still observed, the entire community shares the flesh of a Spring Chinook. They return its remains to the river where it was caught. This is so the salmon can inform the other fish of how well it was received. The other ceremony for the first salmon is to roast it until it becomes ashes. The Muckleshoot toss the bones and ashes back into the water or stream where they took the salmon, believing that the fish would come alive again (be part of a round of new propagation). With a seemingly endless supply of food, the people could engage in various crafts, including weaving, wood-carving, and basket-making. A complex social structure also emerged, consisting of a nobility, middle class, and slaves. The latter were generally captured members of other tribes taken in raids or warfare. Colonial contact Coast Salish life changed radically as a result of first encounters with European and American traders and explorers. Lacking immunity to the newcomers' infectious diseases, the native population became decimated by the mid-nineteenth century. At the same time, amicable relations with American settlers deteriorated as whites began claiming choice land for themselves and encroaching on Salish territory. They tried to prevent the Native Americans from hunting and fishing in their traditional territories. In a last-ditch attempt to stem the tide of white colonization, the Muckleshoot allied with other local peoples in the Puget Sound Indian War (1855–1856). Upon their defeat, they were forced under a Treaty into a tiny reservation near present-day Auburn, Washington. 20th century to present The peoples on the Muckleshoot Reservation cooperated and began to build a common culture. In the 1930s, they organized to set up a constitutional, elected government, adopting their constitution in 1936. They established more self-government, under an elected Tribal Council. Tensions with whites and mainstream society abated only slightly, however. In the early 20th century, many ethnic Japanese established farms in the Green River Valley, cultivating the fertile land for agriculture. From fear and racial discrimination, the government ordered ethnic Japanese to be interned and transported out of the area to camps inland during the war. Many lost their houses, businesses, and property. After litigation and court challenges in the late 20th century, the US government formally apologized to their representatives, passing a law to pay compensation to survivors and descendants. A large Army quartermaster depot was established in the Green River Valley at the