By Shaun Scott, Puyallup Tribal News
Following the release of her memoir, “Fighting for the Puyallup Tribe,” former Tribal Council Chairwoman Ramona Bennett visited the Washington State History Museum for her first speaking engagement about the 288-page book in September.
Members of the audience rose to their feet, delivering a thunderous applause for Bennett at the end of the event.
Bennett talked about the memoir, displayed pictures from the past on the big screen for the audience and answered questions from attendees throughout the evening. Following the event, a large part of the audience stood in line to meet Bennett and get her autograph. She was joined on stage by retired state historian John C. Hughes and Darrell Hillaire from the Lummi Nation.
The book focuses on the Fishing Wars of the 1960s and 1970s, which eventually led to the historic Boldt Decision in 1974. It also entails the 1976 occupation of a state-run facility on reservation land (Cascadia Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center) and the events that led to the property’s return to the Tribe. The book also discusses implementation of the the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) in 1978. The stories shared throughout the pages resonated with Hughes. The retired journalist has already read Bennett’s book three times and said he began covering the American Indian movement nearly 60 years ago.
“Ramona’s book, to my mind, is the most authentic and important book about what it means to have been in the trenches in that era. She is one of the most remarkable figures in the history of Northwest Indigenous people,” Hughes said.
Bennett, who served as the Tribe’s Chairwoman from 1971 through 1978, said it took her a few years to assemble the book and she typed it up herself.
“For a couple of years, it was the only thing I could think of. A lot of it, I have been talking about for 50 years and now I don’t have to say it again. That is a big relief. When people ask me things, I can say it is in the book,” Bennett said.
During the Tribe’s Fishing Wars Memorial event on Sept. 6, Bennett revealed to the crowd why she decided to write a book about the Puyallup Tribe.
“The reason I put this book together was so I could tell my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren what our family went through and how they got scattered out. So many Puyallups live away from here and have never been here. I’m hoping some of them will read the book and come back home,” Bennett said. “Different families went off in different directions, and that was to survive. I wanted everybody to understand what happened to this Tribe. I documented the steps we took to get back up to find ourselves and pull ourselves back together again.”
Bennett said she was on the banks of the Puyallup River on Sept. 9, 1970, which was the day the Tribe’s fishing camp was raided by game wardens, state patrol and law enforcement.
“The camp was my responsibility. I was the fearless chairwoman. I had a gun pointed at me. He pulled the trigger and I assumed I was dead. It was a gas canister and it just bounced off of me. I kicked it back at him and tried to pull his mask off,” Bennett said. “The multiple attacks and assaults needed to be told because it hasn’t been told. No one would ever dare say it. It wasn’t a little uprising, it was an all-out war. Nobody felt sorry for the poor Indians and gave us a damn thing. We had to fight for everything.”
The Cascadia Juvenile Diagnostic and Treatment Center occupation in 1976 was a fight won by the Puyallup Tribe.
“Land is power and we needed that land. We had six Uzis and a whole bunch of Indian Vietnam veterans that knew exactly how to use them. We never had to use them. We never had to show them. We just had them and they knew we did,” Bennett explained. “It was just a whole series of miracles. The Creator was working overtime to rescue our Tribe because none of things we did were possible.”
Hillaire told the crowd he heard stories about Bennett and her impact throughout his teenage years.
“A very important part of putting ourselves (Tribes) back together was the Indian Child Welfare Act. She was very much involved in it,” Hillaire said. “Young ones need to learn this history. It is always a fight keeping our families together and she was right in the middle of it. This was key in the fight that she was always a part of.”
Swinomish Tribal Member John LaPointe said he read Bennett’s book over the course of a weekend.
“I believe this book should be required reading for anyone before they graduate from high school. To me, it’s that important,” he said.
Tribal Councilman James Rideout said he is excited for Tribal youth to have the opportunity to read Bennett’s words.
“Without this history captured for our children, they are not going to have a guide to where their future is going to be. It will enable them to make better decisions and better outcomes to know what our Elders had fought for,” Rideout said. “It is very important for all of our children to understand the historical significance because it will help them in their future and where they are going.”
