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My Primordial Home

Chapter 1

I have a story to tell, and in it there are so many things in the background,

many things that are not seen in the here and now, so much noise that it can be

hard to pay attention. There are things not seen in detail, things not seen for their

unique nature, or their unique beauty. I have come to believe that being fully

aware of the past is just as important, as being fully aware of the present. Who you

are, and where you are going in life, knowing your once primordial home, can be

an important context when trying to figure out who you are as a being. But how do

I get back there? How do I know who I am and where I am going? Remnants of the

past have alluded to me to the man I am in the mirror, every experience and every

trait, that makes our perspectives unique. But does history tell us anything at all?

Can history tell us anything about ourselves? How is it that what we consider the

past, what is called history, that it has its ways with unveiling truth about ourselves

in the present? Lets think about this briefly; a scientist fails at launching a rocket 3

times and succeeds on the fourth. The fourth time only to have learned from all

three failures beforehand. That little lesson right there in history can tell us a lot,

because the scientist most likely succeeded in launching his rocket, by learning

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from his previous attempts from the past. In short, history teaches us, it is

preservation at its finest in comparison to human beings having the ability to

create and manifest memories. But there is also something else that I do not want

to forget. Another part of history that can tell us a lot about ourselves, and in my

opinion what makes people so intriguing and unique in our world. Another aspect

of history that I believe that is just as important as the past, is our own Heritage.

Chapter 2

For me the word denial could not have been farther from the truth. How I

first felt when I started to uncover things about myself as I got older. Was I

supposed to feel connected to the people, and events I was learning about? I have

been incapable of relinquishing my past, and the personal thoughts to myself of

who I am, who my family is, and how that relates to others as well, or even God. I

was born in 1990, a time when the world seemed to be starting to change. I say

that because technology was obviously booming, and our ability to communicate

was expanding further than ever, and fast. For example, I remember my fathers

first cellphone. It hit the market before companies like Verizon were just starting to

buy out places like east coast telephone companies such as Nynex and Bell

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Atlantic. I only know this because I remember seeing him in company strikes at a

time when I too young to understand.

But even with sites like Ancestry.com circa 97, a new wave of websites

began to hit the internet from service providers like America Online, and Myspace;

all things I grew up on at a young age, and too young to understand its significance.

Now who would have thought that sites like Ancestry.com, would grow into what

they are today? A company that delivers important tools for people like you and I

to understand more of who we are; or even greater, maybe even having the

chance to be rekindled with lost family from over decades at a time, or even

hundred or more years. Maybe it was supposed to happen like this, I really cannot

give an honest answer as to how I found out my familys past, it just kind of

happened and landed in my lap. With the amount of information that I have

surveyed from the working professors on my subject, I have left to question many

things about it, and oddly enough my life. It feels as if I was meant to find out these

little bits of information, a coincidence waiting for me to someday discover. As I

have stated before though, the denial of myself could not have been any farther

from the truth, when I finally found out who my grandfather was, besides just a

war veteran, that served in the Korean War, and later as a mailman, for a company

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called Mass Mutual Life Insurance. This is a picture of him when he was a young

man:

For me the sad part about this story, but yet intensely gratifying for me, is

that upon learning more about my Grandfather, and his mother, I have also been

led into even more wonders of my own lifes reality. I wish I could say that all my

wondering is finally over, but to be honest with you, I cannot help but wonder

even more, as someone who just so happened to have stumbled upon a couple of

lost cousins, and a lot of questions of intrigue, from passion and curiosity, that

even my grandfathers didnt know about. I will tell you about how one of my

Grandfather was the first black dentist in Harvard, only for us to trickle down to

poverty ridden neighborhoods, how is that our mindset for growth, has gone

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backwards over time? If you are interested though, I assure you that this story may

encourage you to go back into your own past, and uncover the wonders and

mysteries that may have been long hidden inside of your own family. That will

surely include all the pain and sacrifices, and the truth beyond your legacies. And

to that extent I will say, All hail America, may peace, and love, and the God of this

world be with you all.

Chapter 3

The first time I learned about my Great Grandmother I believe was in 1997,

or 1998. What I do remember is that I was old enough to come in when the street

lights came on, and that some of us kids were brought up on Windows 95 and 98,

a time when dial-up internet was the fastest thing around. I was about as tall as

the waist line of my uncle who was I believe around 68; a giant perhaps? But here

is a moment I had with him as best I can remember.

You know who this is Cam?, my uncle said leaning down to me.

No, I dont recognize her at all, I replied.

Well, this woman right here is your Great Grandmother, Mabel Howard

Faniel, he said.

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Shesmy grandmother?

Yes, thats your grandmother

Your great grandmother

You see her green eyes? he said.

Yes, I do, but why is she so much lighter than me though?

Well Cam, grandpas mother was half white.

Hearing statements like that back then didnt seem to strike me as unusual

as much as they do now. All the years that have gone by, I have never once

questioned my own heritage. What was supposed to be just innocent fun and

curiosity for me, turned out to be far more than I could have ever expected. To this

day it still leaves me in the situation living in, and out the situation, with so many

other people connected to it to too. All that I am hoping to do on this journey into

my heritage, is to better understand the mystery behind who my grandfather was,

and who my great grandmother was. I want to know who she is, and how this one

white woman in my family, ended up in the ghettos of wear I was from today.

