Displaced by homesteaders: The Native American tribe of San Juan Island that history forgot

The Mitchell Bay Band’s Century-Long Recognition Battle

San Juan Islands National Monument tells the story of a tribe that signed a treaty but lost everything anyway.

In 1855, the Mitchell Bay Band joined the Treaty of Point Elliott, giving up their San Juan Island home for promised protection.

But after the Pig War ended in 1872, American homesteaders grabbed their land while the federal government looked the other way.

Six settlers claimed over 700 acres around Mitchell Bay, scattering Indigenous families who had no legal rights as non-citizens.

For 121 years, the Mitchell Bay Band fought for recognition, filing lawsuits and petitions that federal authorities repeatedly denied. This is their remarkable story of survival against impossible odds.

Chief Chow-its-hoot Signed Away Land Under Murky Terms

Chief Chow-its-hoot put his mark on the Treaty of Point Elliott on January 22, 1855, for the “Lummi and other allied tribes.”

Governor Isaac Stevens rushed to finish the deal, opening Western Washington for white settlers. The treaty wiped out all native land claims with one signature.

San Juan Islands tribes got lumped in with Lummi and Samish without much input.

Stevens used simple Chinook Jargon to explain complex legal ideas, leaving many chiefs confused about what they gave up. Several chiefs signed for groups who weren’t even there.

American Victory in the Pig War Spelled Trouble for Native Families

German Emperor Wilhelm I settled the border fight on October 21, 1872, giving San Juan Island to America. British troops left on HMS Scout a month later.

By July 1874, American Camp closed as a military post, and the government gave land to eager homesteaders. They even sold the old military buildings to new farmers.

The Mitchell Bay Band watched helplessly as newcomers took over their ancestral lands. Their deep ties to the island meant nothing under American law.

Settlers Grabbed 700 Acres Around Mitchell Bay Almost Overnight

Six white homesteaders claimed over 700 acres around Mitchell Bay before 1890, pushing native families off their land.

Robert Firth got 40 acres through cash payment and another 160 acres through homestead rights after the border fight ended. William Crook took over the old British military camp and became an American citizen.

The Mitchell Bay people couldn’t fight back since they weren’t even U. S. citizens until 1924. Some moved to Lummi or Swinomish, while others stayed on small patches of island land.

Native Women Married Settlers as Communities Fractured

White homesteaders often took Native American wives as they built lives on the island. Years later, children from these marriages learned they might qualify for treaty-promised land.

Most showed little interest in claims until Thomas Bishop and his Northwest Federation of American Indians came along.

Bishop told them thousands of Indians across western Washington never got what treaties promised them.

The Mitchell Bay Band faced a unique problem, staying on their island but losing their village sites to homesteaders, scattering families across San Juan Island.

Thomas Bishop Fought for “Landless Indians” in Washington DC

Thomas Bishop (1859-1923) started the Northwest Federation of American Indians to help native people left out of federal recognition.

He went all the way to Washington DC to fight for them, only to find the government kept no records of these people. Bishop pushed the Office of Indian Affairs to count these forgotten Indians.

In 1916, the Interior Department sent Charles Roblin to survey Western Washington’s unrecognized tribes. Bishop also got Representative Lindley Hadley to sponsor a bill letting these cases reach the Court of Claims.

A Census Taker First Called Them the "Mitchell Bay Band"

Charles Roblin (1870-1953) got the job of finding and listing all the Indians missing from tribal rolls in western Washington. Starting in 1916, he tracked down families and wrote down their claims.

Roblin created the term “Mitchell Bay Band” based on where many families lived, though they called themselves “Klalakamish” after their village at Mitchell Bay.

This name linked to their origin story and deep ties to the land.

Ben Briggs and other Mitchell Bay people trusted Thomas Bishop to represent them in their fight for recognition.

Roblin Found 146 Mitchell Bay Descendants Still Living in 1919

Charles Roblin finished his survey on January 31, 1919, with surprising results. He counted 146 people from just 12 women of the Mitchell Bay Tribe.

The total community numbered around 250 people, about the same size as the Songhees tribe living across Haro Strait in Victoria, BC.

Roblin split the descendants into two groups: those stuck on reservations with no land left to claim, and children of Indian women who married white settlers.

The 1926 Court Case Tried to Win Back What Treaties Promised

The “San Juan Islands Tribes of Indians” joined as plaintiffs in the 1926 Duwamish et al v United States lawsuit. They wanted fair payment for lands taken through the Treaty of Point Elliott.

Catherine Mason, secretary of the San Juan Tribe of Indians, testified that 318 people belonged to the Tribe. Their hopes ended in 1927 when the U.S. Court of Claims ruled they were just “a subordinate band of the Lummi and Samish Indian tribes.”

This legal trap caught the Mitchell Bay Band: they couldn’t claim independent status or get benefits through tribes they supposedly belonged to.

Another Legal Battle Launched in 1957 Seeking Justice

The San Juan Tribe of Indians filed a new claim with the Indian Claims Commission in 1957. This marked another try to win recognition and payment for their lost San Juan Island homeland.

Congress created the Commission to settle old tribal claims against the government.

The 1927 court records mentioned Indigenous leaders like Captain George and Chief Seattlak, showing their community kept leadership structures despite displacement.

The Mitchell Bay Band fought legal battles for decades, but federal doors stayed shut against them.

Cultural Ties Survived Despite Government Rejection

Through the mid-1900s, Mitchell Bay Band descendants kept their identity alive without federal recognition. Their community scattered “through the winds” without the protection other tribes received.

The neighboring Samish people saw the Mitchell Bay Band as part of their ancestral family tree, one of the original groups from which other tribes came.

Despite constant rejection from federal authorities, families preserved their stories, stayed connected to each other, and continued traditional fishing and cultural practices when possible.

A Tribal Government Forms After 121 Years of Struggle

Members of the Mitchell Bay Band gathered on June 5, 1976, to adopt their first formal constitution and bylaws. They elected a seven-member tribal council, hoping to join the landmark U.S. v. Washington fishing rights case. William P. Chevalier stepped up as the first chairman of this newly organized government.

This milestone came a full 121 years after their ancestors’ rights got signed away in the Treaty of Point Elliott.

Despite this important step toward self-governance, federal recognition – the key that unlocks healthcare, education, and sovereignty rights – remains out of reach even today.

Visiting San Juan Islands National Monument, Washington

You can explore the San Juan Islands National Monument for free by taking the ferry from Anacortes to the islands.

The monument covers nearly 1,000 acres across multiple islands where the Mitchell Bay Band fought for recognition after losing their treaty lands to homesteaders.

The BLM office is at 650 Mullis Street in Friday Harbor, and they work with tribal nations to protect sacred sites and cultural resources throughout the area.

This article was created with AI assistance and human editing.

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