John Day Fossil Beds Indians of Eastern Oregon

Chinookan | Sahaptian | Shoshonean | Salishan | Bibliography

The speakers of the Chinookan linguistic stock stretched from the mouth of the Columbia River to around the region of Celilo Falls near The Dalles, Oregon. The Upper Chinook lived on most Chinook territory and were the only Chinook east of The Cascades. The Wasco on the Oregon side of the Columbia and the closely related Wishram on the Washington side were the easternmost of the Upper Chinook. They lived east to Celilo Falls and the Five Mile Rapids area. More anthropological study has been done on the Wishram than the Wasco, and much information about the latter is inferred from the former (French 1961:339). Below the Wasco, from Hood River to The Cascades, was the Watlala (Barry 1927:53) or Hood River of which little is written.

The Wasco-Wishram were intermediate between the Plateau and Northwest Coast cultural areas. They maintained trading partnerships with both Northwest Coast groups and those of the Plateau. From the Klamath they obtained slaves that were raided from northern California, from the east they received skins and Plains traits, from the west seafood and shells, and they traded with peoples from the north. As middlemen in a vast trade network they were extremely important. Salmon was the staple item of trade and their main food source. Perhaps the most excellent spot on the Columbia River for these anadromous fish was at Celilo Falls in the midst of the Wasco-Wishram.

The Wasco-Wishram kept slaves, who were the lowest "caste" in a three or four caste system. One big notch above the slaves were the commoners, and above them were the rich and/or chiefly classes. This class system and the common practice of keeping slaves were typical of the Northwest Coast.

Chieftainship was hereditary, being passed from father to son if the son was worthy. The same system held for subchiefs as well as for heads of wealthy families. Duties of the chief were advisory and judicial. They often served as intermediaries in village disputes, as there appears to have been no council.

In Eastern Oregon, as for the whole Northwest, there was really no such thing as a tribe in the terms of political networks that stretched beyond the individual villages. Except under extreme conditions a chief was only a leader of a local group, and the culture, or aggregate of villages speaking the same dialect, was held together by cultural and social bonds rather than political bonds. The above was true of the Wasco-Wishram (French 1961:361) who lived in villages each with its own leaders. The winter village was near the river and permanent or semipermanent in nature, with the houses constructed of cedar planks (Curtis 1907:8:91; French 1961:358). In the summer they moved from camp to camp fishing, hunting, berrying, and digging roots. This temporary abandonment of winter villages has led many anthropologists astray, since to the early explorers it appeared that the Indians of the Columbia River had fled from the area (Ray 1938:394).

Of the Sahaptian there are agreed, by most linguists, to be two divisions of concern here. The Northern Sahaptians of the northern part of the state, and the Lutuamian of southern Oregon which contains the Modoc and Klamath. First to be dealt with will be the Northern Sahaptian.

Along the south bank of the Columbia from the Wasco on the west to the Umatilla on the east, and on the lower reaches of the Deschutes and John Day Rivers, were the Tenino. There were four subdivisions each with a pair of villages - one for summer and one for winter. The summertime village was a rather flimsy one along a river. The wintertime villages were more permanent and several miles away from the rivers.

The four subdivisions of the Tenino were the Tenino Proper who spent their summers four miles east of The Dalles and their winters six miles inland, the Wyam or Deschutes who summered- at Celilo and wintered on the best bank of the Deschutes near its confluence with the Columbia, the John Day who had both their summer and winter villages on the John Day River not far from the Columbia, and the Tyghwho were an offshoot from the Tenino Proper and whose winter village was at Tygh Valley and summer village was at Sherar's Bridge on the Deschutes (Murdock 1938:395-396).

The Tenino had no social stratification, and chieftainship was not inherited. It helped to be wealthy to attain chieftainship, but it was not a prerequisite. The power of a chief depended on the respect and influence he could muster. The Tenino villages were autonomous politically, but not culturally. The Tenino traveled throughout the year in order to exploit various resources, such as fish, roots, berries, and game (Suphan 1974b:27).

