Puyallup Tribe News — Research & History

Chief Richard "Tyee Dick" Sinnaywah

c.1819 – 1904. Chief of three tribes: Cowlitz, Nisqually, and Puyallup. Present at the Medicine Creek Treaty (1854), fought alongside Chief Leschi at the Battle of White River (1855). Son of Chief Scanewa, the Cowlitz paramount chief who ruled from the Columbia to the Fraser River.

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Minnie Meander-Joseph-Richards

Puyallup, 1899. Daughter of William & Susie Meander. Well known and respected for her basket weaving. Married Eugene Joseph, then Mr. Richards. Photographed by A.C. Carpenter, Tacoma.

Historical Photographs

Puyallup Reservation, 1884 – 1951. From the collections of Arthur French, Thomas Rutter, A.C. Carpenter, and others.

Dick family home, Puyallup Reservation, 1891

Chief Tom Lane (Quo-youp-kin), 1897

Chief Tom Lane with children & grandchildren, 1891

Henry Sicade with Will Rogers, before 1935

Jerry Meeker, son of Sky-uch

Yelm Jim on fish trap, Puyallup River, 1885

Yelm Jim and family, 1885

Chief Sitwell's home, Puyallup River, 1891

Annie Squally, basket weaving at Wollochet Bay

Harry Dillon Sr., U.S. Army, c.1951

Andrew, Sarah & Mary Ann Nelson, 1884

Peter Stanup family, before 1893

Brewer children (Puyallup/Tlingit), 1886

Chief Tom Lane marker unveiling, Fife HS, 1929

Burnt Face Charley, c.1900

Lucy Slagham Gerand (b.1836), c.1920

About This Project

This is a research project documenting the history, families, and public records of the Puyallup Tribe of Indians. Every published claim traces to a source — census rolls, FindAGrave memorials, tribal news archives, obituaries, court records, and oral history.

The 1929 Puyallup Census Roll has been fully transcribed (279 entries across 21 pages), connecting modern tribal council families back to their ancestors on the reservation.