Before I continue the rest of my story though, there are definitely a few

people I would first like to thank. I would like to thank the family members of mine,

who were loving and kind enough for guiding me with their wisdom into my family

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tree; you have been the backbone to my curiosity. I would also like to thank, and

honor a woman, a retired veteran of The United States Air Force, Terrell Bryan;

another cousin of mine, and member of the Snoqualmie tribe, that I have not been

able to formally meet yet, who has allowed her extensive knowledge to be shared

with me into the story of our heritage. The work of both these women have

become an open door into my own mystery, in which Terrell and my family

members, attempting to uncover our familys past has helped me to shed light

upon my own questions, they became nurturers. I would also not like to forget to

thank another long lost relative of mine, Beverly Brown (who also does not know

me yet), who has sacrificed extensive time and energy into preserving and

relocating her descendants with all her power and might. Because of these three

women I have been able to learn an extensive amount of information about my

research, including documents to the Snohomish Tribe who I am very grateful to

for helping me. Last but not least, I would like to thank the two professors and

everyone else, whose work has been the foundation to my citations, and my

journey of life. Without these two men, I would have not had had my great

beginnings into the knowledge of the Snoqualmie. With the extensive work of Ken

Tollefson (Seattle Pacific University), and Jay Miller (University of Washington),

they have paved the way for curious people such as me, who are trying to uncover

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the past or in juxtaposition get back home. They have documented and have

helped the Snoqualmie become an American recognized tribe in 1990, until it was

official in 1999; when I was 9 years old. With these facts, I honor these women,

and the men and women who have died and sacrificed their lives to help ease the

transition of our native ancestors into the 20th century; I will love you forever for

that Grandpa.

When I first began my ancestry research for my Great Grandmother Mabel, I

had first learned about her mother and discovered people like my 3rd Great

grandfather, a man named George F. Grant, who was the first black (mulatto)

professor at Harvard University, who was also trained to be a dental assistant, and

somehow ended up inventing a clef pallet surgery while he attended there with

another white surgeon at the time. Along with his surgery he also used to own U.S.

patents for the invention of the golf tee; which of course has evolved extensively

over our time. I learned about his father Tudor E. Grant; my 4th great grandfather,

on Mabels mother side, who was a slave that bought his freedom in Oswego, New

York, and ran a barber shop as part of the underground railroad that helped

refuges immigrate to Canada (sometimes I wonder to myself if he ever knew

Harriet Tubman). If I go a little further down my tree, you will find John J. Smith,

another one of my grandfathers. He was a former mason of African Lodge #459;

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another ancestor who also happened to be in the barbershop business, and also,

coincidentally apart of the underground railroad (the historical site is known as the

John J smith house, located in Boston, Massachusetts). I have never personally

seen these places though, and I am far from being a good barber, but it may be

interesting to think to oneself, How did I get here?.

I have always believed that every person has a unique story of themselves.

To me that is what makes America great, in a sense that it is a land of exile, and

that different people and cultures were to all be accepted so as to not harm the

other. I am not trying to justify any truth here politically, but just the idea that

America is full of culture. For me some of the knowledge of my past has been

confusing to accept, but nevertheless it has left me feeling powerless in the

present. The reason I feel powerless is because the question still remains for me,

Where do I go from here?, and, Why did none of the generations in my family

before me not know about these people?. I have learned from my experiences in

this game of ancestry; and that is when I learned about my past, that I came to

conclusion that a lot can happen overtime, and things change, really fast, and

sometimes in the blink of an eye, when no one is ready. I do not think anyone in

my family even knew we had family members that had ever attended Harvards

School of Dentistry, or that less than 100 years ago, nearly lived in the woods

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sometime before the California Gold rush. I would like to insist that this story is not

about race and hierarchy, it is beyond that, it is about God and freedom. It is about

reparation beyond belief, and a journey for me built upon faith. I hope for these

words to be considered as an honoring to those before me, for I would not be alive

today, if it were not for the historical process that has taken place, in Americas

modernization and development and Jesuss ministry for my life.

My Great Grandmothers name was Mabel Howard. She was the mother of

three children; she gave birth to a set of male twins, and a 3rd son. She was born in

Oswego, New York, but lived in Providence, Rhode Island, with her older brother

until her father passed away when she was still just a child. My 3rd Great

Grandmother, Theodora Adelaide Grant, (Mabels mother); whose last name

turned into (Curry), took the family to Greenfield, Massachusetts, after Mabels

fathers death; whose name was Frank Mortimer Howard. After growing up in

Greenfield, she eventually meant my Great Grandfather there, Louis Faniel, whom

was originally from Kansas. I had been told by Terrell, that Mabels brother,

(Terrells father), was abandoned by Theodora Adelaide Grant (Curry), when their

father (Frank Mortimer Howard) passed away. The generation of my family that

lived with Mabel had no idea what Mabels ethnicity was, or who she was. At times

of writing this, I do not even think Mabel even knew who she truly was, or who the

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family before her was. The mortality rate in my family was so high to the point

where one preceding generation would die off before the next one. All census

records discovered for Mabel will say that her ethnicity was mulatto, or even with

her skin as light as it was with green eyes, black; or African American. It was from

the discoveries of the two women mentioned before, why this whole heritage

brigade began for me. If it were not for those women, then the pieces to my puzzle

would have never been found in the first place, and that includes Mabels

existence.

