Walla Walla (), Walawalałáma ("People of Walula region along Walla Walla River"), sometimes Walúulapam, are a Sahaptin

indigenous people of the Northwest Plateau Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau, also referred to by the phrase Indigenous peoples of the Plateau, and historically called the Plateau Indians (though comprising many groups) are indigenous peoples of the Interior of British Columbia ...

. The duplication in their name expresses the diminutive form. The name ''Walla Walla'' is translated several ways but most often as "many waters". Many Walla Wallas live on the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Walla Wallas share land and a governmental structure with the

Cayuse Cayuse may refer to: *Cayuse people, a people native to Oregon, United States *Cayuse language, an extinct language of the Cayuse people *Cayuse, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the United States *Cayuse horse, an archaic term for a feral or ...

and the

Umatilla tribe The Umatilla are a Sahaptin-speaking Native American tribe who traditionally inhabited the Columbia Plateau region of the northwestern United States, along the Umatilla and Columbia rivers."Umatilla," in Barbara A. Leitch, ''A Concise Dictionar ...

s as part of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla. The

reservation __NOTOC__ Reservation may refer to: Places Types of places: * Indian reservation, in the United States * Military base, often called reservations * Nature reserve Government and law * Reservation (law), a caveat to a treaty * Reservation in India, ...

is located in the area of Pendleton, Oregon,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, near the Blue Mountains. Some Walla Wallas are also enrolled in the federally recognized Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation.

History

The people are a Sahaptin-speaking tribe that traditionally inhabited the interior Columbia River region of present-day northwestern United States. For centuries before the coming of European settlers, the Walla Wallas, consisting of three principal bands, occupied the territory along the Walla Walla River and along the confluence of the

Snake Snakes are elongated, limbless, carnivorous reptiles of the suborder Serpentes . Like all other squamates, snakes are ectothermic, amniote vertebrates covered in overlapping scales. Many species of snakes have skulls with several more j ...

and Columbia River rivers in a territory that is now part of northern Oregon and southeastern Washington state. From this zone, the Walla Walla followed a similar pattern of seasonal subsistence practices to that of the Yakama, Palouse, Umatilla, and Wanapum tribes.

Contact with Europeans

The first encounter with Euro-Americans for the Walla Wallas was the Lewis and Clark Expedition. At the first meeting in 1805, the Americans promised to Walla Walla chief Yellepit they would visit with the people after seeing the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

. The party returned in April 1806 and stayed at Yellepit's village, located on the Columbia River near the mouth of the Walla Walla River. During a transaction Yellepit presented Clark with a white horse in return for a copper kettle. The Americans had none in supply, however, so Clark gave Yellepit his own sword, along with a quantity of gunpowder and musket balls. Lewis and Clark also gave Yellepit a peace medal engraved with a portrait of President

Thomas Jefferson Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743 – July 4, 1826) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, architect, philosopher, and Founding Father who served as the third president of the United States from 1801 to 1809. He was previously the nati ...

, to be worn around the neck, and a small United States flag. Yellepit, Washington was later named after him. David Thompson of the Canadian-British North West Company (NWC) was the next European in the Walla Walla lands, arriving in 1811. About five miles upriver from Yellepit's village on the confluence of the Snake River and the Columbia, Thompson ordered a pole be placed. An attached letter to the pole claimed the territory for the

British Crown The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...

and stated the NWC intended to build a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...

at the site. Thompson's pole and letter were intended for the traders of the Pacific Fur Company, an American rival of the NWC. Continuing downriver, Thompson stopped at Yellepit's village and discovered the flag and medal left by the Americans. Thompson found Yellepit very friendly and intelligent, even encouraging Thompson's plan to set up a nearby trading post. For various reasons the post was not built until 1818, when the NWC established

Fort Nez Perces A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

at the mouth of the Walla Walla River. During the summer of 1811, Thompson met also the Walla Walla head chief, Tumatapum, and his equal-ranking Quillquills Tuckapesten, Nimipu head chief, Ollicott, Cayuse head chief, and, probably, Kepowhan, Palus head chief, and Illim-Spokanee, Spokane head chief. The Walla Wallas eventually adopted maintaining cattle herds, going as far as New Helvetia in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the ...

during 1844 to secure additional livestock. An estimated 40 Walla Wallas, Nez Perce and

under Walla Walla chief

Piupiumaksmaks Piupiumaksmaks (alternatively spelled ''Peo-peo-mox-mox'' or ''Peopeomoxmox''; 1800 – 1855) was head chief of the Walla Walla tribe and son to the preceding chief Tumatapum. His name meant Yellow Bird, but it was often mistranslated as Yellow S ...

went on the expedition south. En route the party gathered stray horses, not aware the strays were stolen. Negotiations at New Helvetia were held between one of Piupiumaksmaks' sons, Toayahnu, and an employee of Sutter. The two men entered a dispute, and Toayahnu was killed.Heizer, Robert Fleming. "Walla Walla Indian Expeditions to the Sacramento Valley". ''California Historical Society Quarterly'' 21, No. 1 (1942), pp. 1–7 Despite fears of retribution among Sutter's staff by the Walla Wallas, Piupiumaksmaks returned with a small band of warriors and families in 1846 and declared peaceable intentions. The returning party had members infected with measles, which began to spread across the Columbia Plateau, decimating indigenous populations. Smallpox and other diseases were also introduced into the area, increasing the Walla Wallas' population decline. Despite this, the Walla Wallas then held extensive herds of horses, being the "principal wealth" of the tribe.''Reports of Explorations and Surveys to Ascertain the Most Practicable and Economical Route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean, Volume 1.''
Washington, D.C. Beverly Tucker. 1855, p. 403. The Walla Walla were one of the tribal nations at the 1855

Walla Walla Council In American radio, film, television, and video games, walla is a sound effect imitating the murmur of a crowd in the background. A group of actors brought together in the post-production stage of film production to create this murmur is known ...

(along with the

, Nez Perce, Umatilla, and Yakama), which signed the Treaty of Walla Walla.

Notable Walla Walla

(Yellow Hawk) (d. 1855), head chieftain of Walla Wallas * James Lavadour (b. 1951), painter and printmaker * Dan Henderson (b. 1970), Olympic wrestler and mixed martial artist * Charles Sams (b. circa 1970), director of the U. S. National Park Service

References

External links

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation
{{Authority control Native American tribes in Washington (state) Native American tribes in Oregon Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau Walla Walla (tribe)