Cayuse
Location: The homeland of the Cayuse includes present-day upper
Oregon and lower Washington bordering the Columbia River.History: Known as "People of
the Rocks," the Cayuse would travel to
Grande Ronde and exchange goods, from dried salmon
to shells or even slaves. The Cayuse met other tribes in Walla Walla to trade but also to engage
in friendly athletic competitions and festivities.
During the 1840’s the measles
took over the tribe leaving them with only 400 left. This
was the start of what is known as the Whitman massacre. The tribe blamed this
doctor and his medicine for the deaths so, as a result, on November 29, 1847
the Whitman’s and 12 other people were slain.
In the 1850’s the people of the tribe signed a treaty ceding their
land to the whites and agreeing to move to the Umatilla Reservation. The descendants of the tribe are
now part of the Umatilla Confederated Tribes.
Though this page has been carefully researched, the author does not
claim expertise on Cayuse history and culture.
Please send questions, comments, and corrections to emuseum@mnsu.edu and include the web address of this page.
If you are Cayuse, your feedback is much appreciated.
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation: http://www.umatilla.nsn.us/
References
1)Rudy and Brown (1972) The Cayuse Indians. Oklahoma: Norman
2)Parker (1978) Cayuse pride. New York: Columbia
Written by: Amanda Rossing
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