pat loughery

The Bitter Waters of Medicine Creek: A Tragic Clash Between White and Native America by Richard Kluger
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is an extremely well researched, thorough, and carefull book. It explores the history of white settlement in the Puget Sound (Seattle, WA) area, through the story of Leschi, a leader of the Nisqually people. Leschi was an early friend of the British and American settlers, but was incensed by the poor treatment of the Washington territory governor’s treaty demands, which gave native nations very small and horribly poor quality reservations. Leschi became a guerilla leader staging sporadic attacks on territorial troops in an effort to bring about a more fair treaty allocation for the Nisqually tribe. In the process, he became Gov. Stevens’ singleminded focus, and when Leschi was eventually turned in and tried, the process was a farce of justice.

The book wraps up the Leschi tale with a “historical trial” which found that Leschi should not have been tried as a civilian and hanged; but as a combatant in wartime should have been released when the nations were at peace. Finally, the book describes the current state of Nisqually tribal affairs, and their long-awaited hope for a future less desolate than their past under the white empire.

I’m rounding up from 4.25 stars, because this story needs to be told. It’s slow and plodding at times, with a dry names-and-dates feel in early chapters, but the story itself is full of twists, turns and intrigue.

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