The Molala were at one time immediately west of the Tenino. They were linguistically different, but cultural similar, to the Tenino. They did not have slaves, however. Before an offshoot of the Tenino Proper, the Tygh, ran them out they inhabited only one summer village at Tygh Valley and a winter village at Sherar's Bridge on the Deschutes (Murdock 1938:397). Joel Berreman (1937:44-45) believes it was the Northern Paiute who pushed them west. They apparently were moved, by whatever group (probably the Tenino), west of the Cascade Mountains.

East of the Tenino, along the lower Umatilla River and adjacent to the south bank of the Columbia River, lived the Umatilla (Berreman 1927:61). They also lived on the north bank of the Columbia (Ray 1938: 385). According to Verne Ray (1939:11) they tended to lean comparatively close to a tribal structure, but many argue that this was only true in the historic times (Suphan 1974a:107). One criteria Ray uses for his statement is that virtually all the Umatilla met in one village at the mouth of the Umatilla at a time in the winter (1939:12). Most authors say they had no tribal chiefs and villages were autonomous politically. Their chiefs were picked on the basis of achievement (Ray 1939:18). There was no class stratification based on wealth, but they did rank according to war honors with the counting of coup being important (Ray 1939:43). The Plains influence was quite strong among the Umatilla. Like most Plateau groups they had permanent villages for winter and traveled the rest of the year to obtain various resources. Most Plateau groups lived in mat covered lodges or semisubterranean houses and, in later times, the tipi in the winter, and in temporary mat or brush shelters in the summer.

Around the headwaters of streams that flowed into the Columbia, the Walla Walla, Umatilla and Grande Ronde Rivers, roughly east of the Umatilla are the Cayuse. With this tribe, as well as with the Umatilla and Wallawalla, Verne Ray says that they had a tribal structure (1939: 11). Robert J. Suphan disagrees (1974a 107). Ray says the name "Cayuse" applies to an ethnic group rather than a tribe, however (Ray 1939:12). The Cayuse are quite close to the Nez Perce structure of social organization which will be discussed below. According to many historians the Cayuse were somewhat more violent and warlike than the Nez Perce, and they cite the Whitman Massacre as an example. Much of this can be attributed to the fact that in the historical period they were right on the Oregon Trail. The Cayuse place emphasis on ranking war honors and resemble the Plains complex. There were no castes or classes. They were typical Plateau in that most of the time they had autonomous villages with their own chiefs, and traveled out of permanent winter villages in the warmer months to exploit upland resources. They lived in typical Plateau dwellings.

The Nez Perce to the North and east of the Cayuse, were a large and important group. Though they lived mainly in Idaho, a large portion of northeastern Oregon was occupied by them. In fact, a band living-in Oregon's Wallowa Valley were the most famous of the Nez Perce. At least five bands had winter villages in Oregon: 1) the Imnama on the Imnaha River, 2) the Walwama on the Wallowa River, 3) the Inantoinu that lived on Joseph Creek, 4) the Koiknimapu who resided above Joseph Creek on the Grande Ronde River, and 5) the Isawisnemepu who were near present Zindels on the Grande Ronde River (Spinden 1908:174-175). The Nez Perce as a whole called themselves the Numipu, but that name was never used by outsiders. The name "Nez Perce" is of French origin translated from a Siouan term meaning "pierced nose" (Spinden 1908:171-172).

The Nez Perce lived in typical Plateau semisubterranean and mat dwellings. They traveled in the spring, summer, and fall months for fish, game, roots' and berries in the higher elevations where it was cool. They lived in the lower river valleys in the winter. The camas root was a principle staple and they also relief heavily on river resources such as fish and mussels.

As with most of the Northern Sahaptian, warfare was important. The Nez Perce, though not excessively warlike, stood guard against the Shoshonian speakers in the east and south. Each village had its own chief, but villages would meet in times of war or to collect a certain resource such as buffalo. Chieftainship was based on achievement. There were peace chiefs in each village and, in times of war, war chiefs would become effective. These war chiefs could command a group of villages or, on rare occasions, the whole Nez Perce stock. Such war command was relinquished in times of peace. The power of a war chief was only honorary during peace. There were both tribal and village councils. Personal matters such as murder and adultery were left up to the families to handle. As with most Plateau cultures the individual owned tools and implements, while sites and territory were "owned" by the village or stock.

