Klikitat
The Klikitat are a Native American people traditionally associated with south-central Washington, particularly along the Columbia River and its tributaries. Historically, they were divided into two groups: the Western Klikitats, who moved into southwestern Washington, and the Eastern Klikitats, who remained on the north side of the Columbia River. Their lifestyle was predominantly nomadic, characterized by a seasonal cycle of salmon fishing in the spring and gathering roots and berries in the summer and fall. The Klikitat were known for their fishing rights, particularly at The Dalles, a significant trading location.
In the early 1800s, the Klikitat began interacting with European Americans, including fur traders and explorers like Lewis and Clark. This contact influenced their reputation as traders. The Klikitat's relationships with American settlers varied; some participated in conflicts such as the Rogue Wars and later joined the Yakima War in response to dissatisfaction with treaties that affected their land and identity. Today, many Klikitat descendants are enrolled in the Yakima Nation, while others identify with the Grande Ronde and Cowlitz tribes, maintaining their cultural heritage and historical ties to their ancestral lands.
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Klikitat
Category: Tribe
Culture areas: Northwest Coast, Plateau
Language group: Sahaptian
Primary location: Washington State
Before contact with European Americans, the Cayuse had pushed the Klikitats west into south-central Washington, the area with which they have come to be traditionally associated. After the migration west, the Klikitats divided into two groups. The Western Klikitats continued past the Cascade Mountains into southwestern Washington and integrated with the Cowlitzes. The Eastern Klikitats lived on the north side of the Columbia River, along its tributaries, including the Klikitat, Lewis, and White Salmon rivers, in south-central Washington.
The Klikitats followed the nomadic lifestyle common to the Mid-Columbia Indians, and their subsistence patterns were a cycle of rich salmon fishing in the spring followed by the gathering of roots and berries in the summer and fall. The hunting of game supplemented their diet. The narrows at The Dalles on the Columbia River was one of the prized fishing locations. Even before contact, fishing rights were passed down from father to son, with the most powerful families claiming the locations where the salmon could be obtained most easily. Because The Dalles was known for its plentiful catches, the area surrounding it became a popular trading post. Summer berry picking in the foothills of Mount Adams followed, and the Klikitats gathered huckleberries, which were either eaten raw, boiled, dried, or smoked. Roots were another staple, and the Klikitats dug for the camas root with a digging stick as well as digging wild carrots, onions, celery, and parsley. All the food sources—fish, berries, and roots—were preserved for the upcoming winter months. In addition to preserving the food, the women made beautiful baskets and became known for their skill.
Contact with European Americans began in the early 1800s with the Lewis and Clark expedition, followed by fur traders. Because of their location on the Columbia River, the Klikitats undoubtedly interacted with the fur traders considerably, which might explain their subsequent reputation as traders. In 1825 the Hudson’s Bay Company established Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River. Company officials asked some of the Klikitats to move to the fort and act as hunters for members living at the fort. By the 1840s, Klikitats had moved into the Willamette Valley, which had been occupied by the Kalapuyas. As more and more settlers moved into the area, pressure mounted for the Klikitats to leave. Not all of their relations with the American settlers were unfriendly, as some of the Klikitats served the Americans in the Rogue Wars of the 1850s.
In 1855, Washington territorial governor Isaac Stevens held the Walla Walla Council with many of the Plateau tribes. The Klikitats were subsumed under the leadership of Kamiakin, the appointed Yakima chief. The Klikitats had always interacted closely with the Yakimas, as was noted by Lieutenant George Gibbs, who participated in a railroad survey in the Columbia Basin. Kamiakin represented fourteen signatory tribes, including the Klikitats, and the Yakima Treaty that he signed (although he claimed that he did not sign the treaty with the intention of relinquishing land) allowed for the creation of the Yakima Reservation, with a land base of 1,250,000 acres. Dissatisfied with the treaty, many Klikitats joined Kamiakin in the Yakima War of 1855 and the Cascade War of 1856. Part of the Klikitat discontent stemmed from the loss of their identity, although one of the first chiefs on the Yakima Reservation was White Swan, a Klikitat.
After 1856, many of the Klikitats moved to the Yakima Reservation and took part in such federal policies as the General Allotment Act of 1887. In 1935, the Confederated Tribes of the Yakima Reservation organized. The government consisted of a general council and a Yakima tribal council. A few Klikitats still lived near traditional fishing locations on the Klikitat and White Salmon rivers and continued to fish at some twenty sites along the Klikitat River. In 2022, most Klikitat descendents were enrolled in the Yakima Nation, though some in the Grande Ronde and Cowlitz tribes also claimed Klikitat ancestry.
Bibliography
Boyd, Robert, et al. “Western Oregon Klikatats (Klickitats).” The Oregon Encyclopedia, 29 Dec. 2022, www.oregonencyclopedia.org/articles/western‗oregon‗klickitats/#. Accessed 1 Apr. 2023.