Besides the census records as my only evidence of the past, there was more

information that I was starting to uncover. All my research about Mabel kept

leading me out West even though I lived in the East. Knowing personally that I had

very little family out there, it just made me even more curious why my research

kept taking me down that route. Coincidentally I have stumbled across a whole

preservation of Mabels family and because of it, still to this day, sometimes I stand

and look in the mirror and ask myself, Who am I really? What is this everything of

history that I am made up of, and am I more than just a social security number?. It

is one thing to be in school and have to learn about history, but another when you

realize that you may be a byproduct of what you have just learned about in your

classroom. In my opinion, it goes on to teach us that history is important,

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constantly unraveling, and as insignificant that you might think you are, I conclude

with that that fact that all of us are a part of it, and all of us inevitably make it.

In the end, or as I should say in the beginning, this story is not about me at

all. This story is not about my personal significance and importance to a certain

group of people. My ethnicity is not what makes this story important. I know some

of us may not have had that special significance to be tied to a certain part of

history, but just knowing who you are on your journey is the most important. But

as I said before, this is not about me, this is about us, and maybe then, just maybe

it can be about me. But if it is going to be about me, then it is going to be about

America and the Snoqualmie, and about where the changing of times has brought

us today. This is not going to be about mysticism to natives, but what this is going

to be about, is family and love, and that the cohesive movement of God and nature

in our world, is more closely tied together than some of us may want to believe.

My most important objective is to tell this story with high hopes to tell it right, but

we can never be sure of the past. This instead, is about the importance and dignity

of a group of people that still live here today, that live here on land, and still here

in spirit. This is not to be seen as grandiose to a certain ethnic group, but in the

end, to them as the truth, as a people and as we all are, as my brothers and sisters,

but as my family who struggled to maintain cultural ties with the world and

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themselves in a changing history of Europe in America, from the past 150 years of

our history, which has been preserved.

My primordial home came all the way from Washington State, down into a

valley, 40 minutes north of Seattle, called Snoqualmie Valley. In the end, I only

hope to enlighten you as to the importance of all the Washington State Tribes, and

the one my grandfather was a part of, The Snoqualmie; the tribe he was born in

before European settlers arrived, or that I know of:

Current scientific data indicates that Native Americans arrived

from Siberia via the Bering Sea land bridge about 12,000 years

ago, during the last ice age (Watson).

The Snoqualmie Indians are a group of people that inhabited the

Snoqualmie and Tolt Rivers drainage systems between Monroe and North Bend.

The tribe reportedly lived in ninety-six cedar longhouseslocated in sixteen

winter villages (Tollefson, 602, 603). They inhabited along the Snoqualmie river,

and many researches have stated that before Euro-American expansion, they were

living in a political organization consisting of three levels; the village, the district,

and the chiefdom (123). They were located about 40 minutes north of Seattle,

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which can be seen in the map below, and apart of Washingtons 1st historical land

site named after them, Snoqualmie Falls. Here is a picture of the Waterfall below:

Snoqualmie Falls is 40 Miles North of Seattle:

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z68

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The Snoqualmie Indians, along with other important tribes of the
Washington area, are an important part to American History. The tribes during that
time signed a document called the Point Elliot Treaty of 1855, which was later
ratified on April 11th, 1859. There were important representatives from each tribe
at the signing such as Chief Pat Kanim, Chief Chow-its-hoot- and other well-known
figures such as Chief Seattle, whose memory represents what is now modern-day
Seattle (415). Many other important chiefs of an extensive list of tribes signed the
treaty as well. Surely, this one day, would prelude for many tribes, the struggles
they would have to face into modern America, which still persist today, even for
myself.

Across the world, Indigenous communities are allying with


other Indigenous communities in acknowledgement of a shared
and continued struggle for recognition as civilized people
(Tuhiwai Smith 1999:6-7). In many countries Native,
Indigenous, or traditional lifeways are under great pressure
from external forces to disband or assimilate, are being denied
rights guarantee by the government and by their status as
sovereign nations, or are not being recognized as sovereign
entities (Abrams 2011; Peters 2011; U.S. Department of the
Interior 2011; Dewailly 2006:88-89; Josephy 1984:177- 178;
Parman 1994:169-173; Deloria 2004:224) (Mclaurin, 20).

It will be a challenge to explain all the facts of what happened on that eventful day
in history. But I will attempt to unravel the mystery as I go along in my own story.

Unfortunately, accuracy typically takes a back seat to


entertainment value, based on what audiences are expected to
enjoy watching or reading. Hence, depictions of Natives are
based less in real interactions and more on how (non-Native) or
audiences would like to (or are expected to enjoy seeing)

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various Native peoples depicted. Certainly, this can and has
been said for depictions of other marginalized or minority
groups (Chung 2007; Shah 2003; Lee et al.2009).(Mclaurin,46).

