British Columbia seeks apology for 1884 lynching by U.S. vigilantes

[NNN0LHI]

http://159.54.227.3/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051225/NEWS06/51225020

Sto:lo Indian boy was framed for murder across border, historian says

The Associated Press

VICTORIA, British Columbia — British Columbia’s lieutenant governor is asking her counterpart in Washington state to arrange an apology for the 1884 lynching of a 14-year-old Sto:lo Indian boy by an American mob.

Louie Sam was being held by provincial authorities in February 1884 when more than 100 Americans came across the border on horseback, abducted the boy and hanged him.

He was suspected in the killing of a shopkeeper in Nooksack, in what is now Washington state’s Whatcom County. Washington did not become a state for another five years, in 1889.

The lynching has not been forgotten by the Sto:lo or historians, who believe the boy died for a killing he didn’t commit.

[Lisa]

1. an incredibly sad story ...

The local paper here on Vancouver Island had a write-up of the incident, this month. The whole thing becomes quite the murder mystery -- I had no idea that BC was such a hotbed of intrigue and unrest, in the 1800s (and well into the 20th century). The CBC's been looking for real Canadian history stories to dramatize -- this would be a prime candidate.

"To keep the peace, the B.C. government sent the undercover officers south, posing as laborers. They returned with statements from witnesses that implicated two Washington men, including the man who recruited Louie Sam for the nonexistent job and later took over Bell’s business. The other man married Bell’s widow."

[MrSlayer]

2. Not an unreasonable request.

Even if it's well over a hundred years ago. Apologize and let the matter rest.