Indigenous Voices Podcast

Advancing Native voices in the telling of Puget Sound history.

The Indigenous Voices Podcast is an extension of the award-winning Puget Sound Treaty War Panel series from Fort Nisqually Living History Museum. The podcast uplifts tribal voices in the telling of Puget Sound history, sharing tribal knowledge and expertise with wider audiences.

This project is supported by Pierce County Historic Preservation Grant.

Map of Washington Territory produced by the Surveyor Generals Office in 1855. At the time, the Puget Sound Treaty War, an armed conflict between soldiers of the regular U.S. Army, Washington Territorial volunteers and warriors from tribes involved in the Medicine Creek Treaty, was ongoing and as of yet unresolved.  Note that this map, with a clear vision for American settlement, acknowledges the Puget Sound Agricultural Company’s claim to Fort Nisqually. It does not acknowledge Native settlement or communities.

The Puget Sound Treaty War Panel series increases representation of Native voices in the telling of 19th Century history. With representatives from the Muckleshoot, Nisqually, Puyallup, Steilacoom, and Squaxin Island Tribes, as well as Fort Nisqually Living History Museum and HistoryLink, the panel introduced a new dialogue among diverse communities impacted by the Treaty War and its aftermath.

The Puget Sound Treaty War (1855-1856) was an armed conflict between soldiers of the regular U.S. Army, Washington Territorial volunteers and tribes involved in the Medicine Creek Treaty. The treaty, the first of several consecutive treaties introduced by Governor Isaac Stevens in quick succession, sought the relocation of local tribes to reservations in exchange for cash payments and the preservation of hunting and fishing rights. The treaty became a catalyst for the conflict.

This panel series was the recipient for the 2021 Award for Outstanding Achievement in Broadening Perspectives in Preservation from Tacoma Landmarks Preservation Commission Historic Preservation Office, was awarded an Achievement in Education by the Heritage League of Pierce County in 2022, and was one of 53 recipients nation wide, of the Association for State and Local History, Award of Excellence. The Award of Excellence is part of the American Association for State and Local History Leadership in History Awards, the most prestigious recognition for achievement in the preservation of state and local history.

This project is supported by Pierce County Historic Preservation Grant and Fort Nisqually Foundation