To begin, this here is my Great Grandmother, Mabel.

Mabel is my paternal Great Grandmother whom had moved to Greenfield,

Massachusetts, after her father passed away when they were living in

Provincetown, Rode Island. She was living as a family with her brother, Mortimer

Howard, and mother, Theodora Adelaide Grant. This man right below her, is

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Mortimer Howard, who is Mabels brother; in which I was told by a source that he

was abandoned when he was very a young boy and brought to the hospital by his

mother; this is the only picture I could find of him:

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Mabel and Mortimers father is pictured here, and his name is Frank

Mortimer Howard, and this is him when he was a child, this is my 3rd great

grandfather:

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If I go up one generation further, his father is pictured here, who is named

Frank Alexander Howard (My 4th great grandfather):

Frank A. Howard, (Mabels Grandfather), was originally born as (Isaac Ingalls

Stevens Glasgow) before being adopted by a woman and man named Alexander

and Rebecca Groundage Howard. When Rebecca Howard and Alexander Howard

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died, he migrated to Rhode Island with this family. Reports from scholars say that

sometime before 1930 (maybe during the year of 1930); that there was a lot of

prejudice and abuse going on with the mixed children who still resembled native

ways of life. I am not sure if he was attending the government boarding school

during that time; what used to be the early years of the Tulalip Reservation, but

the school remained the sole source of education for western Washington, North

of Tacoma, until about 1938, because children were only then at that time allowed

to attend public schools of Marysville (Fitzpatrick, 661).

The family he was adopted to during that time owned a bed and breakfast

hotel in Washington, called the Pacific House. This in itself is very interesting

because I have always learned about the Americas and its racial tensions in the

south. So, I at least know that at the time blacks were not favored very much

during this era; let alone a woman being given the right to have her own property

and business, there were still slaves elsewhere in the country, during this present

moment.

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The family who adopted him were named the Howards, (Rebecca G.

Howard, and her husband Alexander Howard). Here is a picture of Rebecca, in a

modern-day mural:

Painted by artists Ira Coyne, Vince Ryland, Arthur Crews, Sara Calland and
Christopher Ross in October 2011 on the side of the Bread Peddler at 222 North
Capital Way, the Rebecca Howard mural overlooks the parking lot where the Pacific
House was located. Photo courtesy Jennifer Crooks

Blackpast.org wrote,

In June 1862, Mrs. Howard and her husband signed an

agreement to take care of Isaac I. Stevens Glasgow, a part-

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Indian child of American settler Thomas Glasgow, who by most

accounts was being mistreated by his father. The Howards

officially adopted the child in 1877 and he took the name Frank

A. Howard. Frank Howard became a leading citizen of the city,

inheriting his adopted parents properties and investing in land

and development.

Now that I have taken you this far, you may be able to gain a better

understanding of all these relatives, by looking at this example tree that was

created of my family:

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What about the Snoqualmie though? When do they come onto the scene

and how do I relate to them? Well that is why I brought up Mabel. From what you

can see in the tree, Mabels father (Frank Mortimer Howard), is the son of Frank

Alexander Howard. I have been told by Terrell, that Mabels mother (Theodore

Adelaide Grant), packed their belongings along with her older brother, Mortie

Howard, and went to Greenfield, Ma, when Frank Mortimer Howard passed way.

But the son, Mortie Howard, was given up for adoption either before, or after their

move to Massachusetts. When Morties daughter grew up (Terrell Bryan), along

the way on her journey, Terrell, after many, many, decades later, has finally found

the rest of our family, including me. Uncle Mortie was going to family reunions

from a distant cousin on my fathers side, because I was told he did not have much

immediate family still around.

What has intrigued me the most about this whole story, is that in a span of

about 50 to 150 years, not only did European settlement cause a shift

geographically, but the ravages of disease and illness, war and migration, has

prevented us from knowing one another in the present time; sometimes passing

away many decades before the next generation has had time to grow. There was

just no telling because of that mortality, who was who, and where our history

began, or in this case was, unfortunately ending. If it were not for Terrell, I may

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have not known at all, who my Grandfather ever was, that planted the seed to my

family, The Mountain Goat.

Finally, as many tribes work diligently to have their sovereignty

recognized and to become increasingly economically successful,

correcting the misinformation of Native stereotypes, and

exposing their biases against any perceived forms of Native

strength and prosperity will be a necessity when defending the

rights of Native nations

(Mclaurin,44).

The kind of denial that set in for me after learning this new information

revolved around my identity. The new information I was learning and new people I

was meeting has caused me to open my perspective of the world, history, and our

disposition on Earth as a species. Even more denial set it in, when I realized that I

have become the random child to have stumbled upon almost a never-ending

preservation, of my family members from the past century or so; as nobody in my

family had any idea, that either side ever closely existed. What I ended up learning

about astounded me, and even though for some of the people that have helped

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me to insist on my relations to these natives, it is even more at times rather hard

to see how our family members played out during history, during Euro-American

expansion, when Mabel had finally become the product of assimilation in America,

during the expanding industrial revolution. By 1940s, (during or after World War

2), she was finally to be cut off officially by the ones whom sowed the seed for her

life.

