History
The original Nisqually reservation was established by the Medicine Creek Treaty of December 26, 1854. The reservation consisted of 1,280 acres on Puget Sound. On January 20, 1856 an executive order enlarged it to 4,717 acres on both sides of the Nisqually River.
On September 30, 1884 acreage was set aside and divided into 30 family allotments on both sides of the Nisqually River. The acreage didn't include the river. The people lived in peace for a while harvesting fish from the river and shellfish, crabs, oysters and other seafood from the sound.
They also received few government rations. In the winter of 1917 the U.S. Army moved onto Nisqually lands and ordered them from their homes without any warning. Later, Pierce County condemned 3,353 acres of Nisqually land and transfered it to the Army to expand the Fort Lewis base.
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