Ed Davis, originally known as Sulz-ached, was born c. 1880. He began work in the woods when he was 5 years old, and continued to work at logging jobs until he was 83. Davis was ordained as an Indian Shaker minister in 1913, and served both the Snoqualmie and Tulalip Shaker churches for seventy-five years. In 1956, following the death of Jerry Kanmin, Davis was designated as the honorary chief of the Snoqualmie tribe and as the tribe's conscience and spiritual leader. Davis was a leader in the effort to regain tribal status from the federal government, although he did not live to see this happen. He died at age 108 in May 1987, and is buried in Fall City, Washington.
Jack Chisholm was born on June 24, 1904 to Lulan Royle and John James Chisholm. He was married to Irene Whitfield. He died on February 28, 1988 in Fall City, Washington.
This collection includes cassette tapes of oral history interviews as well as print and electronic transcriptions of these interviews. Recorded primarily between 1969 and 1972, these interviews were conducted by Jack Chisholm as he asked Snoqualmie Tribal Elder Ed Davis about the past. Recording sessions were held in a truck or diner or other informal settings. Cassette tapes were obtained decades later by Dick and Kris Kirby who spearheaded a project to digitize and transcribe the interviews. The cassette tapes were unnumbered and undated, resulting in the loss of any obvious chronological sequence. Transcriptions aid in access. Subjects covered in the interviews include tribal fishing rights and fishing methods, Indian rights and US Government/Indian relations, reservations, logging and river driving, mills, the Indian Shaker Church, tribe enrollment and membership, and many reminiscences of people, places, and events. Tribes mentioned include Snoqualmie, Skokomish, Skykomish, Snohomish, and more.
The contents of the collection have been digitized and are available on the Special Collections Reading Room Virtual Vault. Contact Special Collections for more information.
Dick and Kris Kirby, 2014-03-25
Donated material consists of original audio cassettes that have been digitized and transcripts available in print and electonic file (PDFs). WAV files are available on the Virtual Vault for use access. Sound recordings and transcripts are available onsite in the reading room, no duplication allowed, no remote access. The original analog recordings cannot be played due to preservation concerns.
Open to all users for onsite use only. Contact Special Collections for more information.
Donated material consists of original audio cassettes that have been digitized and transcripts available in print and electonic file (PDFs). WAV files are available on the Virtual Vault for use access. Sound recordings and transcripts are available onsite in the reading room, no duplication allowed, no remote access. The original analog recordings cannot be played due to preservation concerns.
No copying or publication permitted.
Tribal fishing and hunting rights, Indian and U.S. government relations, land claims and ownership, mills at Snoqualmie Falls, logging, and Ed Davis' education, employment, and family
Logging, mills, and Ed Davis's family history
Chairman election and council politics, and logging for the Pacific Coast Company
Indian and U.S. government relations, reservations and settlements, and the Indian Shaker Church
Ed Davis's employment history, including logging and logging camps
Salmon fishing (gill net, bag fishing, etc.), steelheads (planting in different creeks), discussion about how tribes should work together to achieve their objectives rather than separating themselves
Discussion about treaties with Governor Stevens, Chief Seattle, and reservations; transfer and sale of Indian lands; Lake Washington and rivers (including Green, Duwamish, and Sky rivers), discussion about people and their relationships, homes, and jobs
Jack Chisholm's family, car troubles with Fred Allen, Indian Shaker Church, fishing (smelt and salmon), and animals (deer, bear, and beaver trapping)
Food preparation (drying, salting, and smoking), pole cutting, logging at Vaughan Hill, and skid roads
Indian custom marriage, land ownership, religion (Indian Shaker and others), and discussion about Indian history (Governor Stevens, treaties, and longhouses)
Discussion about Al Williams's funeral and the Indian Shaker Church
Logging, salmon, and the Indian Shaker church
Discussion about land sales, followed by an Indian Shaker church sermon
Religious ceremony, including a sermon by Ed Davis
Discussion about the Indian Shaker Church, including land claims, difficulties with the Full Gospel Church, construction of the church, the 1910 Corporation, and other history
Stories about different people, including Ralph Phillips and family, Bill Pete, and Ed Davis's ancestry
Discussion about a shingle mill and people who worked there, logging, and stories about different places including Tradition Lake and a rock mountain near Duvall
Religious ceremony with chanting, ringing bells, and singing
Discussion about the church at Muckleshoot, building the church, and three different types of Shakers (Full Gospels, Independents, and Annie Lee)
Discussion about buying a chain saw and filling out a form
Fishing and salmon bakes, Ed Davis's appeal dismissal re: his enrollment to share in Duwamish judgment funds, discussion of Davis's ancestry, the Duwamish tribe, and Snoqualmie tribe organization
Discussion of church and religion
The Moses family in Renton, fishing and fish traps, and the Indian Shaker Church
