![Chief Moses](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/Chief_Moses.jpg)
Chief Moses (born ''Kwiltalahun'', later called ''Sulk-stalk-scosum'' - "The Sun Chief") (c. 1829 – March 25, 1899) was a Native American chief of the
Sinkiuse-Columbia
The Sinkiuse-Columbia are a Native American tribe so-called because of their former prominent association with the Columbia River. They belong to the inland division of the Salishan group, with their nearest relatives being the Wenatchis and M ...
, in what is now
Washington state
Washington (), officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. Named for George Washington—the first U.S. president—the state was formed from the western part of the Washington ...
. The territory of his tribe extended approximately from
Waterville to
White Bluffs, in the
Columbia Basin. They were often in the area around
Moses Lake
Moses Lake is a lake and reservoir along the course of Crab Creek, in Washington state, USA.
Moses Lake is part of the Columbia River basin, as Crab Creek is a tributary of the Columbia River.
Although originally a shallow natural lake, Moses ...
. The tribe numbered perhaps a few hundred individuals.
Background
The boy Kwiltalahun was the third son of Sulk-stalk-scosum; his mother was Sulk-stalk-scosum's senior wife Kanitsa.
He had two older brothers and four younger ones. In childhood he was named ''Loo-low-kin'' (Head Band), but in later life Chief Moses took the name of his father, Sulk-stalk-scosum. His people lived in the Moses Lake area.
At the age of nine, he so impressed the missionary
Henry H. Spalding that he was invited to be educated at the Presbyterian Mission of
Lapwai, Idaho
Lapwai is a city in the northwest United States, in Nez Perce County, Idaho. Its population was 1,137 at the 2010 census, and it is the seat of government of the Nez Perce Indian Reservation.
Lapwai actually means "The land of the butterflies"
...
,
where for three years he learned the ways of whites and also made extensive contacts with
Nez Perce
The Nez Percé (; autonym in Nez Perce language: , meaning "we, the people") are an Indigenous people of the Plateau who are presumed to have lived on the Columbia River Plateau in the Pacific Northwest region for at least 11,500 years.Ames, K ...
, in whose territory the Mission was located. He became fluent in several languages, including
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
, Nez Perce, Spokane, Colville and Yakima, a skill that served him later in life. It was at the mission where he was given the
Christian name "Moses" by Spalding, which he would go by for the rest of his life despite never officially becoming a
Christian.
[
At the time of the ]Yakima War
The Yakima War (1855–1858), also referred to as the Yakima Native American War of 1855 or the Plateau War, was a conflict between the United States and the Yakama, a Sahaptian-speaking people of the Northwest Plateau, then part of Washington T ...
, his brother Kwilninuk was chief of the Sinkiuse-Columbia; Moses had a minor role and following their defeat in 1858 surrendered in Chewelah. While Moses was away from the tribe, being examined and later negotiating, the tribe proclaimed him their chief; when he returned to their encampment near Ephrata, he assumed the duties and the name of his deceased father.
He was chief of the Sinkiuse-Columbia for forty years, during which time white encroachment increased and so did conflict. He worked pragmatically to preserve his people by accommodation to the changing circumstances.
Trial and acquittal
In 1878, a white couple was killed near Rattlesnake Springs by renegade Bannock and Paiute
Paiute (; also Piute) refers to three non-contiguous groups of indigenous peoples of the Great Basin. Although their languages are related within the Numic group of Uto-Aztecan languages, these three groups do not form a single set. The term "Paiu ...
Indians. The military, however, blamed the incident on Chief Moses. He was captured near present-day O'Sullivan Dam
O'Sullivan Dam (National ID # WA00268), one of the largest earthfill dams in the United States (200 ft/61 m high; 19,000 ft/5,791 m long; completed 1949), is on Crab Creek in the U.S. state of Washington, about 45 km south of Eph ...
and stood trial in Yakima
Yakima ( or ) is a city in and the county seat of Yakima County, Washington, and the state's 11th-largest city by population. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 96,968 and a metropolitan population of 256,728. The uni ...
, where he was acquitted.
According to Tribal records, Chief Moses was ordered to Washington D.C. on Feb 12, 1879. He made the trip to with several other delegates, and met with President Rutherford B. Hayes
Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governo ...
. Possibly deducing that the verdict of his upcoming murder trial would depend upon whether or not he agreed to give up his land, he was quoted as telling the president, "You want this godforsaken land, fine." The charges against him for the murders of Mr. & Mrs. Perkins were dismissed months later that August 1879.
Columbia Reservation
On April 18, 1879, the United States set aside the Columbia Reservation for Chief Moses and his tribe. The tribe agreed to cede their Columbia Basin territory, which was then opened for homesteading. The new reservation was bordered on the east by the Okanogan River
The Okanogan River (known as the Okanagan River in Canada) is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately 115 mi (185 km) long, in southern British Columbia and north central Washington. It drains a scenic plateau region called th ...
(the western boundary of the Colville Indian Reservation
The Colville Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in the northwest United States, in north central Washington, inhabited and managed by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, which is federally recognized.
Established ...
), on the south by the Columbia River, on the west by the Chelan River
The Chelan River is a tributary of the Columbia River, in the U.S. state of Washington. Just long, it is the shortest river in Washington. Lake Chelan Dam is located at the river's source: the outlet of Lake Chelan. Nearly the entire river's fl ...