Preservation and genealogies of families I believe can be non-existent for

most people. I only say that because as I look at history, so much happens in so

little time, history for most people has now started with social security numbers.

Because of this I will always sit here trying to encourage some of my own friends to

uncover the truth of their own past. Unfortunately, nothing ever comes up for a lot

of them, or maybe economically they are just lacking the education or resources to

understand how to go further, even the passion to care enough about it. I was

lucky enough to have stumbled upon what has been carefully regarded as being

part of my own heritage, but nothing would prepare me for the confusion, and

wonder that would hit me when I learned more about Mabel, or in this case, the

two Native Americans that sacrificed their own comfort and lives, for me to be

here today. The rest of our legacy passed down from my Grandfather lies with two

people that would not be regarded as heroes or leaders as such, but important

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people that makeup my ancestral line, and just one of many stories about

Washington State in America, and that an act of God. Them, along with other

important indigenous tribes, and people, have created its history. I will remember

these people not as just ordinary men and women who were seen as inferior and

knew no English, but as people who had oppressed rights, and my family who had

to adapt greatly to the force of economic changes in our country into modern

times.

Before I continue, I must note that the information ahead has been written

to the best of my accuracy having used multiple valid sources. My 5th Great

Grandfather was a man named Pat Kanim (pronounced Kay-nim). I am related to

grandpa through his daughter Julia Kanim. There are two other families with

relations to him as well, with the last names of Hastie, and Gildow. We are related

to Kanim because Julia had 3 children, 1 boy, and two girls (Pat has had many

more). Julia was born in England somehow, but then reportedly moved back to

Whidbey Island, Washington; where I heard she died sometime in her twenties,

and that another tribe had vowed to take care of her. The son that was born from

Julia, is my 3rd Great Grandfather, named Frank Alexander Howard (Isaac Ingalls

Stevens Glasgow); not the governor at the time, but just named after him. Frank

Alexanders father was a man named Thomas Wilson Glasgow, who was once a

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pioneer scout for the United States government during that time, and was

commissioned to find new land settlements in Washington. It is said that he was

originally from Kansas. This is the best picture I have of him:

It has been reported that the marriage between him and Julia did not last

very long. Here is a picture of my 4th great grandmother Julia, when she was just a

little girl; Pat Kanims daughter (She is 3rd starting from the left):

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Pictured here is a picture of Grandpa. He was one of the many chiefs who

had signed the Point Elliot Treaty; along with Chief Seattle and other important

leaders at Point Elliot (1855), in which they ceded the lands of Washington, over to

the U.S Government, specifically at the time Snoqualmie and Tolt areas:

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I think the hardest part for me to understand about this whole story is that

all of my family who had lived in the west, had no idea Mabel was on the East.

From around 1930 to 1960, they were all in some way, still alive, but had no idea

that Mabel was ever there. To me it is a story of lost connection, of extreme

sacrifice, and the kind of thing that happens to many families in our world today,

just some people never find the resolution to their story; that is where I like to

believe that I have received grace, and a salvation from God, far from political, and

in essence close to mother earth.

The Indian Wars lasted from 1622 to 1924, but mainly many natives died

from sickness; especially on the East Coast (Mclaurin). Because of Pat Kanims

association with the Americans at that time; even though many lives had been lost,

his sacrifices along with many other leaders of tribes here today, have paved a way

for my family to still be here. There must have been a tipping point of confusion

when these men started to arrive off boats. This is integral to understand because

the actual indigenous people of America, literally faced genocide and sickness

during this time. All I can say factually about Pat is that he did what any person

would have to do in a survival situation, like his documented workings with the

Euro-Americans to hopefully and peacefully, keep his tribe and family protected,

doing what it was they wanted him to do. He intervened so much to try and help,

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that there was eventually a plaque made for him which is at Tulalip Bay today. This

is what it looks like:

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Pat Kanims contributions to the Snoqualmie, and then the Americans, could

have been the very fabric that has allowed continuity, not just for myself, but for

many other tribes that were at the treaty signing as well. This, along with the

contributions of other leaders that signed the treaty that day, has led to what is

now modern-day Washington. In Puget Sound at that time, before Euro-American

expansion, Dr. Kenneth Tollefson stated that the Puget Sound operated on a

village, district, and chiefdom level (123).

Each of the four districts served an important military

function in the chiefdom: the Monroe District guarded

the mouth of the Snoqualmie River from enemy canoes

coming up the Snoqualmie River; the North Bend District

guarded the trade route to the Cascade Mountain Pass

from marauding interior tribes; the Fall City District

served as the military training center for the chiefdom

and the Tolt District functioned as the diplomatic center

of the chiefdom. Tradition suggests that four relatives of

head chief Pat Kanim were appointed to fill the four

district chiefs' positions (124).

