The Yakima (or Yakama) tribe of Native Americans originally lived along the Columbia, Yakima, and Wenatchee rivers in what is now south-central Washington State. They continue to occupy a large reservation in a portion of their traditional homeland.

Society and culture

The territory of the Yakima was unusually rich in natural resources. They moved each season to take full advantage of the many food sources available. The Yakima began the year in their permanent winter villages. Built along rivers, Yakima villages were clusters of lodges. These houses were made from a wooden frame covered by mats woven from leaves.

In the spring the Yakima moved to areas where edible wild plants grew. While gathering the root of the camas plant, they also visited with other Indians who lived near their root grounds.

In early summer the Yakima headed for the banks of the Columbia River to fish. They caught salmon as the fish made their annual run upriver. Fish were the tribe's most important source of food. When autumn came the Yakima set off for the Cascade Mountains to hunt and gather berries. They also spent the season drying salmon and other fish so they would have enough food during the winter months.

The Yakima way of life changed when they obtained horses from other tribes in the early 1700s. On horseback they could travel longer distances more easily. They started journeying east into the Great Plains. After contact with Plains Indians, they changed their style of clothing and began to use tepees while on the hunt.

History

In 1805 the Yakima had their first encounter with non-Indians when the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed through their lands. Soon other U.S. settlers arrived. The Yakima were happy to deal with the traders, but most of them resisted the missionaries' efforts to convert them to Christianity.

In 1855 Isaac Stevens, the governor of Washington Territory, negotiated treaties with the Yakima and other Indian groups in the area. The treaties called for the Indians to surrender their homelands and move onto small tracts of land called reservations. Then Stevens broke the treaty by allowing immediate white settlement on Indian lands. In response, the Yakima chief Kamiakan put together an alliance of tribes including the Walla Walla, Cayuse, and Umatilla. Together the tribes waged a war to drive all non-Indians from their land. The Yakima War and other nearby conflicts were bitterly fought until 1858, when United States forces captured and executed several important Yakima leaders.

After their defeat the Yakima were forced to move to the Yakima Indian Reservation, which they shared with people from 13 other bands and tribes. Throughout the rest of the 19th century non-Indians took over many of their best fishing and hunting grounds. In the 20th century the Columbia River was dammed, blocking salmon runs. In the 1960s and 1970s the Yakima waged several successful legal battles over fishing rights.

More than 8,000 Yakima lived in the United States at the end of the 20th century. The tribe operates several business and manages the Yakima Nation Cultural Heritage Center. Many Yakima still perform traditional religious ceremonies. Others are members of Christian churches, including the Indian Shaker Religion, which combines Indian and Christian beliefs.