The Nation - News from Aug. 29, 1988

The Puyallup Indian tribe in Washington has voted overwhelmingly to end years of negotiations and accept a $162-million offer in return for giving up claim to one-time reservation land that includes sections of Tacoma. A legal battle for the disputed land “might’ve taken 20 or 30 years,” and would be expensive, Gabriel Landry of the Puyallup Tribal Council said. The governing bodies involved include the federal government, the state of Washington and the city of Tacoma. At issue is who owns what within the boundaries of the old reservation, embracing parts of Tacoma as well as the Tideflats, now home of the Port of Tacoma. Treaties dating from the 1850s gave the Puyallups a reservation of about 18,000 acres, but over the years holdings dwindled as land allotted to individual members was sold in what tribal historians say often were fraudulent deals.