C. B. Suzen Timentwa papers

Collection

Identifier: MS 0683

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The C. B. Suzen Timentwa papers (1893-1999) consist of correspondence, writings, financial records, meeting minutes, reports, and publications that C. B. Suzen Timentwa (1883-1949) collected during his tenure as hereditary chief of the Methow Tribe on the Colville Indian Reservation in eastern Washington. The papers, which were found in a traditional Methow basket, had no apparent order. Through processing the collection, many documents were reunited into wholes. However, several incomplete documents remain. The material is divided into the following sections: Correspondence, Personal Papers, Subject Files, Reservation Materials, and Publications.

Section I, Correspondence (1921-1979, bulk 1934-1949), consists of two boxes. The first box is divided into two alphabetized sections--people and organizations--which contain both sent and received letters which address general matters. Some typewritten drafts are also included in the collection. Timentwa's own letters are chronologically filed in each folder. It is difficult to discern if Timentwa sent all the letters as many are carbon copies. Furthermore, Timentwa rarely followed a consistent style, therefore a document was only considered a letter if it was addressed to someone and had a date and signature. Although the majority of the letters are originals, there are some carbon copies and a few photocopies. The letters in Box 2 are organized alphabetically by subject. Some letters in Box 2 may have been written by an organization or person listed in Box 1, but the letters have one subject and thus have been included in subject folders where they can be viewed within the chronological context of a particular matter. Timentwa's letters are also present in this collection of correspondence according to their content and date. The final folders in this box contain both hand-written drafts by Timentwa and others as well as miscellaneous correspondence which could not be placed either by subject or author.

Section II, Personal Papers (1921-1961, bulk 1921-1949), consists primarily of Timentwa's writings, but also include some financial documents. Folders 1-3 in Box 3 contain receipts and World War II ration stamps as well as chronologically-arranged envelopes received from the Washington State Department of Social Security (changed in 1947 to the Department of Public Welfare) which are marked with hand-written dates and dollar amounts. The remainder of Boxes 3 and 4 consist of notebooks, petitions and items Timentwa has labeled as "Claims" and "Statements." These items contain references to Grand Coulee Dam, World War II, and reservation issues such as fishing and hunting rights.

Section III, Subject Files (1928 to 1999), consists of one box of documents written by Timentwa and others that have been sorted and alphabetized by subject. Included are histories and commentary by Timentwa about the importance to Indian rights and history of Christopher Columbus, George Washington, and William Penn.

Section IV, Reservation Materials (1883-1951), consists of meeting minutes of the Colville Business Council as well as reports on reservation land matters. The meeting minutes are arranged chronologically. Timentwa appears rarely in the meeting minutes which are filled with transcribed verbal exchanges between council members about topics such as land sales, grazing matters, and beaver trapping. Reports in this section concern land programs and the Revolving Credit Fund which the council used to lend money to Colville Indians for cattle purchases.

Section V, Publications (1932-1948), contains national and local newsletters and magazines in addition to books and news clippings. Colville Reservation publications like Skookum Wawa (once called Indians) provide information about events on the reservation as well as editorials by Commissioner of Indian Affairs John Collier. Publications have been arranged alphabetically. Timentwa's news clippings collection, which has been photocopied, displays his interest in World War II as well and his fascination with boxing, horses, and the "bizarre," such as stories about quadruplets and two-headed babies. Concluding Section V are Timentwa's books, which include a United States history book, a history of the Jesuits in the Northwest, a book of fiction, and a prayer book.

Dates

1893-1999

Creator

Timentwa, C.B. Suzen, 1883-1949 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.

Conditions Governing Use

The library does not claim to control copyright for all materials in the collection. An individual depicted in a reproduction has privacy rights as outlined in Title 45 CFR, part 46 (Protection of Human Subjects). For further information, please review the J. Willard Marriott Library’s Use Agreement and Reproduction Request forms.

Biographical Sketch

C. B. Suzen Timentwa was born in 1883 in eastern Washington on the Colville Indian Reservation--the same reservation that the famous Nez Perce leader, Chief Joseph, was sent to in 1885 to live out the remainder of his life. Timentwa was thus born during an age when western Indians were very mobile, when traditions were prevalent, and when the United States government was still trying to contain rebel groups of Indians who refused to be cofined within the artificial cordons of reservations. Timentwa absorbed time-honored traditions while also adjusting to interaction with Anglo society. Although he received no formal education, he learned to read, write, and speak English in addition to his native language. English was not the only element of Anglo society he absorbed, he also assumed the Shaker religion. In fact, Timentwa provided land on his own allotment for the construction of the Colville Reservation's Shaker church. Little is known about Timentwa during the first twenty-five years of his life other than that he was known as Kinamilt, and not C. B. Suzen (Timentwa also signed his name once as Cow Boy Sh-sahna). In 1900 it was rumored he had a vision in which he saw people flying in the air and traveling on land much faster than could be done with a horse and buggy. The earliest record of Timentwa's activities dates from 1912, when he was sentenced to six months in jail for living in adultery with a woman named Lucy whose husband had been jailed for stealing a horse. When pressed to answer for his actions, Timentwa responded that he had to stay with Lucy to care for her three children. In 1914, Timentwa once again ran into trouble with the law when he was found guilty of drunkenness. By this time, Timentwa had earned himself an unsavory reputation among some, including the Colville Superintendent, who unflatteringly described him as a "chronic complainer," who gambled, drank, and participated in unprogressive activities such as protesting railroad construction, allotments, and the right of Anglos to purchase surplus tribal lands.

Although unpopular with the superintendent, Timentwa had no trouble finding support among his own tribe, and in 1919 he succeeded Charley Swimpkin as chief of the Methow Tribe. As a critic of young Indians and half-bloods who scorned tradition, Timentwa acquired the reputation of being bigoted and unreasonable. Timentwa, however, believed he was working for the betterment of the tribe. He believed that Indians were the original citizens of America and thus had original title to the land. According to Timentwa, Christopher Columbus had established an agreement with the Indians in 1492 which recognized the Indians' rights to all lands. Timentwa respected this legend as legal verification of his own claims and fought to preserve the integrity of Indian land holdings by contesting land sales to whites and the government's program to terminate the reservation. Timentwa also sought to preserve traditional hunting and fishing privilege and lobbied to establish fees for Anglo hunters who wanted to hunt or fish on the reservation. Along these lines, Timentwa wrote numerous letters in which he demanded the government compensate him and other Colville Indians who experienced decreased fish yields after the construction of the Grand Coulee Dam. Timentwa also fought policies that allowed Indians to serve overseas in World War Two because he thought Indians should only defend their home soil and should not be required to risk their lives for a country that had taken so much from them.

Timentwa's good intentions could not obscure his bad behaviors, and in 1928 he was jailed for gambling. The following year, a group of younger Indians challenged Timentwa's chieftainship, claiming he was elected by Canadian Indians whose votes should not have counted. Younger Indians triumphed over Timentwa in 1937, when the Colville Reservation established a constitution and tribal council known as the Colville Business Council. The council challenged the authority that Timentwa could wield. The tribal council became the official governing body of the tribe. Timentwa preserved some of his power, however, by getting elected to the tribal council. Timentwa rarely attended the meetings and appears infrequently in the meeting minutes. His absences were often because he was bed-ridden. In fact, Timentwa's health was poor throughout the 1940s and he frequently mentioned his health in the letters which he continued to write up to his death in 1949.