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The material contained in
this document has been excerpted from the "Indian Curriculum Materials Teachers'
Manual Grades 2-4: The Culture and History of the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla
Tribes"
THIS MATERIAL IS USED WITH PERMISSION OF TAMASTLIKT CULTURAL INSTITUTE
- CONFEDERATED TRIBES OF THE UMATILLA INDIAN RESERVATION.
CULTURE
AND CULTURAL CONFLICT
We will be learning about
the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla Indian Tribes. To learn about these people,
we need to know some things about all people. While we are learning about these
three Indian tribes, we will talk about other groups of people and see how they
do things the same as or different from Indian people.
First of all, we need to
know that the way of life of a group of people is called the culture of that
group. People of two different cultural groups have some things in common with
each other. All people must eat, all people need shelter of houses of some kind
and all people wear some kind of clothes. These people are also very different
from each other in many ways. People of different cultures often eat many different
kinds of food, have many different kinds of houses and wear many different kinds
of clothes.
When people of two different
cultures meet and try to live side by side, problems can develop. If two people
do not speak the same language, it is hard for one to tell the other about his
way of life.
Where people live many times
is what decides how people will live. In other words, where they live is one
thing that decides what kind of a culture a group of people will have. For example,
Eskimos I ive in a very cold place. Do we know by looking at the clothes they
wear that they live in a cold place? Why? Let's think about what Hawaiians wear.
Why do they, dress the way they do? Are Eskimo people and Hawaiian people different
in all ways from each other? What are some things that are the same? They all
need food and shelter and wear clothes of some kind.
Often times a group of people
feel that their way of life is the best way to live, because that is the only
way they know. They may try to change the way of life of other people who live
differently and do things in different ways. This is what happened to Indians
when the white People came.
When the first explorers
(Lewis and Clark) came into the Northwest and first met with the Columbia Plateau
tribes, they were welcomed and treated as friends. The Indian people gave them
food and horses. In a very short span of time, French, English and American
trappers and settlers came pouring into the country in growing numbers.
The settlers and the Indian
people had very different ways of living and ways of looking at the world.
When the settlers arrived
they thought the land was theirs to do with as they pleased, even though the
Indian people had lived in the same place for thousands of years. The settlers
cut down the trees to make houses, plowed up the earth to plant crops and fenced
off the land to keep out animals and other people. The settlers built farms
and towns and lived in one spot. They saw the earth as something that could
be bought and sold.
The Cayuse, Umatilla and
Walla Wallas' and other tribes and bands of the Columbia Plateau culture had
a way of living that depended wholly upon the earth and all that grew on it.
Everything in nature had a purpose. Every landmark had a legend. Every campsite
had a thousand stories of past events. Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce Tribe expressed
the beliefs of the Plateau peoples when he said:
"The Earth was
created by the assistance of the sun, and it should be left as it
was ...
The country was made without lines of demarcation, and it
is no man's
business to divide it ...
The Earth and myself are of one mind.
The measure of the land
and the measure of our bodies are the same ...
do not misunderstand
me, but
understand me fully with reference to my affection for the land.
I never said the
land was mine to do with it as I chose.
The one who has the right
to dispose of it is
the one who created it.
I claim a right to live on my land and accord
you the
privilege to live on yours."
Smohalla, a religious leader
of the Wanapum Indians (The Wanapum Indians are of the Plateau cultural group)
had this to say:
"My young men shall never
work, men who work cannot dream; and wisdom comes to us
in dreams.
You ask me to plow the ground. Shall I take a knife and tear my
mothers
breast? Then when I die she will not take me to her bosom to rest.
You ask
me to
dig for stone. Shall I dig under her skin for her bones? Then when I die
I cannot
enter her body to be born again.
You ask me to cut grass and make hay and
sell it
and be rich like white men. But how dare I cut off my mother's hair."
Each culture has had its
own special conditions that it had to learn to live with. Because all cultures
of the world have the human ability to think, and discover ways to solve their
problems, people have learned how to live in even the most severe regions on
earth. Eskimos of the arctic and the Indians of the South American jungles are
alike as people but different as cultures. One lives in constant cold, snow
and ice while the other lives in constant heat surrounded by trees. Each has
learned how to benefit from and adapt to their own environment.
Today because of airplanes,
ships and advanced communications like the telephone, the cultures of the world
are in constant contact with one another. In the past the cultures were isolated
and had no idea that each other existed. Before the coming of the white man,
the Indian peoples of America knew nothing of any other people in the world.
When people of two different
cultures come together for the first time there is often some kind of conflict
because neither group understands the other. Each has its own language and ways
of doing things that look and sound very strange and confusing to the other.
