Yakima War
Encyclopedia
The Yakima War was a conflict between the United States
and the Yakama
, a Sahaptian-speaking people on the Northwest Plateau, then Washington Territory
and now the southern interior of Eastern Washington
, from 1855 to 1858.
, which began in 1848, and its last phase is also known as the Coeur d'Alene War or Palouse War
. Together the Cayuse and Yakima Wars overall were the largest of the many Indian Wars
in the newly-declared Oregon
(1848) and Washington Territories
(1853), which were formed in the wake of the partition of the Oregon Country
with Britain
by the Treaty of Washington of 1846, although the later Nez Perce War
is generally more well-known.
and Yakima River
s on the plateau north of the Columbia, on the inland side of the Cascade Range
. In addition to long-standing relations with neighbouring tribes, they also had a long-established trade relationship with the Hudson's Bay Company
(HBC), based out of Forts Vancouver
, Walla Walla
and Okanagan dating back to the first trade with whites via the traders of the North West Company
(which was later absorbed into the HBC). The Cayuse and Yakama and other peoples of the region, all former clients of the HBC and friendly with the "King George" (British) and "Pasiooks" (French Canadian
/Metis
) traders of the Hudson's Bay, found themselves facing different attitudes and policies for dealing with aboriginal peoples. With the added pressure of an impending flood of settlers, this led to conflicts throughout the former Oregon Country
.
In May and June 1855, Isaac Stevens
, the first governor of the newly formed Washington Territory, and Joel Palmer
, Superintendent of the Oregon Territory
, enacted three treaties at the Walla Walla Council (1855)
. The Walla Walla
, the Umatilla
and the Cayuse
tribes were coerced to move from 4000000 acres (16,187.4 km²) of tribal lands to a reservation
in northeastern Oregon. Over time, this was reduced down to 95000 acres (384.5 km²). In the second treaty, fourteen different tribal groups agreed to go onto the Yakama Indian Reservation
, giving up a combined 29000 square miles (75,109.7 km²) of land. Under the third treaty, the Nez Perce were confined to a reservation that included parts of southeastern Washington, northeastern Oregon
, and west-central Idaho
.
The same year gold was discovered on the recently established Yakama reservation, and conflict erupted between encroaching white miners and tribes of the Plateau. The tribes eventually united together under the leadership of Yakama chief Kamiakin
, marking the start of the Yakima War.
that occurred on March 26, 1856. The native attackers included warriors from the Yakama
, Klickitat
, and Cascades tribes. Fourteen settlers and three soldiers died in the attack, the most losses for the invading forces during the Yakima War. U.S. reinforcements arrived on the following day to drive out the original inhabitants. The Yakama people were able to evade prosecution, but nine Cascades, including Chief Chenoweth, were charged and executed for "treason".
supervised the construction of Fort Simcoe
as a military post. Initially the conflict was limited to the Yakama, but eventually the Walla Walla and Cayuse were drawn into the war, following the lead of the Yakama, and a number of raids and battles took place. Perhaps the best known of these raids culminated in the Battle of Seattle
in which an unknown number of raiders briefly crossed the Cascade Range to engage settlers, Marines and the U.S. Navy before retiring.
commanded the Department of the Pacific
and sent a force under Col. George Wright
to deal with the recent fighting. At the Battle of Four Lakes
, near Spokane, Washington
, (September 1858), Wright inflicted a decisive defeat on the Indians. He then called a council of all the local Indians at Latah Creek (southwest of Spokane), and there on September 23 imposed a peace treaty, under which most of the tribes were to go to reservations.
fled north to what was then the Colony of British Columbia
(later a part of Canada
). Twenty four other chiefs were either hanged or shot. According to accounts by survivors, some of those who had surrendered, e.g. Qualchan
, were summarily executed by the United States Army. The Yakama people were forced onto a reservation south of the present city of Yakima
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the Yakama
Yakama
The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, or simply Yakama Nation , is a Native American group with nearly 10,000 enrolled members, living in Washington. Their reservation, along the Yakima River, covers an area of approximately 1.2 million acres...
, a Sahaptian-speaking people on the Northwest Plateau, then Washington Territory
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
and now the southern interior of Eastern Washington
Eastern Washington
Eastern Washington is the portion of the U.S. state of Washington east of the Cascade Range. The region contains the city of Spokane , the Tri-Cities, the Columbia River and the Grand Coulee Dam, the Hanford Nuclear Reservation and the fertile farmlands of the Yakima Valley and the...
, from 1855 to 1858.
Naming
This conflict is also referred to as the Yakima Indian War of 1855 and is often seen as a continuation of the Cayuse WarCayuse War
The Cayuse War was an armed conflict that took place in the Northwestern United States from 1847 to 1855 between the Cayuse people of the region and the United States Government and local Euro-American settlers...
