Chief Kamiakin
Encyclopedia
Chief Kamiakin was a leader of the Yakama
, Palouse
, and Klickitat
.
. His name means "He Won't Go" derived from ka ("no") - miah ("to go") - kamman ("to want"). His father was a member of the Palouse
tribe named Ja-ya-yah-e-ha (also known as Ki-yi-yah or Si-Yi) and his mother was a daughter of chief We-ow-wicht of the Yakama
tribe. His mother went by the name Spotted Fawn (Ka-e-mox-nith also known as Kah Mash Ni). Kamiakin had two brothers, one named Skloom and the other Show-a-way (also known as Ice). When Kamiakin's father decided to take on another wife, his mother returned to the Yakama taking him and his brother Skloom with her.
Kamiakin planted one of the first gardens in the area at his home in Ahtanum
. He was one of the first in the area to use irrigation. The use of irrigation can be traced to 1850 when Kamiakin met a Catholic priest in Walla Walla
. Two newly ordained priests, Father Charles M. Pandosy and Father Louis Joseph d'herbomez, accepted land from Kamiakin for a mission to be established on his property, resulting in the founding of the Saint Joseph Mission at Ahtanum creek on April 3, 1852. There, they taught the tribe about the Catholic faith, as well as irrigation techniques. Many of Kamiakin's people were baptized as Catholics by the two priests, including Kamiakin's children.
Kamiakin had five wives. His first was Sunkhaye (Salkow), who was the daughter of the Yakama chief Teias. He also married four women from the family of chief Tenax (Tennaks) of the Klickitat
, with his fifth wife being the "warrior woman" named Colestah
. These subsequent marriages to members of the Tenax family defied Yakama tribal custom and caused friction among his blood relatives. By marrying thus, however, Kamiakin extended his power base among other tribes of the Northwest.
governor, Isaac Stevens
, spearheaded an ill-fated treaty process by threatening to remove the natives by force if they didn't sell their lands. Kamiakin began to organize immediately, allying himself with the chiefs Peo-peo-mox-mox (Yellow Bird) of the Walla Walla
, and Allalimya Takanin
(Looking Glass) of the Nez Perce. He eventually formed an alliance with a total of 14 tribes living on the Columbia plateau
. The alliance was formed in order to resist American
settlers and government officials in the Washington Territory. The hostilities are referred to as The Yakima Indian War of 1855
.
Kamiakin convened a council with representatives from all of the tribes in the Grande Ronde Valley
in Eastern Oregon
in 1855 in order to discuss how best to deal with the invaders and keep their lands. Governor Stevens was tipped off about the meeting when Lawyer, a Nez Perce, informed him of the decisions made by the tribal representatives. At the subsequent Walla Walla Council
, when Kamiakin arrived, he noticed the large number of Nez Perce and U.S. Government officials and realized his confidences had been betrayed. Stephens had used the information about the earlier meeting to marshal support for establishing reservations amongst the wavering tribal factions. When Oregon's Superintendent of Indian Affairs asked Kamiakin to speak, the proud Yakama refused. The other chiefs eventually pressured Kamiakin into signing the treaty "as an act of peace" that established the Yakima reservation
.
Kamiakin led a band of warriors into the first engagement of the War when on October 4 and 5, 1855, he defeated a force of 84 soldiers led by Major Haller near Simcoe Valley. Kamiakin was also instrumental in the final battle of the War. On September 5, 1858, Colonel George Wright
, with a force of 700 soldiers, defeated Kamiakin and his warriors at the Battle of Four Lakes
. Kamiakin was wounded in the battle when he was struck by a pine tree felled by cannon fire. Colestah is reported to have saved her husband from capture by the U.S. soldiers. In the end, Kamiakin was the only chief who refused to surrender, escaping to Kootenai, British Columbia
, then to Montana where he lived with the Flathead tribe
.
. Following the death of Colestah in 1864, he then moved to his father's homeland near Rock Lake (Washington) in Washington. Ranchers led by William Henderson
repeatedly tried to drive Kamiakin from his ancestral lands, but superintendent of Indian Affairs
, Robert Milroy, intervened and vowed (successfully) to allow Kamiakin to live out his days there. On at least two occasions Kamiakin was offered food and clothing by local Indian agents, charity which he steadfastly refused.
The day before he died (sometime in 1877) he was baptized a Catholic
and given the name "Matthew." The year following his death, according to his people's customs, Kamiakin's grave was opened by his son (Tesh Palouse Ka-mi-akin) and his body was wrapped in a new blanket. Several years later, when he was exhumed in order to be reburied elsewhere, it was discovered that "the head and shoulders had been cut off and removed" probably for "public exhibition as a curiousity." Historian Clifford Trafzer states that friends of Kamiakin were able to retrieve these relics. In any case, what was left of his remains were finally interred at Nespelem, Washington
, a village he had originally founded.
