- Traditional Location: The Yakima Indian Nation's traditional lands encompasses over six million acres within the present-day boundaries of Washington State, including parts of Yakima, Kittitas, and Klickitat counties.
Way of Life:
-Yakama society followed a semi-nomadic lifestyle. They would travel and hunt from around spring to late autumn and settle in various encampment near the Columbia and Yakima rivers during winter.
-The Yakama people relied heavily on fishing and hunting for sustenance. In addition to salmon in the rivers, which were caught with various fishing methods and drying for storage. They hunted deer, elk, and smaller mammals.
-Roots and berries such as camas, bitterroots, and serviceberries, formed another important part of Yakama diet. Women would gather and process them for long-term preservation.
Cultural Practices and Beliefs:
-The Yakama people held religious ceremonies and rituals throughout the year. The most significant ceremony was known as the "First Salmon Ceremony," which celebrated the arrival of the first spring salmon.
-Sweat lodge ceremonies were critical in Yakama culture, used for spiritual purification and healing.
-The tribe placed a strong emphasis on oral tradition, passing down knowledge and stories through songs and storytelling.
Social Organization:
-Yakama society was typically divided into three classes: chiefs, headmen, and commoners. The chiefs held a hereditary leadership role, often passing down through generation within families.
-Yakama society was matrilineal, with property and status passed down through the female line.
Trade and Interaction:
-The Yakima tribes engaged in trade with neighboring tribes such as the Nez Perce, Spokane and tribes in the Columbia Plateau region.
-They exchange salmon, roots, and other goods for horses, hides, canoes and different material.
-The Yakima also played a significant role as middlemen in the fur trade between tribes and European traders.
Yakama Wars:
-In the mid-19th century, the Yakima engaged in several conflicts with US authorities and settlers.
-The most notable being the Yakima Wars, which lasted from 1855 to 1858. The conflict ultimately resulted in the Yakima Indian Nation signing treaties with the US government, where they ceded most of their ancestral land in exchange for reservation.