This week in Seattle history

Here is a look at some of the March events that shaped Seattle and Washington from HistoryLink , an online encyclopedia of state history.

March 8, 1921: Washington Governor Louis F. Hart signed the Alien Land Bill barring non-white immigrants from buying, owning, or leasing land in the state.

• The bill mandated the confiscation of any land purchased before or after the act's passage, without compensating the immigrant owners.
• It wasn't repealed until 1967.

March 8, 1970: Native American protesters and their supporters clashed with military police in an attempt to reclaim Fort Lawton for local tribes.

• The protests were led by Bob Satiacum and by Bernie Whitebear , who would go on to found Daybreak Star Indian Cultural Center in today's Discovery Park.
• Native American activist Leonard Peltier and actress Jane Fonda joined the demonstrations.

March 9, 1995: Washington Secretary of State Ralph Munro joined Gov. Mike Lowry to launch a " Free Lolita! " campaign urging the release of Lolita, the captive orca locally known as Tokitae, who was taken from Penn Cove off Whidbey Island and later sold to Miami Seaquarium.

• Despite ongoing protests by activists and several lawsuits, Lolita remained at the Seaquarium until her death last year .

March 11, 1952: Seattle voters defeat a hotly contested proposal to add fluoride to the city's drinking water by an overwhelming margin.

• Seattle voters defeated fluoridation again in 1963, but later approved it in 1968 at the recommendation of dentists who said it would help fight tooth decay.

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