Donald McKay, Chief of the Warm Springs Indians

Donald McKay (1836 – April 19, 1899) was an American scout,

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

, and

spokesman A spokesperson, spokesman, or spokeswoman, is someone engaged or elected to speak on behalf of others. Duties and function In the present media-sensitive world, many organizations are increasingly likely to employ professionals who have receiv ...

. He is best known as the leader of the Warm Springs Indians during the

Modoc War The Modoc War, or the Modoc Campaign (also known as the Lava Beds War), was an armed conflict between the Native American Modoc people and the United States Army in northeastern California and southeastern Oregon from 1872 to 1873. Eadweard M ...

and

American Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

Biography

Donald McKay was born in 1836 in

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. O ...

to fur trader

Thomas McKay Thomas McKay (1 September 1792 – 9 October 1855) was a Canadian businessman who was one of the founders of the city of Ottawa, Ontario. Biography McKay was born in Perth, Scotland and became a skilled stonemason. He emigrated to the C ...

and She-Who-Rides-Like-The-Wind Umatilla, a Cayuse woman from the

Umatilla tribe The Umatilla are a Sahaptin language, Sahaptin-speaking Native American tribe who traditionally inhabited the Columbia Plateau region of the northwestern United States, along the Umatilla River, Umatilla and Columbia River, Columbia rivers."Umati ...

. In 1852, McKay worked as a translator for the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Army. In 1872, during the Modoc War, the U.S. Army issued McKay with a temporary commission as captain to lead the Warms Springs Indian Scouts. McKay, met with "Captain Jack" Kintpuash, of the Modoc band, to negotiate an end to the standoff. In the summer of 1873 the war ended with the defeat of the Modoc and the execution of Captain Jack. Following the Modoc War, McKay toured the country with several Warm Springs Scouts and performed in

Wild West shows Wild West shows were traveling vaudeville performances in the United States and Europe that existed around 1870–1920. The shows began as theatrical stage productions and evolved into open-air shows that depicted romanticized stereotypes of co ...

that were popular at the time. He toured Europe with promoter "Colonel" Thomas Augustus Edwards performing before European monarchs and then returned home to participate in the 1876 American Centennial Exposition celebration in Philadelphia. In 1877, Donald was a part of the 'Texas Jack Combination' formed by Texas Jack Omohundro and debuted in St. Louis that year. Donald toured the U.S with his family to promote

patent medicine A patent medicine, sometimes called a proprietary medicine, is an over-the-counter (nonprescription) medicine or medicinal preparation that is typically protected and advertised by a trademark and trade name (and sometimes a patent) and claimed ...

s with the ''Kickapoo Indian Medicine Company'' of Boston and later with the ''Oregon Indian Medicine Company'' formed by T.A. Edwards. In 1881 Edwards published a biography of McKay titled ''Daring Donald McKay; or, The last war-trail of the Modocs''. In 1892, Donald McKay and his family settled on the

Umatilla Indian Reservation The Umatilla Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. It was created by The Treaty of June 9, 1855 between the United States and members of the Walla, Cayuse, and Umatilla tribes. It lies in nor ...

where McKay resumed his work as a translator for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. McKay died on April 19, 1899 in

Pendleton, Oregon Pendleton is a city and the county seat of Umatilla County, Oregon. The population was 17,107 at the time of the 2020 census, which includes approximately 1,600 people who are incarcerated at Eastern Oregon Correctional Institution. Pendleton ...

and is buried at Saint Andrews Mission Cemetery.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McKay, Donald 1836 births 1899 deaths 19th-century American male actors American male stage actors 19th-century translators American people of Métis descent Native American people of the Indian Wars People from Pendleton, Oregon People of the American Old West People of the Modoc War Spokespersons Wild West show performers