But as people of different cultures get to know each other with the passing
of time and constant association, they begin to understand one another. Understanding
is a light that brings things out of darkness so that we may see them clearly.
With the light of understanding
we find that all cultures have something special and valuable to add to our
lives. In some cultures people have learned to make tools and machines which
make the raising of food and the making of clothing and shelter easier so that
all may enjoy comfort. Other cultures have specialized in the perfection of
the arts.
People of different cultures
can live together in unity by understanding that the things that make cultures
different from one another can only add to and make their own lives richer.
Like the different flowers of a mountain meadow, each culture has its own shape,
color and fragrance. Having many different colors of flowers only makes the
meadow more beautiful.
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TRADITION
Many things we do every
day are based on tradition. A tradition is something that is handed down from
one generation to the next. We can understand people better if we know that
many things they do are traditions that have been a part of their lives for
a long time.
The Cayuse, Umatilla and
Walla Walla Indian people live on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. The Umatilla
Indian Reservation is close to Pendleton in Northeastern Oregon. In many ways,
modern life on the reservation is much like modern life anywhere in the United
States. People live in houses, drive cars, work at jobs and children go to public
schools. The people speak English, have T.V.'s and eat many of the same food
that other Americans eat. But there are things that make the Cayuse, Umatilla
and Walla Walla Indian people special and different from other people.
The Cayuse, Umatilla and
Walla Walla Indian people have a culture or way of life that has been handed
down to them by their parents, grandparents and great grandparents. The Cayuse,
Umatilla and Walla Wallas' each have their own language and traditions. Grandparents,
mothers and fathers teach their children and grandchildren how to hunt, fish,
dig roots, make tepees and put them up, how to dance and sing Indian songs.
All these traditions of the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla peoples. A hundred
and fifty years ago, the Indians had to learn many of these things to stay alive.
Today they do many of these because it is important to them not to forget the
ways of their parents and grandparents.
When traditions are strong
they change very slowly. Many of the traditional ways of life are taught and
practiced the same way today as they were before the White people brought their
way of life to this part of the country. A celebration of thanksgiving, called
Root Feast, is one tradition of the Indians here that has been passed down for
a very long time.
All people have traditions.
What are some of your family's traditions and how did you learn them? Some celebrate
Christmas or other holidays or have special dinners on certain days. These are
all traditions.
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The Cayuse, Umatilla and
Walla Walla people are part of a large culture group called the Columbia Plateau.
The Columbia Plateau is
a very large area of land taking in southeastern Washington, northeastern Oregon
and western Idaho. The major rivers of this area are the Columbia, Palouse,
Snake, Yakima, Walla Walla, Umatilla, Grand Ronde and John Day.
There are many Indian Tribes
living in this area. The Cayuse, Umatilla, Walla Walla, Nez Perce, Yakima, Wasco,
Tenino, Wanapurn and several other smaller bands make up the Columbia Plateau
Culture. That means that all these Indian tribes are closely related and have
similar languages and ways of life.
The different tribes of
the Plateau culture lived in different regions. The Nez Perce lived in Idaho,
close to the Snake River. The Yakimas lived in southcentral Washington along
the Yakima River. The Wasco and Tenino lived along the Columbia and Deschutes
Rivers.
All of the Columbia Plateau
tribes associated with one another, especially at certain times of the year
like the spring salmon run on the Columbia River. They would come from all around
and gather at places like Celilo Falls to fish for salmon and trade goods and
horses.
A better description for
the Plateau culture groups instead of tribes, is bands. Each tribe was actually
a large grouping of family bands. Each band had its own head man. There were
no chiefs of all the bands. Each band made its own decisions. The names Cayuse
Tribe, Umatilla Tribe or Walla Tribe came when the first explorer found several
bands camping together in one spot. If the location was Umatilla all of the
bands were called Umatillas'.
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LIFE
CYCLE
Until about 50 years ago,
the culture of the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla Indians was based on a yearly
cycle of travel from hunting camps to fishing spots to celebration and trading
camps and so on.
The three tribes spent most
of their time in the area of Northeastern Oregon and Southeastern Washington
which is called the Columbia Plateau. They had lived in the Columbia River Region
for thousands of years. There were no buffalo in this area. The most plentiful
foods were salmon, roots, berries, deer and elk. Each of these foods could be
found in different places and each was available in different seasons. This
meant that the Indian people had to move from place to place from season to
season to their food and prepare it to be eaten and to be saved for the winter.
They followed the same course from year to year in a large circle from the lowlands
along the Columbia River to the highlands in the Blue Mountains.
