Since Time Immemorial - page 2

If you were born and raised in
one town or city, then you might
know it as your ‘homeland.’
You might consider this your
‘homeland’ because it is where
your school is, where your friends
are, and where family works
and plays.
And your family might call the
other countries where your
ancestors came from your
homelands, too.
This is closer to what tribal
people consider their homelands,
but there are still differences that
make tribal homelands different
from other
cultures’.
Here, you
will learn
about these
differences.
We might
think of a
nation as
being a lot
bigger and
maybe far
across the
sea. Each
nation has
different
languages,
religions, customs and holidays
from our own. Some people
find it hard to believe that such
nations are right here in the
United States, but they are here.
In what is now called Washington
state, there are over 29 federally
recognized Indian tribes or
nations, each with its own
government, citizens, laws and
traditions.
They are the Suquamish and
Snoqualmie, the Spokane and
the Skokomish. There are many
other tribes here in Washington
state and each is a separate
nation. Their nations may be
much smaller than the United
States, but still they have
their sovereign lands and the
responsibility to take care of the
land and its people.
A long time ago, probably
when your great- great- great-
great-grandparents were alive,
people traveled to this continent
and knew there were other
people already living here.
The newcomers did not realize
at first that the indigenous tribes
had societies just as organized
as their own. There were more
than 34 different language
groups in the Northwest. Each
tribe had its own homeland and
borders, so each also had its
own government, laws, religion,
economy and traditions. Tribes
did not have passports when
they wanted
to travel
to another
tribal nation.
However, there
were rules
for entering
another’s
homeland that
everyone was
expected to
follow and
respect.
When non-
Indian people
got to the Northwest, they
wanted to be able to live on
the tribal homelands of these
nations, so they made promises
and agreements with many of the
tribes. The written agreements,
known as treaties, had everyone’s
signature on them to prove
that they all agreed. For
example, in exchange for
millions of acres of land, local
tribes received promises of
education, healthcare and other
things that the U.S. Government
would provide forever. These
lands, much smaller than their
original homelands, and in
some cases, far away from their
original homelands, are known as
reservations.
Whenever the United States
signs a treaty with another
nation, like England, Russia or
the Muckleshoot, the treaty
becomes the law that tells the
nations how to treat each other.
Any other laws they make cannot
break any of the promises that
were made in the treaties. The
United States Constitution calls
treaties “the supreme law of the
land.”
Tribal people gave up large
parts of their original homelands
in the agreements, but they
wanted to continue to fish,
hunt and gather their foods
on the original homelands
given to them by The Creator.
Everyone agreed that tribes
could continue their traditional
fishing, hunting and gathering on
their original homelands, even
if it was off their newly-created
reservations. Everyone accepted
that tribes could continue the
traditions they had kept since
time immemorial, or since the
beginning of time.
These treaties also said the
tribal people could continue
speaking their own language,
keep their own religions, keep
their traditions and cultures and
continue using their own tribal
laws.
Today we know this as tribal
sovereignty, and it allows
TRIBAL HOMELANDS AND THE FIRST NATIONS OF NORTH AMERICA
by Carol Craig, Yakama and Shana Brown, Yakama descendant
2
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 2015 |
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