Writers such as Berreman (1937) feel that Sahaptians such as the Klicitat to the north lived in Oregon at one time and were pushed north into Washington by Shoshonean speakers. Ray (1938), on the other hand, feels that this was not true. The Wallawalla, who were closely related to the Cayuse and Umatilla, reside mainly in Washington, but some sources feel that they may have lived partially in Oregon, also.

For the most part the Northern Sahaptians coexisted peacefully with each other and with the Interior Salish to the north, but were enemies with Shoshonean speakers to the south. The groups to the east of the state were more Plains-like. The influence of the horse and Plains culture in the 18th century, modified all Plateau peoples by giving greater mobility and new traits.

The Klamath and the Modoc belonged to the Lutuamian division of the Sahaptian stock. They occupied the south-central part of Oregon near and across the California border.

The Klamath were the larger of the two divisions of the Lutuamian. They occupied the territory west to the Cascade Mountains, north to about the 44th parallel, east to the drainage of Sycan Marsh and a portion of the drainage of Goose Lake, and south to about the present California-Oregon border (Curtis 1907:13:161). In the winter they lived in semisubterranean houses. They also traveled throughout the warmer months to gather various resources. The seed of the Yellow Water Lilly (Wokas) was a good staple. They also exploited berries, other seeds, roots, fish, waterfowl, and game.

There were several subdivisions, each with its own chief or headman (Curtis, 1907:13:175; Ray 1939:6). Among these were: 1) the Klamath-Marsh-Williamson River group on the southern margin of the Klamath Marsh and lower Williamson and Sprague Rivers (43 villages), 2) the Agency Lake group on Agency Lake and the northern arm of Klamath Lake (one village), 3) the Lower Williamson River group close to the mouth of the Williamson River (5 villages), 4) the Pelican Bay group in the Pelican Bay district on the west side of Klamath Lake, Four Mile Creek, and the marsh north of the Lake (9 villages), and 5) the Klamath Falls group along Klamath Lake south of Modoc Point (18 villages) (Berreman 1937:43). Though not linked politically, these bands were linked culturally. Chieftainship was achieved and most chiefs were rich though wealth was not the basis by which they were chosen. The family was the basic unit of society (Curtis 1907:13:175) According to Ray (1963:134) the Modoc and Klamath were often allies in raiding people to the south and did not fight each other. Curtis (1907:13:162) implies they did fight each other, but this statement is probably based on conflict caused when the government placed both on the same reservation in an unnatural situation for the two tribes.

The Klamath traded slaves with tribes to the north such as the Wasco. They kept slaves themselves, but these prisoners were merely adopted into families and could marry Klamath.

The Modoc were the other and the smaller of the Lutuamian division. Though they had some conflict with the Klamath before the Modoc War of the 1870s, they were generally allies and had similar cultures. They lived chiefly in California to the south and east of the Klamath. Two bands in Oregon were on the Upper Lost River above Olene, and the Lower Lost River (Berreman 1937:44). Tribal organization in the political sense was lacking in the Modoc, with each band or village having its own chief. There were three types of leadership in Modoc society as with many other Plateau-type groups (e.g. Nez Perce). These were leadership in warfare, religion, and domestic affairs (Ray 1963:3). Achievement was the basis on which these were usually chosen. The highest legal authority was the village assembly (Ray 1953:9). Homicide and personal matters were a concern to the chief but were to be handled for the most part by the families involved.

The Modoc traveled in warm months on their annual food quest. They dismantled their winter homes in villages, only leaving the main poles standing, and upon their return they usually rebuilt the house over the wind cleaned pit (Ray 1963:180).