, Lake Chelan
Lake Chelan ( ) is a narrow, long lake in Chelan County, north-central Washington state, U.S. Before 1927, it was the largest natural lake in the state by any measure. Upon the completion of Lake Chelan Dam in 1927, the elevation of the lake w ...
and the crest of the Cascade Mountains
The Cascade Range or Cascades is a major mountain range of western North America, extending from southern British Columbia through Washington and Oregon to Northern California. It includes both non-volcanic mountains, such as the North Cascades, a ...
, and on the north by the international boundary with Canada. This was some distance away from the tribe's original range (which was south of the Columbia), and the terrain was very different.
Approximately the same boundaries formed the Okanogan and Similkameen Mining District, originally organized in 1860. Lead
Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...
and silver ore
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical cond ...
had been found in Toad's Coulee near the Canada–US border. The white settlers, miners and ranchers mostly, held a meeting on July 9, 1879 near Lake Osoyoos and drew up resolutions opposing the creation of the reservation and asking the government to appraise the value of their properties for compensation if the reservation did go ahead.
Interior Secretary Carl Schurz turned the matter over to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, with instructions that the white settlers would suffer no harm. Moses, however, had little respect for the Bureau and more for the army, so the army was given the job of administering the reservation. The army set up a camp at the southern end of Lake Chelan
Lake Chelan ( ) is a narrow, long lake in Chelan County, north-central Washington state, U.S. Before 1927, it was the largest natural lake in the state by any measure. Upon the completion of Lake Chelan Dam in 1927, the elevation of the lake w ...
to do this.
Chief Moses complained about the white settlers on the reservation, since he had been promised whites would be kept out. Colonel Henry C. Merriman, the army commander, sent Captain H.C. Cook north on August 19, 1880 to list and assess the improvements made by the white settlers and to ask them to leave. He did this for seven settlers, estimating the value of their property at $3,577, much less than the owners' estimate of $11,000.
In late 1880 or in 1881, the military determined that there were 17 bona fide white residents of the region prior to April 18, 1879. However, fewer than 100 members of Moses's tribe had moved to the reservation. Moses himself did not live there, having relocated to the Colville Reservation just to the east of the Columbia Reservation when his tribe was expelled from the Columbia Basin. The settlers began a lobbying campaign to abolish the reservation and move the Sinkiuse-Columbia to the Colville Indian Reservation
The Colville Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in the northwest United States, in north central Washington, inhabited and managed by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, which is federally recognized.
Established ...
. Failing that, they asked for the return to white settlement of that portion of the reservation within 10 miles (16 km) of Canada. (Nearly all the mining claims were within that region.)
Violence broke out in 1882, with angry white settlers destroying Indian property. General Miles also feared an Indian uprising. Order was soon restored, however. On February 23, 1883, President Chester A. Arthur
Chester Alan Arthur (October 5, 1829 – November 18, 1886) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 21st president of the United States from 1881 to 1885. He previously served as the 20th vice president under President James ...
signed an executive order restoring a wide strip along the Canada–US border to the public domain. Chief Moses and other delegates were taken to Washington, D.C. for a conference to resolve the outstanding issues.
Later developments
An agreement was reached on July 7, 1883, for the government to purchase the entire Columbia Reservation from the Indians. Those families formerly assigned to the reservation were to be given the choice of moving to the Colville Reservation or taking allotments of one section (1 sq mi or 2.6 km²) of land each. By act of Congress on July 4, 1884, the entire reservation was restored to the public domain. On May 1, 1886, it was formally reopened for white settlement. The influx of settlers was so great that Okanogan County
Okanogan County () is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington along the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. border. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population w ...
(roughly the same area as the Columbia Reservation) was split from Stevens County two years later.
Chief Moses died in 1899 on the Colville Reservation. He was buried there, near 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 Native American term meaning "large fl ...
.
Chief Moses once asked a follower to count the grains of sand in a pile. "There are too many," said the man. "It is the same with whites," replied Moses, "There are too many."
Legacy
Moses Lake
Moses Lake is a lake and reservoir along the course of Crab Creek, in Washington state, USA.
Moses Lake is part of the Columbia River basin, as Crab Creek is a tributary of the Columbia River.
Although originally a shallow natural lake, Moses ...
, Moses Coulee
Moses Coulee is a canyon in the Waterville plateau region of Douglas County, Washington. Moses Coulee is the second-largest and westernmost canyon of the Channeled Scablands, located about to the west of the larger Grand Coulee. This water channe ...
, and the city of Moses Lake
Moses Lake is a lake and reservoir along the course of Crab Creek, in Washington state, USA.
Moses Lake is part of the Columbia River basin, as Crab Creek is a tributary of the Columbia River.
Although originally a shallow natural lake, Moses ...
are named for Chief Moses. One of the middle schools in Moses Lake was originally named for Chief Moses (now Columbia Middle School).
His relatives include Lucy Friedlander Covington (1910-1982) and Paulette Jordan (born December 7, 1979).
Notes
References
* Marshall, Maureen E. ''Wenatchee's Dark Past''. Wenatchee, Wash: The Wenatchee World, 2008.
*Ruby, Robert H. and John Arthur Brown, ''Half-Sun on the Columbia: A Biography of Chief Moses''. University of Oklahoma
, mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State"
, type = Public research university
, established =
, academic_affiliations =
, endowment = $2.7billion (2021)
, pr ...
Press, reprint edition, April 1995.
*''Mary Moses's Testimony''. Ye Galleon Press, 1988.
External links
Biography at HistoryLink
* Biography at Amazon
* Covington, Lucy Friedlander (1910-1982
{{DEFAULTSORT:Moses, Chief
Native American leaders
Year of birth uncertain
1820s births
1899 deaths