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Still Fighting after All These Years: A Puyallup Tribal Member's Perspective

• 2017 (Creation)

Oral history interview with Nancy Shippentower-Games by Rachael Williamson conducted 04/24/2017. Nancy Shippentower-Games is a member of the Puyallup Tribe in Washington State. Nancy's parents are Donald and Janet McCloud. She has seven siblings and grew up on the banks of the Nisqually River and Puyallup Rivers and currently resides in Yelm, Washington. Nancy grew up during the fishing wars that took place on both the Nisqually and Puyallup Rivers. Her mother Janet McCloud and her uncle, Billy Frank Jr., were very active advocates during the battle over salmon. She remembers vividly the violence, racism and injustices that she and her people suffered as they fought for what was rightfully theirs. By revisiting the circumstances and propositions set forth in the Medicine Creek Treaty of 1854, a better understanding of what the Puyallup and Nisqually tribes have been fighting for comes into focus. While the Boldt Decision of 1974 was a turning point for Northwest Tribes, concerns such as climate change, overpopulation, and proposals such as the LNG plant in Tacoma continue to put the salmon runs at risk.

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This oral history is a part of the University of Washington Tacoma Community History Project. To access additional content related to this interview, see the UWT Digital Collections.