YAKAMA

YAKAMA. Calling themselves Mamachatpam, the Native inhabitants of south central Washington State occupied the drainage of the Yakima River, a major tributary of the Columbia River. These five bands spoke Sahaptian languages and engaged in plant harvesting, hunting, and fishing, particularly salmon fishing. In the late twentieth century, nuclear waste, dams, and water diverted to irrigation destroyed many traditional foods. Although they suffered various epidemics, there were roughly 10,000 Yakamas at the end of the twentieth century, or double their estimated precontact population. The arrival of horses in the 1730s expanded their mobility and allowed the Yakamas to hunt bison on the northern Plains under the leadership of Weowich. The increased need for horse pastures led the Yakamas to explore the coastal meadows and villages east of the Cascade Mountains; this spread their language and led them to intermarry with other tribes in the region. By the mid-1800s, the Yakamas were led by three brothers, Kamiakin, Skloom, Shawaway, and their uncles, Teias and Owhi, who served as leaders of the native resistance during the 1855 Treaty War, which was fought in the aftermath of their forced land surrender. Despite strong pressures, such as withholding food and supplies, from the Methodist James Wilbur and both Oblate and Jesuit missionaries, Yakama beliefs and spiritual blessings continued to thrive at seasonal thanksgivings, or root feasts, held in mat lodges. In the late twentieth century, their prophet Smohalla preached for a return to Native American ways. His influence was enormous, and the community of his followers continued to shun all modern conveniences. With an industrial park and forestry reserves, Yakama Industries provided steady employment, as well as seasonal stoop labor in fields and orchards, while the Yakama nation pursued a major water rights case.

YAKAMA

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