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Here is what the organization system looked like during that time:

Aside from the organization shown here, whether it was caused by natural

occurrence or environmental pressures, I believe the important idea here is that

the Snoqualmie have persevered themselves for national recognition as an

American tribe, and as a people today that maintain close cultural ties with each

other.

There are many lost pieces to the puzzle that would be impossible for me to

find out on my own. But at some point, Pat Kanim passed away in 1855, not long

after signing the Point Elliot treaty. The treaty had then been ratified in 1859, due

to politics surrounding the document. I am not aware of how he died, or if anyone

else even knows exactly what had happened to him, but what I do know, is that his

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grave today is in the Tulalip Cemetery. Tulalip is the name of a reservation on the

bay of Washington State, where many of the family members of the ancestors who

had signed the Point Elliot Treaty reside today (Fitzpatrick, 661).

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So, you may be wondering, what happened to the Snoqualmie after Pat

died? I would say aside from the myriad of political issues that the tribe has

suffered from, they still continue to thrive and operate in present day Snoqualmie,

Washington today. Reconciliation to my extended family, and the Snoqualmie Falls

(while it is still there), is in my opinion, history having found me, and God along

with the blood of Jesus, spreading his love towards us gentiles. It is amazing what

one little choice can do to someones fate. For the past 5 to 10 decades my family

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has lived in a state of fragile decay, with accumulated identities from the American

ghettos I was born in. Why would all this be important to a metropolitan citizen

such as me? Should America have always been enough for me with the way it is

now? At the end of the day change is inevitable in life, and for the tribe, and with

Pat Kanim having passed away, his family having been dispersed from the

oppression, change was unavoidable for the tribe. That is where Jerry Kanim

comes into the picture. Shortly after Pat Kanims son, Bill, passed away at 108,

Jerry decided to step up to the plate, and do a good deed for his people. No one

knew that Mabel, Pat Kanims 2nd Great Granddaughter, was still alive at that time

as well. This story is not about tribal affiliations, but about the longing reparation

with a people that are as much alive in me, as I in them.

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Here is a picture of Jerry Kanim, and his wife Jenny Kanim:

- You can also hear Jerry speaking in his native language called

Lushootseed, here at this link: Jerry Kanim speaking Lushootseed.

Jerry played an utmost important role in the survival of the tribe and the relations
with his people. He was bound as selfless and is held in high esteem from his
generosity and willingness to help others which included landless Indians. Jerry
fought actively for many years to help the tribe become recognized. Recognition
did not happen again unfortunately until 1994, when I was four years old, from the
help of two anthropologist professors Ken Tollefson (Duwamish), and Jay Miller of
Lenape Ancestry. Jerrys line of succession is a very detailed account, and just so I
do not miss any details, I would like share with you what the DEPARTMENT OF

39
THE INTERIOR, Bureau of Indian Affairs, [had to say about him during], Final
Determination to Acknowledge the Snoqualmie Tribal Organization 1999

Jerry Kanim, Chief of the Snoqualmie Indians from 1916 1956


was the nephew of Chief Pat Kanim who is the second signatory
on the Point Elliot Treaty of 1855 along with 13 other Kanim
sub-chiefs. The Kanim's are a Chiefdom Treaty signer family
with earliest records going back to the late 1700.

Chief Jerry Kanim, worked all of his life on significant issues


affecting the lives of the Snoqualmie people. He pursued
hunting, fishing and land rights at the Federal, State and local
levels. In 1928, he was elected Head of the Business Council
instituted by the Bureau of Indian Affairs to deal with the
Tulalip Agency Superintendent on all matters affecting the
Snoqualmie people on and off the reservations.

His personal leadership also took the form of counseling


members and settling disputes between the Snoqualmie. He
dealt with all external authorities concerning the welfare of
tribal members, interceding for those in legal troubles or in
need of economical assistance. He organized Native work
forces to pick hops and work in the timber mills and logging
industry. He intervened in the needs and welfare of his people
requesting special funds from congress for the aged and
infirmed. He led the Great Snoqualmie into the industrial
revolution in the early 1940s.

He wrote many letters to the Governor, attorneys, the Bureau


of Indian Affairs and worked closely with special agent Charles
Roblins with census issues. On Dec 17, 1934 he wrote US
President F. D. Roosevelt requesting a land base for the off-
reservation Snoqualmie. From 1920 on, he sponsored an
annual Fourth of July get-together for all people on the
aboriginal lands in Tolt, WA which has always included US
politicians and legislators.

40
He led the formalization of the Snoqualmie Tribal organization
and the creation of the tribes constitution and its council
structure. Jerry Kanims leadership in itself was enough for the
Federal government to establish that the Snoqualmie had met
criterion (c) of the 7 Federal recognition criteria.

His hereditary tenure very substantially exceeded the minimal


requirements of the acknowledgement regulations and was the
cornerstone for the Snoqualmies long awaited recognition in
1999.

His last public appearance was at the Fall City Derby days in
June of 1955 where he spoke to all people and recalled their
former friendship and urged for a continuance of brotherly
relations and respect. His address was responded to by U. S.
Congressman Thor C. Tollefson, who pledged the faith of the
government and his fellow men in continuing relations and
understanding with the Indian affairs of today.

