02/20/2026
This week in history:
On February 19th, 1858 Chief Leschi of the Nisqually was hanged following accusations of murdering an American militiaman. He and his brother Quiemuth had lead the Nisqually tribe along with the Puyallup and upper Duwamish tribes during the Puget Sound Treaty Wars starting in 1855.
The war started following the signing of the Medicine Creek Treaty in 1854 which forced the tribes to give up their land and be placed on reservations. It is disputed on if Leschi's signature was forged or given under protest. During the war the reservation for the Nisqually's was expanded from 1,200 acres to 4,700 acres and included part of the Nisqually River.
Leschi was captured in 1856 and was sentenced to death in June 1857. Following his hanging some of the officials involved stated they made the wrong choice. In 2004, the Nisqually Tribe were able to get him exonerated by the Washington State Supreme Court.
Source: https://www.dupontmuseum.com/chief-leschi
Carpenter, Cecelia Svinth, Maria Victoria Pascualy and Trisha Hunter. "Nisqually Indian Tribe." Arcadia Publishing, 2008.