, which began in 1848, and its last phase is also known as the Coeur d'Alene War or Palouse War
Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-Paloos War
The Coeur d'Alene War of 1858 was the second phase of the Yakima War, involving a series of encounters between the allied Coeur d’Alene, Spokane, Palouse and Northern Paiute against United States Army forces in the Washington and Idaho areas....
. Together the Cayuse and Yakima Wars overall were the largest of the many Indian Wars
Indian Wars
American Indian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe a series of conflicts between American settlers or the federal government and the native peoples of North America before and after the American Revolutionary War. The wars resulted from the arrival of European colonizers who...
in the newly-declared Oregon
Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...
(1848) and Washington Territories
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
(1853), which were formed in the wake of the partition of the Oregon Country
Oregon Country
The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
with Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
by the Treaty of Washington of 1846, although the later Nez Perce War
Nez Perce War
The Nez Perce War was an armed conflict between the Nez Perce and the United States government fought in 1877 as part of the American Indian Wars. After a series of battles in which both the U.S. Army and native people sustained significant casualties, the Nez Perce surrendered and were relocated...
is generally more well-known.
Background
In the mid-19th Century the Yakama Indians lived along the ColumbiaColumbia River
The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...
and Yakima River
Yakima River
The Yakima River is a tributary of the Columbia River in south central and eastern Washington State, named for the indigenous Yakama people. The length of the river from headwaters to mouth is , with an average drop of .-Course:...
s on the plateau north of the Columbia, on the inland side of the Cascade Range
Cascade Range
The Cascade Range is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, and the notable volcanoes known as the High Cascades...
. In addition to long-standing relations with neighbouring tribes, they also had a long-established trade relationship with the Hudson's Bay Company
Hudson's Bay Company
The Hudson's Bay Company , abbreviated HBC, or "The Bay" is the oldest commercial corporation in North America and one of the oldest in the world. A fur trading business for much of its existence, today Hudson's Bay Company owns and operates retail stores throughout Canada...
(HBC), based out of Forts Vancouver
Fort Vancouver
Fort Vancouver was a 19th century fur trading outpost along the Columbia River that served as the headquarters of the Hudson's Bay Company in the company's Columbia District...
, Walla Walla
Fort Walla Walla
Fort Walla Walla is a fort located in Walla Walla, Washington. It was established in 1858. Today, the complex contains a park, a museum, and a hospital.Fort Walla Walla should be distinguished from Fort Nez Percés or Old Fort Walla Walla ....
and Okanagan dating back to the first trade with whites via the traders of the North West Company
North West Company
The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what was to become Western Canada...
(which was later absorbed into the HBC). The Cayuse and Yakama and other peoples of the region, all former clients of the HBC and friendly with the "King George" (British) and "Pasiooks" (French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
/Metis
Métis people (Canada)
The Métis are one of the Aboriginal peoples in Canada who trace their descent to mixed First Nations parentage. The term was historically a catch-all describing the offspring of any such union, but within generations the culture syncretised into what is today a distinct aboriginal group, with...
) traders of the Hudson's Bay, found themselves facing different attitudes and policies for dealing with aboriginal peoples. With the added pressure of an impending flood of settlers, this led to conflicts throughout the former Oregon Country
Oregon Country
The Oregon Country was a predominantly American term referring to a disputed ownership region of the Pacific Northwest of North America. The region was occupied by British and French Canadian fur traders from before 1810, and American settlers from the mid-1830s, with its coastal areas north from...
.
In May and June 1855, Isaac Stevens
Isaac Stevens
Isaac Ingalls Stevens was the first governor of Washington Territory, a United States Congressman, and a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War until his death at the Battle of Chantilly...
, the first governor of the newly formed Washington Territory, and Joel Palmer
Joel Palmer
General Joel Palmer was an American pioneer of the Oregon Territory in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. He was born in Canada, and spent his early years in New York and Pennsylvania before serving as a member of the Indiana House of Representatives.Palmer traveled to the Oregon...
, Superintendent of the Oregon Territory
Oregon Territory
The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. Originally claimed by several countries , the region was...
, enacted three treaties at the Walla Walla Council (1855)
Walla Walla Council (1855)
The Walla Walla Council was a meeting in the Pacific Northwest between the United States and sovereign tribal bodies of the Cayuse, Nez Perce, Umatilla, Walla Walla, and Yakama. The treaties signed at this council were ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1859...
. The Walla Walla
Walla Walla (tribe)
Walla Walla |Native American]] tribe of the northwestern United States. The reduplication of the word expresses the diminutive form. The name "Walla Walla" is translated several ways but most often as "many waters."...
, the Umatilla
Umatilla (tribe)
The Umatilla are a Sahaptin-speaking Native American group living on the Umatilla Indian Reservation, who traditionally inhabited the Columbia Plateau region of the northwestern United States....
and the Cayuse
Cayuse
The Cayuse are a Native American tribe in the state of Oregon in the United States. The Cayuse tribe shares a reservation in northeastern Oregon with the Umatilla and the Walla Walla tribes as part of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation...
tribes were coerced to move from 4000000 acres (16,187.4 km²) of tribal lands to a reservation
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation is a federally recognized confederation of three Sahaptin-speaking Native American tribes who traditionally inhabited the Columbia River Plateau region: the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla....
in northeastern Oregon. Over time, this was reduced down to 95000 acres (384.5 km²). In the second treaty, fourteen different tribal groups agreed to go onto the Yakama Indian Reservation
Yakama Indian Reservation
The Yakama Indian Reservation is a United States Indian reservation located on the east side of the Cascade Mountains in southern Washington. It is the homeland of the Yakama tribe of Native Americans....
, giving up a combined 29000 square miles (75,109.7 km²) of land. Under the third treaty, the Nez Perce were confined to a reservation that included parts of southeastern Washington, northeastern Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, and west-central Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
.
The same year gold was discovered on the recently established Yakama reservation, and conflict erupted between encroaching white miners and tribes of the Plateau. The tribes eventually united together under the leadership of Yakama chief Kamiakin
Chief Kamiakin
Chief Kamiakin was a leader of the Yakama, Palouse, and Klickitat.-Early years:Kamiakin was born about 1800 near present-day Starbuck, Washington. His name means "He Won't Go" derived from ka - miah - kamman...
, marking the start of the Yakima War.
Cascades Massacre
The Cascades Massacre was an attempt to repel white settlers who had usurped the land of Native Americans at the Cascades RapidsCascades Rapids
The Cascades Rapids were an area of rapids along North America's Columbia River, between the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon. Through a stretch approximately wide, the river dropped about in .-Boat portage:Boat travelers were forced to either portage boats and supplies or pull boats up with...
that occurred on March 26, 1856. The native attackers included warriors from the Yakama
Yakama
The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, or simply Yakama Nation , is a Native American group with nearly 10,000 enrolled members, living in Washington. Their reservation, along the Yakima River, covers an area of approximately 1.2 million acres...
, Klickitat
Klickitat Tribe
The Klickitat are a Native American tribe of the Pacific Northwest. A Shahaptian tribe, their eastern neighbors were the Yakama, who speak a closely related language. Their western neighbors were various Salishan and Chinookan tribes...
, and Cascades tribes. Fourteen settlers and three soldiers died in the attack, the most losses for the invading forces during the Yakima War. U.S. reinforcements arrived on the following day to drive out the original inhabitants. The Yakama people were able to evade prosecution, but nine Cascades, including Chief Chenoweth, were charged and executed for "treason".
Puget Sound War
The U.S. Army arrived in the summer of 1856 and that August Robert S. GarnettRobert S. Garnett
Robert Selden Garnett was a career military officer, serving in the United States Army until the American Civil War, when he became a Confederate States Army brigadier general. He was the first general officer killed in the Civil War.-Early life and career:Garnett was born at the family plantation...
supervised the construction of Fort Simcoe
Fort Simcoe
Fort Simcoe was a United States Army fort erected in south-central Washington Territory to house troops sent to keep watch over local Indian tribes...
as a military post. Initially the conflict was limited to the Yakama, but eventually the Walla Walla and Cayuse were drawn into the war, following the lead of the Yakama, and a number of raids and battles took place. Perhaps the best known of these raids culminated in the Battle of Seattle
Battle of Seattle (1856)
The Battle of Seattle was a January 26, 1856 attack by native Americans upon Seattle, Washington. At the time, Seattle was a settlement in the Washington Territory that had recently named itself after Chief Seattle , a leader of the Suquamish and Duwamish peoples of central Puget Sound.Backed by...
in which an unknown number of raiders briefly crossed the Cascade Range to engage settlers, Marines and the U.S. Navy before retiring.
Coeur d'Alene War
The last phase of the conflict, sometimes referred to as the Coeur d'Alene War, came in 1858. General Newman S. ClarkeNewman S. Clarke
Newman S. Clarke was a career military officer in the United States army who served with distinction during the Mexican-American War.Clarke was born in Connecticut and served in the United States Army during the War of 1812. At the outbreak of the Mexican-American War in 1846, he was appointed...
commanded the Department of the Pacific
Department of the Pacific
The Department of the Pacific was a major command of the United States Army during the 19th century.-Formation:The Department of the Pacific was first organized on October 31, 1853, at San Francisco, California, taking over from the previous Pacific Division. The department reported directly to...
and sent a force under Col. George Wright
George Wright (general)
George Wright was an American soldier who served in the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
to deal with the recent fighting. At the Battle of Four Lakes
Battle of Four Lakes
The Battle of Four Lakes was a battle during a US Army expedition against a confederation of Indian tribes in Washington and Idaho. Indian resistance to U.S. troops in the area had continued as part of the Yakima War. Commander of the Department of the Pacific, General Newman S. Clarke sent a...
, near Spokane, Washington
Spokane, Washington
Spokane is a city located in the Northwestern United States in the state of Washington. It is the largest city of Spokane County of which it is also the county seat, and the metropolitan center of the Inland Northwest region...
, (September 1858), Wright inflicted a decisive defeat on the Indians. He then called a council of all the local Indians at Latah Creek (southwest of Spokane), and there on September 23 imposed a peace treaty, under which most of the tribes were to go to reservations.
Aftermath
KamiakinChief Kamiakin
Chief Kamiakin was a leader of the Yakama, Palouse, and Klickitat.-Early years:Kamiakin was born about 1800 near present-day Starbuck, Washington. His name means "He Won't Go" derived from ka - miah - kamman...
fled north to what was then the Colony of British Columbia
Colony of British Columbia
The Colony of British Columbia was a crown colony in British North America from 1858 until 1866. At its creation, it physically constituted approximately half the present day Canadian province of British Columbia, since it did not include the Colony of Vancouver Island, the vast and still largely...
(later a part of Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
). Twenty four other chiefs were either hanged or shot. According to accounts by survivors, some of those who had surrendered, e.g. Qualchan
Qualchan
Qualchan was a 19th century Yakama chieftain who participated in the Yakima War with his uncle Kamiakin and other chieftains. Shortly after the Walla Walla council in 1855, in which Yakama leaders warned the United States against further settlement of the area, Qualchan and five others killed six...
, were summarily executed by the United States Army. The Yakama people were forced onto a reservation south of the present city of Yakima
Yakima, Washington
Yakima is an American city southeast of Mount Rainier National Park and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, United States, and the eighth largest city by population in the state itself. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 91,196 and a metropolitan population of...
.
See also
- Bannock WarBannock WarThe Bannock War was a series of conflicts in 1878 between various Bannock, Northern Shoshone and Paiute tribes against the United States.- Background :...
- Cayuse WarCayuse WarThe Cayuse War was an armed conflict that took place in the Northwestern United States from 1847 to 1855 between the Cayuse people of the region and the United States Government and local Euro-American settlers...
- Fort DallesFort DallesFort Dalles was a United States Army outpost located on the Columbia River at the present site of The Dalles, Oregon, in the United States. Built when Oregon was a territory, the post was used mainly for dealing with wars with Native Americans...
- Fraser Canyon WarFraser Canyon WarThe Fraser Canyon War, also known as the Canyon War or the Fraser River War, was an incident between the Nlaka'pamux people and white miners in the newly declared Colony of British Columbia, which later became part of Canada, in 1858. It occurred during the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush, which brought a...
- Nez Perce WarNez Perce WarThe Nez Perce War was an armed conflict between the Nez Perce and the United States government fought in 1877 as part of the American Indian Wars. After a series of battles in which both the U.S. Army and native people sustained significant casualties, the Nez Perce surrendered and were relocated...
- Okanagan TrailOkanagan TrailThe Okanagan Trail was an inland route to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush from the Lower Columbia region of the Washington and Oregon Territories in 1858-1859...
- Rogue River War
- Spokane-Coeur d'Alene-Paloos WarSpokane-Coeur d'Alene-Paloos WarThe Coeur d'Alene War of 1858 was the second phase of the Yakima War, involving a series of encounters between the allied Coeur d’Alene, Spokane, Palouse and Northern Paiute against United States Army forces in the Washington and Idaho areas....
Literature
- Hubert H. Bancroft, History Of Washington, Idaho, and Montana, 1845-1889, The History Company, San Francisco, 1890. Chapter VI Indian Wars 1855-1856 and V Indian Wars 1856-1858
- Ray Hoard Glassley: Indian Wars of the Pacific Northwest, Binfords & Mort, Portland, Oregon 1972 ISBN 0-8323-0014-4
External links
- Yakama (Yakima) Indian War begins on October 5, 1855. HistoryLink.org Essay 5311
- Major Gabriel Rains and 700 soldiers and volunteers skirmish with Yakama warriors under Kamiakin at Union Gap on November 9, 1855. HistoryLink.org Essay 8124
- Yakama tribesmen slay Indian Subagent Andrew J. Bolon near Toppenish Creek on September 23, 1855. HistoryLink.org Essay 8118
- Guide to the Yakima War (1856-1858) at the University of Oregon.