His funeral was the largest on record ever held in the Tolt
valley. Grandpa was friends of such pioneers as Jack Bush, Davis
Rutherford, Uncle Si Merritt, Doc Taylor, David Henry Thomas
and Jerry Borst as Mr. Borst was married to Jerrys sister Kate
Kanim Borst. Other close families of the Tolt pioneers were,
Entwistle, Larson, Lord, Bagwell and Mcdevitt.

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Here is a picture of his sister Princess Kate Borst, wife of
pioneer Jerimiah Borst:

(Kate Borst christening the steamer "Snoqualmie," August 11,


1919).

For me after having spent time learning about who I am, I have come to

conclusion on why this is so important to me. It is important to me because this is

who I am, regardless of what any politics say about it, I have found my answer not

in being a part of a tribe, but that this just so happens to be my fate, coming to

fruition of God, and knowing now that there is mans world, and another world I

feel very much cut off from; somewhere deeply ingrained in nature itself. Like so

many other families of Indigenous families of America, the death of my ancestors


42
has been preserved that I may see history in its fullest form, and that I was blessed

enough to know part of who I am in truth. Because of this, I can see now how

some of us ended up in the ghettos of America today. I will not say it was because

of risk of life not having been taken, but maybe more so that life sometimes just

happens, the way it happens; that is why I learn history and read it, because

history will reveal truths of the past that redefine the future for today, especially

when it is recorded in masses of a disappearing people. My grandfather Pat stated

something like this to the others close to him, That the Europeans are coming,

and that their numbers are many in his native Lushootseed. I am not here

because of some brave Native American, but by a man I was lucky enough to find

out about, who just so happened to be called Native American, but is known to be

of Coastal Salish heritage, who were an indigenous nation that inhabited the

pacific northwest of America at that time with other thriving tribes. Having spent

time with these discoveries, I have learned that I could be Half of Anything, but

that the true importance lied in me knowing who I am, and how I fall in relation to

other men and women in this world around me.

A tribal affiliation would not necessarily repair the pangs of my assimilation.

Although I am sure there is some culturally saving implication to it, I think for me

that just the self-awareness of who I am, and that they are my family, is what

43
matter most at the end of the day. As I finish writing this, I conclude with the fact

that in the end I have come to realization of knowing the truth of whatever it is of

this knowledge, that the God of this universe has wanted me to know. I believe

thoroughly enough to support the fact that of me not being able to find the right

words to explain the ambiguity of God and Creation in my story, that maybe grace

will somehow help me allude to the conclusion, that we are all in some way shape

or form, a part of this thing called time. That we are all descendants in our own

inherent right, and that no matter which way I try to see it, that God has given us

all a primordial home.

44
This paper is in memory of Jerry James "Tawiswick" Enick (Jerry Kanims
Grandson and Hereditary Chief of the Snoqualmie Tribe)
(1933-2017)

45
And also in memory of: Leonard Faniel (Mabels son, Front row), and (Leonard
Faniel Jr. Middle back) the two men on the side are (Steven Faniel, left) and my
father the youngest (Timothy Faniel, right)

46
Here is also a list of tribes and chiefs that were at Point Elliot, in 1955.

ARTICLE 15.

This treaty shall be obligatory on the contracting parties as soon as the same shall
be ratified by the President and Senate of the United States.

In testimony whereof, the said Isaac I. Stevens, governor and superintendent of


Indian affairs, and the undersigned chiefs, headmen, and delegates of the
aforesaid tribes and bands of Indians, have hereunto set their hands and seals, at
the place and on the day and year hereinbefore written.

Issac I. Stevens, Governor and Superintendent. (L.S.)


Seattle, Chief of the Dwamish and Suquamish tribes, his x mark. (L. S.)
Pat-ka-nam, Chief of the Snoqualmoo, Snohomish and other tribes, his x mark.
(L.S.) Chow-its-hoot, Chief of the Lummi and other tribes, his x mark. (L. S.)
Goliah, Chief of the Skagits and other allied tribes, his x mark. (L.S.)
Kwallattum, or General Pierce, Sub-chief of the Skagit tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
S'hootst-hoot, Sub-chief of Snohomish, his x mark. (L.S.)
Snah-talc, or Bonaparte, Sub-chief of Snohomish, his x mark. (L.S.)
Squush-um, or The Smoke, Sub-chief of the Snoqualmoo, his x mark. (L.S.)
See-alla-pa-han, or The Priest, Sub-chief of Sk-tah-le-jum, his x mark. (L.S.)
He-uch-ka-nam, or George Bonaparte, Sub-chief of Snohomish, his x mark. (L.S.)
Tse-nah-talc, or Joseph Bonaparte, Sub-chief of Snohomish, his x mark. (L.S.)
Ns'ski-oos, or Jackson, Sub-chief of Snohomish, his x mark. (L.S.)
Wats-ka-lah-tchie, or John Hobtsthoot, Sub-chief of Snohomish, his x mark. (L.S.)
Smeh-mai-hu, Sub-chief of Skai-wha-mish, his x mark. (L.S.)
Slat-eah-ka-nam, Sub-chief of Snoqualmoo, his x mark. (L.S.)
St'hau-ai, Sub-chief of Snoqualmoo, his x mark. (L.S.)
Lugs-ken, Sub-chief of Skai-wha-mish, his x mark. (L.S.)
S'heht-soolt, or Peter, Sub-chief of Snohomish, his x mark. (L.S.)
Do-queh-oo-satl, Snoqualmoo tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
John Kanam, Snoqualmoo sub-chief, his x mark. (L.S.)
Klemsh-ka-nam, Snoqualmoo, his x mark. (L.S.)
Ts'huahntl, Dwa-mish sub-chief, his x mark. (L.S.)
Kwuss-ka-nam, or George Snatelum, Sen., Skagit tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Hel-mits, or George Snatelum, Skagit sub-chief, his x mark. (L.S.)

