Framing Chief Leschi

In 1855 in the South Puget Sound war broke out between Washington settlers and Nisqually Indians. A party of militiamen traveling through Nisqually country was ambushed and two men were shot from behind and fatally wounded. After the war Chief Leschi a Nisqually leader was found guilty of murder by a jury of settlers and hanged in the territory’s first judicial execution. But some 150 years later in 2004 the Historical Court of Justice a symbolic tribunal that convened in a Tacoma museum reexamined Leschi’s murder conviction and posthumously exonerated him. In <i>Framing Chief Leschi</i> Lisa Blee uses this fascinating case to uncover the powerful lasting implications of the United States' colonial past.<br/><br/>Though the Historical Court’s verdict was celebrated by Nisqually people and many non-Indian citizens of Washington Blee argues that the proceedings masked fundamental limits on justice for Indigenous people seeking self-determination. Underscoring critical questions about history and memory <i>Framing Chief Leschi</i> challenges readers to consider whether liberal legal structures can accommodate competing narratives and account for the legacies of colonialism to promote social justice today.