1866: Chief Seattle Dies

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On June 7, 1866 at 1 p.m. Chief Seattle, the leader of the Duwamish and Suquamish tribes in whose honor Seattle was named, dies in north Kitsap County at Old Man House.

Chief Seattle (178?-1866), or si?al in his native Lushootseed language, led the Duwamish and Suquamish Tribes as the first Euro-American settlers arrived in the greater Seattle area in the 1850s.

Baptized Noah by Catholic missionaries, Seattle was regarded as a "firm friend of the Whites," who named the region's future central city in his honor.

He was a respected leader among Salish tribes, signing the Point Elliott (Mukilteo) Treaty of 1855, which relinquished tribal claims to most of the area, and opposing Native American attempts to dislodge settlers during the "Indian Wars" of 1855-1856.

Chief Seattle retired to the Suquamish Reservation at Port Madison, and died there on June 7, 1866.

His grave is still one of the most honored in the reservation's cemetery, and he is known as the greatest Chief of the Suquamish tribes.