In the spring the tribes
gathered along the Columbia River at places like Celilo Falls to fish for salmon
and trade goods with other tribes. They dried the salmon and stored it for later
use. In late spring and early summer they traveled from the Columbia to the
foot hills of the Blue Mountains to dig for roots which they also dried. In
late summer they traveled to the upper mountains to pick berries and to hunt
for deer and elk. In the fall the tribe would return to the lower valleys and
along the Columbia River again to catch the fall salmon run. All would stay
in winter camps in the low regions until spring when the whole cycle would start
all over again.
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SALMON,
ROOTS, BERRIES, DEER AND ELK
The earth provided all the
food the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla peoples needed:
"I wonder if the ground
has anything to say? I wonder if the ground is listening
to what is said? I wonder if the ground would come alive and what is on
it?
Though I
hear what the ground says. The ground says, it is the great spirit that
placed me here. The
great spirit tells me to take care of the Indians, to feed them alright.
The great spirit
appointed the roots to feed the Indians on.
The water says the same thing.
The great spirit
directs me, feed the Indians well.
The ground, water and grass say, the
great spirit has
given us our names. We have these names and hold these names.
The ground
says, the great
spirit has placed me here to produce all that grows on me, trees and fruit.
The same way the
ground says, it was from me man was made.
The great spirit, in placing men
on the earth,
desired them to take good care of the ground and to do each other no harm...
Young Chief
1855 Treaty Council
The salmon was the first
to appear in early spring. Family bands gathered along the Columbia River at
their favorite or traditional fishing sites to catch and dry enough salmon to
use for the year ahead. During the salmon runs, the fish traveled up every creek
and river that emptied into the Columbia. There were so many that it was said
that you could walk across a creek on the backs of salmon.
The men hooked, netted,
trapped and speared huge quantities of fish. A very common net was the long
handled dipnet which is still used today. Platforms made of wood were suspended
from rocks or bluffs. Fishermen stood on these platforms and used their dipnets.
The women cleaned the salmon and hung them on long racks to dry in the sun.
When enough salmon was dried
and stored away in caches, the bands would prepare to move to the foothills
of the Blue Mountains to dig roots.
The couse root (Kowsh) with
its bright flowers turned the late spring and early summer hillsides of Eastern
Oregon yellow. Women dug the roots with diggers made of hardwood or antlers.
The roots were mashed together and shaped into small biscuits and dried in the
sun. The biscuits were stored away for later use.
In the late summer, the
Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla peop1e would move to the upper mountains to
pick huckleberries and hunt for game. The berries and meat were also dried.
Chokecherries were pounded to make pemmican. Black moss gathered from pine trees
was baked to make a cheese-like food. Camas bulbs were dried or baked.
Every food the Indian people
needed was provided by the earth. The Indian people were very grateful to the
creator for providing for them. Thanksgiving ceremonies were held in the spring
to give thanks for the new foods. One of those, the Root Feast, is still celebrated
today on the Umatilla Reservation. Although salmon is not as plentiful as it
was before the dams were built on the Columbia, many of the Indian people of
the Umatilla Indian Reservation still eat traditional foods like roots, berries,
deer, elk and salmon as part of their every day diet.
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HOUSING
AND TRANSPORTATION
In the old days the Cayuse,
Umatilla and Walla Walla people had to have housing that was easy to move from
place to place because they had to travel much of the time to gather food. The
Cayuse, Umatilla, Walla Walla and other Plateau tribes had a special kind of
tent that no other Indian people used. It was called a longhouse. The longhouse
was made out of lodgepoles much like a teepee, only much longer. It could reach
up to 80 feet in length. The longhouse resembled the modern day "A" frame house
in appearance. The covering was made out of "tule" mats. The long skinny-leafed
tule plants grow along rivers and ponds. They were gathered, dried and strung
together to make mats. The mats were placed on the poles and tied down. When
the family wished to move they simply removed the mats and traveled on to the
next camp. The poles were left behind because it was much easier to have a set
of poles at each camp.
Beginning in the early 1700's
the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla people raised great herds of horses. Having
horses made it possible for them to travel great distances from the lowlands
along the Columbia River to the upper reaches of the Blue Mountains to gather
and harvest the seasonal crops of wild foods. They also traveled across the
Rocky Mountains to trade dried roots and salmon to midwestern tribes who had
buffalo meat and hides. They also learned how to make tepees from the midwestern
tribes and sometimes used buffalo hides to cover the poles with; although this
was never as common as tule mats. Another item borrowed from the tribes east
of the Rocky Mountains was the travois. A travois was two long poles tied together
and pulled along by a horse. This was how they carried their belongings.
