Puyallup Tribal Cemetery - Tacoma, WA
Posted by: 
Hikenutty
N 47° 14.357 W 122° 23.989
10T E 545425 N 5231930
The Puyallup tribe's cemetery is located next to the Presbyterian Indian Mission and surrounded by high stone walls. The reservation was formed in 1854 with the signing of the Medicine Creek Treaty and the cemetery was formed soon after.
Waymark Code: WM2XJM
Location: Washington, United States
Date Posted: 01/05/2008
Views: 73
The following information is from "Washington: A Guide to the Evergreen State":
The INDIAN CEMETERY, adjoining the hospital grounds and overlooking the Puyallup River, is the cemetery of the Puyallup Indians. Among those buried here are Leschi, of the [Nesqually]; Charlie Satiacum, of the Duwamish; Chief Squatahan, of the Puyallup; Richard Sinnayway (Tyee Dick), chief of three tribes - the Cowlitz, the Squally, and the Puyallup; and John Hoate, a wealthy Indian noted for his potlatches, who died peniless.
The hospital spoken of was originally the Cushman School and was a school for the "care and education" of the Indian wards of the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Later the name was changed to the Tacoma Indian Sanatorium. Sadly, many native children were taken from their parents and brought here to be "rehabilitated". The buildings were poorly made and the children were not treated well. Thought to be "savages" they were not allowed to speak in their native languages or speak of their tribes.
The cemetery is still being used to bury Puyallup tribal members and the Presbyterian mission, founded in 1881, is still active. Both the mission and cemetery are surrounded by a tall stone wall. The tribal school, headquarters and one of their two casinos is located adjacent to the cemetery.