I am a Treaty Partner

I must start off by saying that I am not Indigenous and living in the U.S. I experience privilege from being white. I am from Ferndale, Washington, and grew up on unceded land that has been the Lummi Nation’s since time immemorial.

I had long prioritized social justice in my life, from advocacy for local education initiatives to leading young voter sign ups to promoting resources for women’s reproductive health — long before Lutheran higher Ed took me into its (loving) grasp. That being said, growing up the granddaughter of a Lutheran pastor, I’m sure the tenets of Lutheranism played a role from the start.

When I took a class called “Indigenous Rights and Practices” during my junior year at California Lutheran University, I anticipated interest in the subject but did not predict the profound impact it would have on me. The class allowed me to have conversations that changed my world view and shifted how I perceived my obligation towards the land I grew up on. I gained knowledge about the political landscape surrounding tribes in the U.S. in a way I had not previously experienced. Most importantly, I took away an identity as a “treaty partner.”

My work in the class focused on the Treaty of Point Elliott of 1855. The Treaty of Point Elliott was signed by numerous Coast Salish tribes, as well as the future first governor of the Washington territory, Isaac Stevens. The Treaty made many promises — guaranteeing healthcare, opportunities for education, and the maintenance of tribes’ traditional fishing rights. However, not unlike every other treaty the U.S. has signed with a tribe, this treaty has been broken time and time again. Let me repeat that so it sticks with you — every treaty a tribe has signed with the U.S. has been broken. 368 broken promises.

As a part of the project, I interviewed a former Chairman of the Lummi Nation, and we had a conversation about the inextricable nature of the Treaty: salmon, land, orcas, and people. During the conversation about the Treaty, the Chairman emphasized repeatedly that I am a treaty partner. He said too often treaties are thought of as just “Indigenous things” and “relics of the past.” He underscored the constitutional obligation to understand treaties as the supreme law of the land. The Chairman urged me to understand that the Treaty of Point Elliott is just as much my treaty, as it is his.

The U.S. Government has broken their promises, and many of us have looked the other direction while they have done so.

The U.S. government, largely comprised of white, protestant, heterosexual, wealthy men, have incessantly put the full onus on tribes to uphold and fight for what was promised in jointly signed treaties. A treaty at its core is a promise; it is a partnership. Promises require commitment to be upheld from all sides, and when a party is not a good-faith partner, treaties do not function, and one of the partners loses recognition in the process. The U.S. Government has broken their promises, and many of us have looked the other direction while they have done so. They have stolen land, killed animals, kidnapped children, and purposefully eradicated the languages and cultures that have sustained Indigenous people since time immemorial in immeasurable ways, an unquantifiable number of times.

As a country, our conversations with Indigenous nations, our government-to-government partners, have long been riddled with white people speaking over Indigenous voices and failing to honor formal treaties. These conversations have come with a disregard for differing opinions, and ears shut to cries that demand access to land, clean water, and healthcare. We have a duty to uphold our treaties — that in and of itself is public interest and civic engagement. When we do not do so, we disregard our government partners, our neighbors, and our friends.

My understanding of myself as a treaty partner has led to me sharing this perspective. While I fully accredit the language and knowledge of being a treaty partner to the Chairman, I have California Lutheran to thank for giving me the steppingstone to uncover this identity that should have been there all along.

I have pursued opportunities to delve further into the idea of being a treaty partner, focusing my undergraduate philosophy capstone on Indigenous sovereignty and U.S. treaty breaches, by comparing arguments made by John Locke and Vine Deloria Jr., a Standing Rock Sioux theologian, author, and Indigenous activist. I have used my position as a U.S. Senate staffer to advocate on behalf of tribes. I am now applying to law school to continue to grow in this treaty partner identity in a new way.

I challenge you to identify and understand the treaties that affect the land of your home. I aim to stir a curiosity in you to learn about the promises that impact places and living things dear to you.

I am a treaty partner because my ancestors signed the Treaty of Point Elliott and I have benefited immeasurably from it. The treaty is full of flaws and problematic promises, items that scream colonization and assumptions of misplaced authority and superiority. But it also reserves rights and guarantees vaccines and education. I have a responsibility to uphold the treaty and respect it as the supreme law of the land. I challenge you to identify and understand the treaties that affect the land of your home. I aim to stir a curiosity in you to learn about the promises that impact places and living things dear to you.

I know I have failed and will continue to fail in upholding my treaty. However, a much more significant failure would be declining to acknowledge, share, and fight for the promises stated in the Treaty of Point Elliott altogether. Sharing the verbiage of being a treaty partner, is a step I am taking as I walk on, practicing ownership and responsibility.