Today the Indian people
of the Umatilla Reservation live in houses, but they still use tepees on special
occasions, like traditional celebrations or camping in the mountains. However,
the teepees are now covered with canvas instead of tule mats.
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The Indian families are
quite often "extended families" or families that include aunts, uncles, grandparents
and cousins all living together.
In the past what we call
tribes today were actually large groups of family bands who all lived in a certain
general location. For instance, the Walla Wallas' were several closely related
bands living around the area of Wallula, Washington and up and down the Columbia
River. Separate bands usually went their own ways during the food gathering
seasons and regrouped in the winter season to camp together in an accustomed
or traditional location. This was the same with the Cayuse and Umatilla.
The entire family - parents,
children, aunts, uncles, cousins and grandparents - all lived together in a
band. This kind of family is an extended family. There was a lot of work to
be done and everyone had a job to do. The men and boys hunted, fished, made
arrows, weapons and tools and took care of the horses. The women and girls cooked,
dried fish and meat, dug roots, picked berries, made clothes and beautiful decorations.
The women also set up and tended to the tepees. If someone didn't do their job
they all might freeze or go hungry during the winter.
Each band had a headman
or leader who made important decisions and represented his band in council or
other important occasions. The headman had no power to make others do what he
wanted them to, other than by convincing them that his way was the best. It
was the same with other headmen. There were no headmen or chiefs of all the
bands except in times of emergencies, like war. Then the bands would get together
and select war leaders and would usually (but not always) follow their lead.
In times of peace these leaders had no authority.
During the Treaty Council
of 1855 which assigned the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla people to the Umatilla
Reservation, it was the headman of a few of the bands that spoke for all the
Indian peoples. The U.S. Government representatives wanted certain individual
headmen to make the important decision to give up the Indian lands. The government
said that these persons had the authority to sign the Treaty and sell the land
when in actuality they had no more right to sell another band's property or
right to live in an area than someone today has to sell his next door neighbor's
property.
Today the Indian people
of the Umatilla Indian Reservation still have large or extended families but
many things are different. Until recently, life was hard and a large family
was needed simply to survive. The old ways of food gathering, hunting and fishing
for a living were still very common until about 40 years ago when dams built
on the Columbia and hunting restrictions forced the people to adopt modern ways
of life. Now the individual family members work separately at jobs and professions.
Having separate jobs has caused the traditional Indian family to break up into
smaller family units with just a father, mother and children. This is called
a nuclear family. Often times they moved away from the reservation entirely
for work somewhere else. Even so, Indian people love to get together for traditional
celebrations and special occasions. It is very common for Indian people to travel
long distances and camp together at Rodeos and Indian celebrations all over
the west and midwest. Many people take time off from their jobs and school to
attend these gatherings.
There are two different
kinds of families; the extended and nuclear. The extended includes aunts, uncles,
cousins, grandparents and even friends. Many Indian families are extended families.
The nuclear family includes only father, mother and children.
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CONFEDERATED
TRIBES OF THE UMATILLA INDIAN RESERVATION
The Indian Reservations
of the Northwest were created in the middle and late 1800's by the United States
Government. The reason for reservations was to move Indians out of the way of
American settlers who were discovering how rich the Columbia Plateau Region
was in natural resources. The Indian tribes were given two United States Government.
One was to move to a reservation and the other was to be destroyed by war. With
reluctance, the Indian people chose the reservation.
The Umatilla Indian Reservation
was established in 1855 for the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla Indians at
the Stevens Treaty Council near Walla Walla, Washington. At one time, the U.S.
Government wanted to put all tribes (Nez Perce, Yakima, Cayuse, Umatilla Walla
Walla Wasco, Tenino and other smaller bands) on one reservation near Yakima,
Washington. The Indian peoples refused. The Governor of the Oregon Territory
held treaty councils with. the various tribes and finally agreed that a separate
reservation should be made for the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla, another
for the Nez Perce, and another for the Yakima. In exchange for the assurance
of safety, a small payment and a promise of goods and supplies, the Indian people
of the Columbia Plateau gave up the land that had been theirs since time immemorial.
The region they gave up equaled practically a quarter of each of the states
of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. The Treaty also promised hunting and fishing
rights as long as the mountains stand and the waters flow.
At no time before the creation
of the reservations did all of the bands of the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla
people all live in one place. The idea of confederation was as new to the Indians
as the idea of a reservation.
The first years were extremely
difficult as the Indian people were not allowed to the leave the reservation
without a permit. This meant that they could not gather their accustomed foods
such as salmon and roots. The land which is the Umatilla Reservation was traditionally
the home of the Cayuse bands. Having the Umatilla and Walla Walla cramped together
in such a small space create troubles among the Tribes.
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