47
S'kwai-kwi, Skagit tribe, sub-chief, his x mark. (L.S.)
Seh-lek-qu, Sub-chief Lummi tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
S'h'-cheh-oos, or General Washington, Sub-chief of Lummi tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Whai-lan-hu, or Davy Crockett, Sub-chief of Lummi tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
She-ah-delt-hu, Sub-chief of Lummi tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Kwult-seh, Sub-chief of Lummi tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Kwull-et-hu, Lummi tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Kleh-kent-soot, Skagit tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Sohn-heh-ovs, Skagit tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
S'deh-ap-kan, or General Warren, Skagit tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Chul-whil-tan, Sub-chief of Suquamish tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Ske-eh-tum, Skagit tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Patchkanam, or Dome, Skagit tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Sats-Kanam, Squin-ah-nush tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Sd-zo-mahtl, Kik-ial-lus band, his x mark. (L.S.)
Dahtl-de-min, Sub-chief of Sah-ku-meh-hu, his x mark. (L.S.)
Sd'zek-du-num, Me-sek-wi-guilse sub-chief, his x mark. (L.S.)
Now-a-chais, Sub-chief of Dwamish, his x mark. (L.S.)
Mis-lo-tche, or Wah-hehl-tchoo, Sub-chief of Suquamish, his x mark. (L.S.)
Sloo-noksh-tan, or Jim, Suquamish tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Moo-whah-lad-hu, or Jack, Suquamish tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Too-leh-plan, Suquamish tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Ha-seh-doo-an, or Keo-kuck, Dwamish tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Hoovilt-meh-tum, Sub-chief of Suquamish, his x mark. (L.S.)
We-ai-pah, Skaiwhamish tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
S'ah-an-hu, or Hallam, Snohomish tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
She-hope, or General Pierce, Skagit tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Hwn-lah-lakq, or Thomas Jefferson, Lummi tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Cht-simpt, Lummi tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Tse-sum-ten, Lummi tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Klt-hahl-ten, Lummi tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Kut-ta-kanam, or John, Lummi tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Ch-lah-ben, Noo-qua-cha-mish band, his x mark. (L.S.)
Noo-heh-oos, Snoqualmoo tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Hweh-uk, Snoqualmoo tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Peh-nus, Skai-whamish tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Yim-ka-dam, Snoqualmoo tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)

48
Twooi-as-kut, Skaiwhamish tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Luch-al-kanam, Snoqualmoo tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
S'hoot-kanam, Snoqualmoo tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Sme-a-kanam, Snoqualmoo tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Sad-zis-keh, Snoqualmoo, his x mark. (L.S.)
Heh-mahl, Skaiwhamish band, his x mark. (L.S.)
Charley, Skagit tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Sampson, Skagit tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
John Taylor, Snohomish tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Hatch-kwentum, Skagit tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Yo-i-kum, Skagit tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
T'kwa-ma-han, Skagit tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Sto-dum-kan, Swinamish band, his x mark. (L.S.)
Be-lole, Swinamish band, his x mark. (L.S.)
D'zo-lole-gwam-hu, Skagit tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Steh-shail, William, Skaiwhamish band, his x mark. (L.S.)
Kel-kahl-tsoot, Swinamish tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Pat-sen, Skagit tribe, his x mark. (L.S.)
Pat-teh-us, Noo-wha-ah sub-chief, his x mark. (L.S.)
S'hoolk-ka-nam, Lummi sub-chief, his x mark. (L.S.)
Ch-lok-suts, Lummi sub-chief, his x mark. (L.S.)
Executed in the presence of us - -
M. T. Simmons, Indian agent.
C. H. Mason, Secretary of Washington Territory.
Benj. F. Shaw, Interpreter.
Chas. M. Hitchcock.
H. a. Goldsborough.
George Gibbs.
John H. Scranton.
Henry D. Cock.
S. S. Ford, jr.
Orrington Cushman.
Ellis Barnes.
R. S. Bailey.
S. M. Collins.
Lafayetee Balch.
E. S. Fowler.

49
J. H. Hall.
Rob't Davis.
S. Doc. 319, 58-2, vol 2 43

Ratified Mar. 8, 1859. Proclaimed Apr. 11, 1859.

I hope this motivates you all to either dig up the past, or create the future. Thank

you for reading.

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