As we head into the New Year, our focus in this edition will be history, particularly native history. With an eye toward Treaty Day on January 22, this leads us to our first book recommendation.

Newly acquired titles on the topics of treaties, specifically the Treaty of Point Elliott, I recommend Disclaiming Treaties I and Disclaiming Treaties II, edited by Jay Miller. Contained herein are witness testimonies from the Court of Claims of the United States, No. F-275:

“Seeking justice, leaders of Puget Sound Tribes called upon the BIA and US Government to undertake a census of native peoples…in hopes of finally receiving just compensation for relinquishing their traditional homelands in return for treaty promises.”

These testimonies are fascinating reading, as those individuals testifying feature members of Northwest Washington tribes including Upper Skagit, Lower Skagit, Samish, Swinomish, Stillaguamish, Snohomish, and other local tribes in 1927. Included in the Samish testimony are depositions of Williams Edwards, Annie Lyons, Betsy McLeod, and Mary Blackinton. Our native history comes alive as those who are testifying are describing where their traditional villages and homes were as well as the resource they claimed in relation to their traditional territories.

My second book recommendation is An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States for Young People by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz, adapted by Jean Mendoza and Debbie Reese. This book, as you can probably tell from the title, is a companion volume to An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States and gives an account of US history that “shattered our understanding of the United States as a land ‘discovered’ in the ‘New World.’” We have copies of this book in the Samish Library as well.

This young people’s edition, copyright 2019, begins with its discussion of the Americas and the indigenous people who lived there thousands of years prior to 1492, when Christopher Columbus arrived in North America and continues by “challenging the Doctrine of Discovery, Manifest Destiny, and the myth of the US as a ‘nation of immigrants.’” Perhaps intended for classroom use, this book still provides a worthy introduction to the topic for readers of all ages. Complete with discussion topics, archival images, original maps, and recommendations for further reading, this book shakes up what we may have previously learned in our history classes and gives an account of native history from the perspective of indigenous people in the United States.

To learn more about the topic of treaties, additional titles included Indians of the Pacific Northwest by Vine DeLoria, Jr and Treaties on Trial by Fay Cohen.

As always, I look forward to serving you and sharing these titles with you. I wish all of you happy holidays, stay safe, and take good care.