The Yakima Tribe has 10,000 registered members and a 1.2 million-acre reservation in Washington state. They fish for salmon, steelhead, and sturgeon from the Columbia River and manage several rivers. They speak a dialect of Sahaptin and traditionally lived in earthen huts.
The Yakima Tribe is a Native American group that has approximately 10,000 registered members in south central Washington state. More properly known as the Yakama Tribe or the Confederate Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, it has a reservation of approximately 1.2 million acres (485,622 hectares) along the Yakima River. The Yakama Nation is governed by the Yakama Tribal Council, which is made up of 14 tribes and bands.
Many members of the Yakima Tribe participate in fishing for salmon, steelhead, and sturgeon from the Columbia River and its tributaries. This fishing can be ceremonial, subsistence, or commercial, and the right of the Yakima tribe to fish the waters is protected by treaties and various court cases. Two of the best-known cases involving the Yakama’s right to fish in their traditional waters are United States v. Washington and United States v. Oregon.
The Yakima Tribe runs a fishing program that employs 40 people. The tribe also manages several rivers, including the Columbia, Yakima and Okanogan. The tribe has the Yakama Nation Land Enterprise, Wapato Industrial Park, and the Mount Adams Furniture Factory, among other businesses.
The traditional language of the Yakima tribe is a dialect of Sahaptin. The Yakima call themselves Waptailnsim, which translates to “narrow river people.” The name Yakima was likely given to the people by Europeans, and the confederate tribes and bands of the Yakama Nation agreed in 1994 to spell the Yakama tribe name.
The people originally lived on both sides of the Columbia River and the northern branches of the Yakima River. Traditionally, members of the Yakima tribe were hunters and gatherers. The tribe encountered the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805 or 1806. The Walla Walla Council of 1855 and the Yakima War of 1855 resulted in the tribe being forced onto the reservation.
In traditional Yakama culture, women were responsible for gathering plants and herbs, caring for children, and cooking. Men were responsible for fishing, hunting, and warfare. Both men and women have had roles in storytelling, artwork, and medicine.
The Yakima Tribe people traditionally lived in earthen huts known as pit houses. These houses had an underground living area with a domed wooden structure above the well. The pit houses were approximately 15 feet (4.5 meters) in diameter and the houses were entered and exited by a stairway in the center of the roof. A single well house housed a single family.
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