The Northern Paiute were the main Shoshonean speaking culture in Oregon. The Bannock also spent some time in the area which is now Oregon. There is much confusion when studying these groups, especially the Northern Paiute, because many of the early explorers and anthropologists were not clear in their use of terms such as Shoshoni, Bannock, Snake, (Steward 1938:271) and, the less than complimentary term, "digger." Those usually called the Shoshoni were Bannock and other Shoshonean groups to the east. Snake probably refers to the Walpapi, a division of the Northern Paiute (Berreman 1927:47; Swanton 1952:475). Digger was probably a descriptive term applied to Indians of the general area.

When looking at the Northern Paiute one encounters two separate systems of classing them into bands or villages. It is extremely difficult to talk of separate bands or villages since they moved very much and tended not to inhabit permanent sites on the scale the Plateau peoples did. One system used more recently are those names supposedly given groups by the Northern Paiute based on what resource they exploited at a certain time of the year. This system has difficulty because membership was fluid in these bands from season to season, and year to year. Not every area of the Northern Paiute territory was occupied either. Beatrice Blyth (1938:396, 403-404) has mapped these resource exploiting groups. South of the Tenino were the Juniper Deer Eaters (Wadikishitika), on the Upper John Day were the Hunibitika (Hunibui - a root), to the northeast of them were the Elk Eaters (Agaitika), south of them were the Tagu Root Eaters (Tagutika), south of the Hunibui Eaters were the Wada Root Eaters (Wadatika), around Lake Albert and Summer Lake were the Epos Eaters (Yapatika), at Warner Lake were the Groundhog Eaters (Gidutikad), and to the east and south of them were the Gwinidiba (meaning unknown). These names do not represent political units, since they split into smaller family and friendship groups when not exploiting their particular resource.

The Northern Paiute groups generally divided up into smaller kin and friendship units. These units consisted of two or three families not necessarily related. Kinship was bilateral since one married and chose residence usually on the basis of what was most feasible (Fowler 1966:59). This was because resources were scarcer in the Great Basin than elsewhere in Eastern Oregon. The people traveled about on foot in these small units most of the time and only came together into larger-groups for short periods where some resource was especially abundant (the band name). Perhaps these groups traveled only in their particular drainage system and there was no appreciable band movement over time, since there was no reason to cross barren wasteland (Davis 1966:151). The family or small group was the basic political unit, and nearly the only social or cultural unit.

Their houses were of brush and usually very temporary in design. They commonly ate seeds, roots, insects, and small animals, but they prized game animals and fish eating them when they were able to obtain them.

The Sahaptian speaking people to the north were their traditional enemies; According to Berreman (1937) they raided these people, but it is more likely that the Plateau peoples raided them (Ray 1938).

The existence of a group of Shoshonean speakers on Willow Creek in the middle of a group of Sahaptians, the Umatilla, is questioned. Berreman (1937:61) states that the group in question, the Lohim, were Northern Paiute, while Steward (1938:407) says they were a band of Lemhi, from the Bannock, who arrived from Idaho after 1856. The second theory seems more plausible. The U.S. government never recognized them and some scholars doubt their existence.

The Bannock Indians are also a group of Shoshoneans of which part of them occupied Oregon for a time according to some anthropologists.

They hunted large game animals on a larger scale than the Northern Paiute and are generally considered with the Indians of Idaho.

George P. Murdock (1938:400) and Verne Ray (1938:393) are in agreement with most scholars in their conclusion that there were never any Salishan speakers south of the Columbia River in numbers to constitute an ethnic grouping. They strongly contradict Berreman (1937:41) by stating there was never a Salishan group known as the Nekutameux east of the Wasco on the Columbia River. Another Salishan group Berreman mentioned was the Moses Columbia (1937:41) which is not cited widely in the literature. Joel Berreman believes that the Northern Paiute pushed these groups north of the Columbia. Other scholars (Ray et. al. 1938) feel just the opposite happened - Sahaptian speakers pushed the Shoshonean groups the opposite direction.

Barry, J. Neilson, 1927. "The Indians of Oregon - Geographic Distribution of Linguistic Families," Oregon Historical Quarterly, 28(1):49-61.

Berreman, Joel V., 1937. Tribal Distribution in Oregon, American Anthropological Association, Memoir no. 47.

