137- The Cayuse (People of the Rye Grass)

The History Of The Evergreen State

In the past, the Cayuse Indians ruled over a wide territory spanning over six million acres in what is now Oregon and Washington. Being the first tribe in the Northwest to own horses, they were few in number but incredibly powerful, well-known for their cunning negotiation skills and well feared for their fighting prowess. Among the tribes on the Columbia Plateau, fur trader Alexander Ross characterized them as "by far the most powerful and warlike" in 1818. When they asked Marcus and Narcissa Whitman to build a mission on Cayuse property close to Walla Walla in 1836, they were at the height of their influence. What started out as hospitality turned sour and bitter.
The Whitmans and eleven other people were killed by a party of Cayuse who assaulted the mission in November 1847. This brief outburst of violence resulted in the first Indian war in the Northwest, the establishment of Oregon Territory as a federal territory, and ultimately a treaty that deprived the tribe of the majority of their territory.
The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla are home to the Cayuse today.
Listen now to learn more about this influential tribe and how they helped to shape the early history of the Evergreen State!
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