War in Washington Territory
More than one hundred sixty years after the ratification of the Walla Walla council’s Treaty of 1855, it is essential to remember the checkered history of conflict and Native American subjugation in the Pacific Northwest. Even in a community that now seems to balance multiple cultures better than most, the history of the Yakama Reservation is nevertheless written in blood.
Frustration over increasing white settlement in the region erupted in violence on November 29, 1847, when a group of young Cayuse Indians murdered two missionaries. The Whitman Massacre is a seminal moment in Pacific Northwest history, and the ensuing years of retaliation, war, and subjugation were pivotal to creating the Washington we know today.
In an attempt to curb the violence, Governor Isaac Stevens met with multiple tribes from throughout the Washington Territory to discuss a treaty that was signed on June 9, 1855. The deal, among other things, forced the Yakama to cede over six million acres of their ancestral lands that ran from the Canadian border to the Columbia River.
The agreement created the Yakama Reservation while paying the tribe the paltry sum of $200,000 — about $5.5 million in today’s money — over a few years. It did, however, confederate fourteen tribes and bands into the Yakama Nation.
Later the same year, prospectors discovered gold in British Columbia, which led to a multitude of would-be Sam Brannan’s traversing the Yakama valley. As one might expect, the migrant miners treated the Yakama people they encountered with disdain. Yakama men, however, continued to resist throughout, usually by inciting small isolated incidents against miners trespassing their territory.
The 1855 treaty had specific language to protect tribal lands by restricting movement by miners and settlers across it. Further complicating matters, Governor Isaac Stevens opened the new U.S. land to settlers two weeks after signing the treaty; further angering Yakama leaders who believed they had two years to move onto their reservation.
Following the loss of several miners, Indian Bureau sub-agent Andrew Bolon made an ill-fated attempt to investigate their cause of death. Riding back to his headquarters in The Dalles, Oregon, Bolon encountered Yakama Chief Shumway’s son, Mosheel.
Without provocation, Mosheel murdered Bolon on September 23, 1855, provoking a shooting war between northwest native tribes and white settlers. Mosheel’s motives have never been clear; there exist three primary rumors: jealousy, revenge, and a nudge from his uncle, Kamiakin. Nevertheless, this action prompted a response from the U.S. Army garrison at Fort Walla Walla.
On October 5, 1855, gunfire erupted between Yakama Chief Kamiakin and his 300 warriors and Major Granville O. Haller’s 84-man troop of soldiers in the Battle of Toppenish Creek. Haller and his men retreated, giving Kamiakan a crucial victory.
A month later, on November 9, 1855, a force of 700 U.S. troops attacked Kamiakin and his warriors at Union Gap. By the next morning the Yakama, surrounded, had no other choice but to retreat.
By 1858, the Yakama had lost 90% of their traditional land and thus confined to a reservation. Their ability to gather traditional foods all but destroyed, many took refuge in their beliefs, hoping that in time, these practices would become their way of life.
These were but the opening salvos of a war between Indians and whites that engulfed Washington Territory from Seattle to Spokane and lasted until 1858. It was another year before Congress would ratify the treaty, March 8th, 1859. Hundreds perished in a territory-wide conflict that ultimately led to constrained life on reservations throughout what would become Washington state.
For more see Jo Miles’ fantastic book Kamiakan Country.