Discussion about different people and their families
Indian Shaker Church ceremony, followed by a discussion about the church and different people
Spearing salmon, logging, Indian doctors and medicine men, and an Indian Shaker Church ceremony led by Ed Davis
Indian Shaker Church event, salmon, treaty rights, gun laws, and exploitation of reservation land
Discussion of songs during the Sunday service, commercial fishing/sale of salmon on reservations, and steelhead fishing
Animal trapping and hunting, land in Suiattle and Darrington, reservations and registering other land, and work in a silica/talc mine
Discussion about a foster care case and that family's difficulties
Choir practice for a Christmas service, Indian rights and how different tribes manage their affairs, specifics of treaty rights (including clam digging and the trade and sale of fish and fur)
Longhouse on Lake Sammamish, discussion with a woman about Indian words for different creeks and animals, and Indian stories (including one about Mt. Si)
Snoqualmie River and various creeks, and the Indian names for them
Discussion about a family's difficulties, Jack Chisholm's jobs and Indian/U.S. Government relations
Phone conversation about Snoqualmie Indian concerns about blasting at Mt. Si, actions they need to take to prevent it, and Snoqualmie history
Logging and shingle mills, Indian Shaker Church and other religions, Indian Shaker incorporation papers, and Indian legends
Stories about animals, Tradition Lake, and Joy Lake
Brief discussion about Ed Davis's family and friends, followed by a presentation about teaching math
Ed Davis's will and real estate transactions
Indian stories, Indian rights and mining rights, salmon and rivers, and an interview with Martha about words in her language and her memories from childhood
Discussion about where homes and mills were located along an unidentified lake, road signs and speed limits, and Ed Davis's Snoqualmie and Duwamish ancestry
Education of Indian children and the pros and cons of public and Indian schools, different roads near Preston and Issaquah, Indian medicine and health care, Cushman Hospital, Indian languages, and logging
Discussion about different people, marital troubles, and alcoholism
Marital and custody troubles, reservations and schools, the Indian Shaker Church and missionaries, and traveling to Victoria
Drying and smoking fish, hunting, the Snoqualmie claims deal case, discussion about how people traveled in the past, preparations for the Mt. Si court case and protecting Mt. Si
Discussion about paying taxes or exemption of land for the church
Discussion about images in a slide show from a woman's trip to Scotland, different people and their health, huckleberries and berry picking, and church ministers and missionaries
Mud Bay and longhouses at Lake Sammamish and Neah Bay
Indian Shaker Church sermon
Singing and drumming, prayer, and conversation about how young people can perform the songs and dances but do not know their meaning
Discussion about the significance of Mt. Si in mythology and the ongoing controversy with quarrying, what Indians were promised in Governor Stevens's treaty compared to what they actually received, Indian ideas of land ownership before white settlers, and Indian land rights
Pacific Northwest history (including Governor Stevens, Indian land title, the five nations in Western Washington, Indian land, and the Wheeler-Howard Act), buying land and how to get land for the Snoqualmie, discussion about how the Snoqualmie tribe was not recognized by the state and nominations for a committee to work on the tribe's reorganization, and gillnet fishing
Indian Shaker Church service and discussion about a building proposal for the Lower Snoqualmie Valley
Proceedings from the Indian Council, including discussion about hunting and fishing according to the treaty, history of the treaty and action taken on it, the Northwest Federation of American Indians, Bureau of Indian Affairs, and Congress of American Indians
Proceedings from the Indian Council, including discussion about various claims, including claims to fishing rights, and compensation for lands ceded under the Treaty of Port Elliott
Indian Shaker Church service and prayers, Indian stories, and history including a discussion about gold mining and relations with the British
Fishing in different rivers and streams, the Bible, ancient civilizations, prayers, history of the Fraser River area and the gold rush, and the Indian Shaker Church
Indian Shaker Church service
Indian words for place and river names, colors, and animals and the creation of an Indian language dictionary, and discussion about Indian Shaker Church services and fellowship meetings for different churches
Indian Shaker Church service and discussion about different people who had been at the service
Discussion about obtaining forty acres of Tulalip land for a Snoqualmie village, driving around Washington, and spinning wool
Discussion about church, school, and other activities on the Muckleshoot reservation
Indian Shaker Church service
Talk about people in foster care and on welfare
Indian Shaker Church service
Indian Shaker Church service
Salmon runs, different types of salmon, salmon drying, rivers and canals
No transcript: note on tape says audio is not good
Locations of strawberry and raspberry fields, camps, logging, Indian Shaker Church service, and discussion about Shakers and the Full Gospel Shakers
No transcript: Lola Belle Holmes speaking at North Bend
No transcript: Julia Brown speech and questions