Northwest Treaty Trail

1854-1856

Lakewood History Museum, 6211 Mt. Tacoma Dr. SW, Lakewood 98499.
On display January 9 – March 29; Open Tuesday-Saturday, 10 AM – 4 PM

In just thirteen months between 1854 and 1856, Washington Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens held 11 treaty councils with Northwest Indians. Native people ceded portions of their traditional homelands, from Puget Sound to the Canadian border and from northeastern Oregon to the Bitterroot Mountains of Montana. The exhibit explores the journey made by Isaac Stevens and the honorable Indian leaders who met with him, the history of the government’s Indian policies and the legacy of the early treaties on the people of the Northwest. The Northwest Treaties negotiated over 150 years ago are still in effect today and administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs.