The Yakama War

n October 1805, the Yakama encountered the Lewis and Clark Expedition near the confluence of the Yakima and Columbia rivers. By fifty years later, so many European and American trappers, traders, and eventually, settlers, had arrived in the area, putting demands on the land and resources, that federal government officials called a council meeting with the local tribal nations to negotiate a treaty by which the native people would move on to reservations in exchange for federal benefits.

The tribal nations, including the Yakama, signed the treaty--reluctantly--in June 1855, but it had to be ratified by the US Senate before it would go into effect. In the meantime, miners and settlers were supposed to stay off of Yakama land.

However, with the discovery of gold, the miners started to trespass, stealing horses and assaulting women in the process. Yakama warriors killed minors in response. Soon, war broke out between the Yakama and the federal government, lasting until 1858. On March 8, 1859, the US Senate finally ratified the 1855 treaty.

Joining me to help us learn more about the Yakama War is Emily Washines, who is an enrolled Yakama Nation tribal member with Cree and Skokomish lineage. Emily is a scholar whose research topics ​ include the Yakama War, Native women, traditional knowledge, resource management, fishing rights, and food sovereignty. She runs the Native Friends Blog and hosts the War Cry Podcast.

Our theme song is Frogs Legs Rag, composed by James Scott and performed by Kevin MacLeod, licensed under Creative Commons. The episode image is courtesy of Emily Washines.

Suggested Organization for Donations:

• Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women USA

Selected Sources:

• Yakama Nation History, Yakama Nation Website
• “This Week Then: Take a Look Back on the Yakama War” by Alan Stein, Seattle Magazine, November 27, 2018
• “It Happened Here: Treaty of 1855 took land, created the Yakama Nation” by Donald W. Meyers, Yakima Herald, June 4, 2017
• “Yakama War History Project Seeks Descendants Of U.S. Army Combatants” by Tom Banse, NW News Network, August 9, 2017
• “Yakama War: Ayat” Native Friends
• “Yakama Indian War begins on October 5, 1855” by Paula Becker, History Link, February 26, 2003
• The 1858 Yakama War...Fort Simcoe's Story of the 9th U.S. Army Infantry and their Western Prong Attack Campaign, by Steve Charles Plucker, 2016
• “The Yakama War [video],” KCTS9, November 12, 2018

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