March 8, 1970: Daybreak Star's Groundbreaking

It's not often, and not often enough, when indigenous peoples invade the lands of their erstwhile invaders to reclaim what was theirs in the first place. So white lefties in a certain city named with much-noted phonetic ineptitude after a Duwamish tribal leader may, if so inclined, indulge in an ironic pride at the fact that such an invasion occurred on the date in focus here in Seattle. On that fateful Sunday, roughly 100 members and supporters of United Indian People's Council took direct action to reclaim Fort Lawton, a 1,100-acre US military base located in Magnolia that had recently been declared surplus by the US Army.

UIPC's goal was the creation of a cultural center and social services provider for all Pacific Northwest indigenous peoples, with a focus on the First Nations of the Puget Sound region. Their claim to legal ownership of the land at Fort Lawton was based on rights granted under certain US-Indian treaties signed in 1865 that promised reversion of surplus military lands to their original owners. Participants in the action included Bob Satiacum, a Puyallup tribal leader and native treaty fishing rights advocate; Bernie Whitebear of the Colville Confederated Tribe; and Leonard Peltier, future American Indian Movement leader and political prisoner, at the time a Seattle resident.

The symbolic and peaceful "invasion" was repelled (albeit bloodlessly) by military police, and appeared at the time to be a defeat for UIPC. However, the persistence of the activists involved, who continued to confront the federal government concerning their claim to Fort Lawton, soon led to a victory when, in November 1971, their demands were finally granted. The resulting local institution, Daybreak Star Cultural Center, opened on May 13, 1977 under the auspices and operation of UIPC (now known as United Indians of All Tribes) and was directed by Bernie Whitebear until his death in July 2000. Sources: Seattle Times and Seattle Post-Intelligencer archives; Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project (www.civilrights.washington.edu).