Yakama
The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, or simply Yakama Nation , is a Native American group with nearly 10,000 enrolled members, living in Washington. Their reservation, along the Yakima River, covers an area of approximately 1.2 million acres...
, Palouse
Palus (tribe)
The Palus are a Sahaptin tribe recognized in the Treaty of 1855 with the Yakamas . A variant spelling is Palouse, which was the source of the name for the fertile prairie of Washington and Idaho.- Ethnography :...
, and Klickitat
Klickitat Tribe
The Klickitat are a Native American tribe of the Pacific Northwest. A Shahaptian tribe, their eastern neighbors were the Yakama, who speak a closely related language. Their western neighbors were various Salishan and Chinookan tribes...
.
Early years
Kamiakin was born about 1800 near present-day Starbuck, WashingtonStarbuck, Washington
Starbuck is a town in Columbia County, Washington, United States. The population was 129 at the 2010 census.-History:Named for railroad official W. H. Starbuck, the town was originally a junction on the main line of the Oregon Railroad and Navigation Company. The town was platted in 1894, and...
. His name means "He Won't Go" derived from ka ("no") - miah ("to go") - kamman ("to want"). His father was a member of the Palouse
Palus (tribe)
The Palus are a Sahaptin tribe recognized in the Treaty of 1855 with the Yakamas . A variant spelling is Palouse, which was the source of the name for the fertile prairie of Washington and Idaho.- Ethnography :...
tribe named Ja-ya-yah-e-ha (also known as Ki-yi-yah or Si-Yi) and his mother was a daughter of chief We-ow-wicht of the Yakama
Yakama
The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, or simply Yakama Nation , is a Native American group with nearly 10,000 enrolled members, living in Washington. Their reservation, along the Yakima River, covers an area of approximately 1.2 million acres...
tribe. His mother went by the name Spotted Fawn (Ka-e-mox-nith also known as Kah Mash Ni). Kamiakin had two brothers, one named Skloom and the other Show-a-way (also known as Ice). When Kamiakin's father decided to take on another wife, his mother returned to the Yakama taking him and his brother Skloom with her.
Kamiakin planted one of the first gardens in the area at his home in Ahtanum
Ahtanum, Washington
Ahtanum is a census-designated place in Yakima County, Washington, United States. The population was 3,601 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Ahtanum is located at ....
. He was one of the first in the area to use irrigation. The use of irrigation can be traced to 1850 when Kamiakin met a Catholic priest in Walla Walla
Walla Walla, Washington
Walla Walla is the largest city in and the county seat of Walla Walla County, Washington, United States. The population was 31,731 at the 2010 census...
. Two newly ordained priests, Father Charles M. Pandosy and Father Louis Joseph d'herbomez, accepted land from Kamiakin for a mission to be established on his property, resulting in the founding of the Saint Joseph Mission at Ahtanum creek on April 3, 1852. There, they taught the tribe about the Catholic faith, as well as irrigation techniques. Many of Kamiakin's people were baptized as Catholics by the two priests, including Kamiakin's children.
Kamiakin had five wives. His first was Sunkhaye (Salkow), who was the daughter of the Yakama chief Teias. He also married four women from the family of chief Tenax (Tennaks) of the Klickitat
Klickitat Tribe
The Klickitat are a Native American tribe of the Pacific Northwest. A Shahaptian tribe, their eastern neighbors were the Yakama, who speak a closely related language. Their western neighbors were various Salishan and Chinookan tribes...
, with his fifth wife being the "warrior woman" named Colestah
Colestah
Colestah was one of the wives of Chief Kamiakin of the Yakama Native American tribe. She is described as being a medicine woman, a psychic, and a warrior. She accompanied Kamiakin to the Battle of Spokane Plain, armed with a stone war club, vowing to fight by his side...
. These subsequent marriages to members of the Tenax family defied Yakama tribal custom and caused friction among his blood relatives. By marrying thus, however, Kamiakin extended his power base among other tribes of the Northwest.
Yakima War
The new Washington TerritoryWashington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
governor, Isaac Stevens
Isaac Stevens
Isaac Ingalls Stevens was the first governor of Washington Territory, a United States Congressman, and a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War until his death at the Battle of Chantilly...
