Fighting for the Puyallup Tribe

A compelling on-the-ground account of Native activism in the Northwest

A relentless advocate for Native rights, Ramona Bennett Bill has been involved in the battles waged by the Puyallup and other Northwest tribes around fishing rights, land rights, health, and education for over six decades. This invaluable firsthand account includes stories of the takeover of Fort Lawton as well as events from major Red Power struggles, including Alcatraz, Wounded Knee, and the Trail of Broken Treaties. She shares her experiences at the Puyallup fishing camp established during the Fish War of the 1960s and 1970s, which led to the federal intervention that eventually resulted in the Boldt Decision. She also covers the 1976 occupation of a state-run facility on reservation land and the lobbying that led to the property’s return to the tribe.

Bennett Bill served for nearly a dozen years as a Puyallup Tribal Council member and ten as chairwoman, organizing social welfare, education, and enrollment initiatives and championing Native religious freedom. Her advocacy for Native children, especially those who had been adopted out of their community, helped pave the way for the Indian Child Welfare Act. Now in her mid-eighties, she continues to organize for Native rights and environmental justice. The book is full of vivid stories of her fearless testimony in courtrooms and press conferences on issues affecting Indian Country, and of the many friends and comrades she made along the way.

"Refusing to separate her own story from her people's, [Ramona Bennett Bill] combines autobiography with political and cultural memory into a narrative that presents sovereignty as a pathway for the betterment of her tribal community, and in many instances, to merely survive. . . . What makes Fighting for the Puyallup Tribe such a compelling work is its unwavering refusal to sanitize or sugarcoat history. Bennett does not romanticize activism or hide its conflicts or personal costs. Instead, she provides a vividly personal and honest portrait of struggle that is both brave and painfully human, capturing the raw realities faced by those fighting for their rights."

"Ramona Bennett Bill's remarkable memoir details her decades of activism and service to the Puyallup and other tribes of the Northwest. . . . [A] compelling debut."