDREN AND CLERGY IN FRONT OF ST. George’s Indian Boarding School located in Fife.
The Puyallup Tribe’s Historic Preservation Department is seeking information and objects to help fill in some of the blanks in parts of the Puyallup Tribe’s history.
The department is actively searching for people from throughout the Puget Sound area who are in some way connected to the Cushman Indian Hospital and any of the Indian boarding schools near the Puyallup Reservation in the early to mid 20th century.
Because the Tribe has only one living member who experienced the boarding schools first hand, the Historic Preservation Department is seeking people from other tribes who may have any connection with the hospital or the schools.
“There have to be more stories out there,” said Amber Santiago, administrative assistant for the historic preservation office. “This is a big part that we have missing in our history, because most of those people have passed away. We’re looking for anyone, maybe not the person who attended, but a grandchild who remembers hearing the stories of their grandparents. We want to piece together the history.”
Amber Santiago noted her own grandmother was taken from Montana’s Flathead Reservation when she was 10 years old and brought all the way to the Cushman Hospital, forcing her family to relocate.
“People who went to the hospital from the 1920s to the 1960s were from all over the state and some were from out of state, that’s why this area has one of the highest Native American populations in the area. My grandma’s story is not the only story – there are so many people with similar stories.”
Because so many former boarding school students have passed away, and many did not like to talk about their experiences while they were alive, that era is spotty in the Tribe’s documentation and research.
Amber Santiago noted much of the information they do have is from the administrators at the schools and the hospital, which gives a biased look at the facilities’ conditions.
“It’s a big missing link to know what was going on in the schools and the experiences that they went through. We just have the white people’s perspective.”
In the past couple of weeks the historic preservation office has already received some feedback on this request from a local man who said his father was transported from Yakima to the Cushman Indian Hospital for treatment. What he remembers from his father’s stories will be useful to the Historic Preservation Department in creating a better understanding of that period in the Tribe’s history.
The Puyallup Tribe of Indians would like to hear from and interview anyone who attended, worked at, was associated with, or who may have stories they would like to share regarding: Cushman Indian School located on the Puyallup Tribal Reservation in Tacoma from the 1860s-1920s; Cushman Indian Hospital located on the Puyallup Tribal Reservation in Tacoma from the 1920s-1960s; St. George’s Indian Boarding School located in the Fife/Milton area from the 1880s-1930s.
Museum Collection
The Tribe is also currently seeking additional artifacts and historic objects to add to its existing museum collection as it gears up to re-open the Puyallup Tribal museum that has been closed for more than a decade. Previously located in the Cushman Building, the artifacts and displays showcased at the old museum have been in storage for many years while the administration building was demolished and department offices were housed in temporary conditions.
Now, the Tribe is looking at re-opening a permanent museum in a new location, and is currently in discussions on that topic. In the meantime, the Historic Preservation Department is happy to collect donations of any artifacts or objects related to the Tribe or Northwest Native American history. The Puyallup Tribe of Indians is looking for Northwest Native American objects such as basketry and beadwork, and artifacts such as tools and arrowheads from the areas of Tacoma, Fife, Puyallup, Lakewood, Gig Harbor, Vashon Island, Federal Way, Burien, Des Moines and Orting and other surrounding areas to be donated for display in the Tribe’s future museum.
Please contact Amber Santiago (253) 573-7965 or ; Brandon Reynon (253) 573-7986 or ; or Sheryl Melius at (253) 573-7813 or to contribute any information or donations to the Tribe.