, spearheaded an ill-fated treaty process by threatening to remove the natives by force if they didn't sell their lands. Kamiakin began to organize immediately, allying himself with the chiefs Peo-peo-mox-mox (Yellow Bird) of the Walla Walla
Walla Walla (tribe)
Walla Walla |Native American]] tribe of the northwestern United States. The reduplication of the word expresses the diminutive form. The name "Walla Walla" is translated several ways but most often as "many waters."...
, and Allalimya Takanin
Chief Looking Glass
Looking Glass was a principal Nez Perce architect of many of the military strategies employed by the Nez Perce during the Nez Perce War of 1877...
(Looking Glass) of the Nez Perce. He eventually formed an alliance with a total of 14 tribes living on the Columbia plateau
Columbia River Plateau
The Columbia Plateau is a geologic and geographic region that lies across parts of the U.S. states of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho. It is a wide flood basalt plateau between the Cascade Range and the Rocky Mountains, cut through by the Columbia River...
. The alliance was formed in order to resist American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
settlers and government officials in the Washington Territory. The hostilities are referred to as The Yakima Indian War of 1855
Yakima War
The Yakima War was a conflict between the United States and the Yakama, a Sahaptian-speaking people on the Northwest Plateau, then Washington Territory and now the southern interior of Eastern Washington, from 1855 to 1858.- Naming :...
.
Kamiakin convened a council with representatives from all of the tribes in the Grande Ronde Valley
Grande Ronde Valley
The Grande Ronde Valley is a valley in Union County in northeastern Oregon, United States. It is surrounded by the Blue Mountains, and is drained by the Grande Ronde River. La Grande is its largest community. The valley is long, north to south, from Pumpkin Ridge to Pyles Canyon, and wide, east...
in Eastern Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
in 1855 in order to discuss how best to deal with the invaders and keep their lands. Governor Stevens was tipped off about the meeting when Lawyer, a Nez Perce, informed him of the decisions made by the tribal representatives. At the subsequent Walla Walla Council
Walla Walla Council (1855)
The Walla Walla Council was a meeting in the Pacific Northwest between the United States and sovereign tribal bodies of the Cayuse, Nez Perce, Umatilla, Walla Walla, and Yakama. The treaties signed at this council were ratified by the U.S. Senate in 1859...
, when Kamiakin arrived, he noticed the large number of Nez Perce and U.S. Government officials and realized his confidences had been betrayed. Stephens had used the information about the earlier meeting to marshal support for establishing reservations amongst the wavering tribal factions. When Oregon's Superintendent of Indian Affairs asked Kamiakin to speak, the proud Yakama refused. The other chiefs eventually pressured Kamiakin into signing the treaty "as an act of peace" that established the Yakima reservation
Yakama Indian Reservation
The Yakama Indian Reservation is a United States Indian reservation located on the east side of the Cascade Mountains in southern Washington. It is the homeland of the Yakama tribe of Native Americans....
.
Kamiakin led a band of warriors into the first engagement of the War when on October 4 and 5, 1855, he defeated a force of 84 soldiers led by Major Haller near Simcoe Valley. Kamiakin was also instrumental in the final battle of the War. On September 5, 1858, Colonel George Wright
George Wright (general)
George Wright was an American soldier who served in the Mexican-American War and the American Civil War.-Early life and career:...
, with a force of 700 soldiers, defeated Kamiakin and his warriors at the Battle of Four Lakes
Battle of Four Lakes
The Battle of Four Lakes was a battle during a US Army expedition against a confederation of Indian tribes in Washington and Idaho. Indian resistance to U.S. troops in the area had continued as part of the Yakima War. Commander of the Department of the Pacific, General Newman S. Clarke sent a...
. Kamiakin was wounded in the battle when he was struck by a pine tree felled by cannon fire. Colestah is reported to have saved her husband from capture by the U.S. soldiers. In the end, Kamiakin was the only chief who refused to surrender, escaping to Kootenai, British Columbia
Kootenay (provincial electoral district)
Kootenay was a provincial electoral district in the province of British Columbia, Canada, from 1871 to 1890. It was originally a two-member riding until the 1875 election; from 1878, it was a one-member seat until its partition for the 1890 election into East Kootenay and West Kootenay...
, then to Montana where he lived with the Flathead tribe
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation are the Bitterroot Salish, Kootenai and Pend d'Oreilles Tribes. The Flatheads lived between the Cascade Mountains and Rocky Mountains. The Salish initially lived entirely east of the Continental Divide but established their...
.
Final years
In 1860, he returned to his home on the Palouse RiverPalouse River
The Palouse River is a tributary of the Snake River located in the U.S. states of Washington and Idaho. It flows for southwestwards, primarily through the Palouse region of southeastern Washington...