Blyth, Beatrice, 1938. "Northern Paiute Bands in Oregon," in Verne F. Ray, "Tribal Distribution in Eastern Oregon and Adjacent Areas," American Anthropologist, 40:402-405.

Curtis, Edward S., 1907. The North American Indian, Johnson Reprint, Vols. 8,13.

Davis, Wilbur A., 1966. "Theoretical Problems in Western Prehistory," in d'Azevedo, Warren L., Wilbur A. Davis, Don D. Fowler, and Wayne Suttles (eds.), Current Status of Anthropological Research in the Great Basin, 1964, Reno: Desert Research Institute, pp. 147-165.

d'Azevedo, Warren L., Wilbur A. Davis, Don D. Fowler, and Wayne Suttles (eds.), 1966. Current Status of Anthropological Research in the Great Basin, 1964, Reno: Desert Research Institute.

Fowler, Don D., 1966. "Great Basin Social Organization," in d'Azevedo, Warren L., Wilbur A. Davis, Don D. Fowler, and Wayne Suttles, (eds.), Current Status of Anthropological Research in the Great Basin, 1964, Reno: Desert Research Institute, pp. 57-74.

French, David, 1961. "Wasco-Wishram" in Edward H. Spicer, (ed.), Perspectives in American Culture Change, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 337-430.

Gatschet, Albert Samuel, 1890. "The Klamath Indians of Southwestern Oregon," Contributions to North American Ethnology, 2(1-2).

Harris, Jack, 1938. "Western Shoshoni," in Verne F. Ray, "Tribal Distribution in Eastern Oregon and Adjacent Areas," American Anthropologist, 40:407-410.

Hoebel, E. Adamson, 1938. "Bands and Distributions of Eastern Shoshoni," in Verne F. Ray, "Tribal Distribution in Eastern Oregon and Adjacent Areas," American Anthropologist, 40:410-413.

Lewis, Albert B., 1906. Tribes of the Columbia Valley and the Coast of Washington and Oregon", American Anthropological Association, Memoir no. 1(2).

Malouf, Carling, 1966. "Ethnohistory in the Great Basin," in d'Azevedo, Warren L., Wilbur A. Davis, Don D. Fowler, and Wayne Suttles (eds.), Current Status of Anthropological Research in the Great Basin, 1964, Reno: Desert Research Institute, pp. 1-38.

Murdock, George P., 1938. "Notes on the Tenino, Molala, and Paiute of Oregon," in Verne F. Ray, "Tribal Distribution in Eastern Oregon and Adjacent Areas," American Anthropologist, 40:395-402.

Ray, Verne F., et. al.,1938. "Tribal Distribution in Eastern Oregon and Adjacent Areas," American Anthropologist, 40:384-415.

Ray, Verne F., 1939. Cultural Relations in the Plateau of Northwestern America, Frederick Webb Hodge Anniversary Fund, vol. 3.
-----, 1963. Primitive Pragmatists: The Modoc Indians of Northern California, Seattle and London: University of Washington Press.

Spinden, Herbert J., 1908. The Nez Perce Indians, American Anthropological Association Memoir no. 2(3).

Steward, Julian H., 1938. "Plateau-Basin Aboriginal Socio-political Groups," Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin, 120.

Stewart, Omer Call, 1938. "Northern Paiute," in Verne F. Ray, "Tribal Distribution in Eastern Oregon and Adjacent Areas," American Anthropologist, 40:405-407.
-----, 1966 . "Tribal Distributions and Boundaries in the Great Basin," in d'Azevedo, Warren L., et. al. (eds.), Current Status of Anthropological Research in the Great Basin, 1964, Reno: Desert Research Institute, pp. 167-237.

Suphan, Robert J., 1974a. "Ethnological Report on the Umatilla, Walla Walla, and Cayuse Indians" Oregon Indians, 2(2):85-180.
-----, 1974b. "Ethnological Report on the Wasco and Tenino Indians," Oregon Indians, 2(1):9-94.

Swanton, John R., 1952. "The Indian Tribes of North America," Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin, no. 145.