. Following the death of Colestah in 1864, he then moved to his father's homeland near Rock Lake (Washington) in Washington. Ranchers led by William Henderson
William Henderson (disambiguation)
William Henderson, Willie Henderson, Bill Henderson or Billy Henderson may refer to:-Writers:*Bill Henderson , American author...
repeatedly tried to drive Kamiakin from his ancestral lands, but superintendent of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Indian Affairs
The Bureau of Indian Affairs is an agency of the federal government of the United States within the US Department of the Interior. It is responsible for the administration and management of of land held in trust by the United States for Native Americans in the United States, Native American...
, Robert Milroy, intervened and vowed (successfully) to allow Kamiakin to live out his days there. On at least two occasions Kamiakin was offered food and clothing by local Indian agents, charity which he steadfastly refused.
The day before he died (sometime in 1877) he was baptized a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
and given the name "Matthew." The year following his death, according to his people's customs, Kamiakin's grave was opened by his son (Tesh Palouse Ka-mi-akin) and his body was wrapped in a new blanket. Several years later, when he was exhumed in order to be reburied elsewhere, it was discovered that "the head and shoulders had been cut off and removed" probably for "public exhibition as a curiousity." Historian Clifford Trafzer states that friends of Kamiakin were able to retrieve these relics. In any case, what was left of his remains were finally interred at Nespelem, Washington
Nespelem, Washington
Nespelem is a town in Okanogan County, Washington, United States. The population was 236 at the 2010 census. The town is located on the Colville Indian Reservation. The name Nespelem is derived from a local Indian term meaning "large flat meadow".-History:...
, a village he had originally founded.
Schools named after Kamiakin
There are at least four schools named for Chief Kamiakin:- Chief Kamiakin Elementary SchoolChief Kamiakin Elementary SchoolChief Kamiakin Elementary School in Sunnyside, Washington, was the first public school to be named after the famous chief of the Yakama, Chief Kamiakin.-History:Construction of the current school began in 1975 and was finished in 1976...
in Sunnyside, WashingtonSunnyside, WashingtonSunnyside is a city in Yakima County, Washington, United States. As of the 2010 Census the population was 15,858.-History:On September 16, 1902, residents voted 42 to one to incorporate as the town of Sunnyside. By state law a town needed to have 300 citizens in order to legally incorporate... - Kamiakin High SchoolKamiakin High SchoolKamiakin High School is a public high school in Kennewick, Washington. Kamiakin was founded in 1970 at 600 N Arthur Street in northwest Kennewick, and went through a remodel in the early first decade of the 21st century. It currently has an enrollment of about 1,800...
in Kennewick, WashingtonKennewick, WashingtonKennewick is a city in Benton County in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Washington, near the Hanford nuclear site. It is the most populous of the three cities collectively referred to as the Tri-Cities... - Kamiakin Junior High in Kirkland, WashingtonKirkland, WashingtonKirkland is a city in King County, Washington, United States. It is a suburb of Seattle on the Eastside . The population was 48,787 at the 2010 census makes it the 9th largest city in King County and the 20th largest city in the state...
- Kamiak High SchoolKamiak High SchoolKamiak High School is a public high school in Mukilteo, Washington, opened in September 1993. The school was built to accommodate overflow population from the overcrowded Mariner High School, and was the second high school in the Mukilteo School District....
in Mukilteo, WashingtonMukilteo, WashingtonMukilteo , which means "good camping ground", is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The population was 20,254 at the 2010 census. It is on the shore of the Puget Sound, and is the site of a Washington State Ferries terminal linking it to Clinton, on Whidbey Island.Mukilteo is...
See also
- ColestahColestahColestah was one of the wives of Chief Kamiakin of the Yakama Native American tribe. She is described as being a medicine woman, a psychic, and a warrior. She accompanied Kamiakin to the Battle of Spokane Plain, armed with a stone war club, vowing to fight by his side...
, wife of Chief Kamiakin - QualchanQualchanQualchan was a 19th century Yakama chieftain who participated in the Yakima War with his uncle Kamiakin and other chieftains. Shortly after the Walla Walla council in 1855, in which Yakama leaders warned the United States against further settlement of the area, Qualchan and five others killed six...
, nephew of Chief Kamiakin - Kamiak ButteKamiak ButteKamiak Butte County Park is located in Whitman County, Washington between the towns of Palouse and Pullman in Eastern Washington, near the border of Idaho. It is named after Chief Kamiakin of the Yakama tribe....
, which is named after Kamiakin