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Yakama History Timeline

(c. 10,000 BCE–Present)

Yakama History traces the enduring story of the Indigenous peoples of the Columbia Plateau, including their ancestral lifeways, treaty-making, reservation experiences, defense of sovereignty and fishing rights, and ongoing cultural revitalization. Less

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Reservation and treaty history

Yakama Reservation created

1855

The Yakama Indian Reservation was created in 1855 by a treaty signed by the governor of Washington Territory. The reservation is associated with the federally recognized Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation.

Treaty dispute begins

1855

Disputes over the conditions of the 1855 treaty created conflict between the Yakama and the United States.

Image source: Yakima War

Treaty dispute begins

Yakima War

1855 - 1858

The Yakama and allied tribes waged the Yakima War against the United States from 1855 to 1858 in response to disputes over treaty conditions.

Reservation name spelled Yakima

1855 - 1994

The reservation and tribe were spelled Yakima from the treaty era until the tribal council changed the spelling in 1994.

Image source: Yakama Indian Reservation

Reservation name spelled Yakima

Bannock War

1878

Following the Bannock War of 1878, the United States government forced Northern Paiute people out of Nevada and onto the Yakama Reservation, although most had not been involved in the war.

Northern Paiute relocation to Yakama

1878

After the Bannock War, Northern Paiute people were forcibly moved from Nevada to the Yakama Reservation by the United States government.

Image source: Northern Paiute people

Northern Paiute relocation to Yakama

Duck Valley Reservation expansion

1886

The expansion of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation in 1886 permitted Northern Paiute people to return to Nevada and reunite with their Western Shoshone relatives.

Image source: Duck Valley Indian Reservation

Duck Valley Reservation expansion

Northern Paiute return to Nevada

1886

Northern Paiute people were able to return to Nevada after the 1886 expansion of the Duck Valley Indian Reservation.

Yakama spelling adopted

1994

In 1994, the Yakima Tribal Council unanimously voted to change the spelling of the tribe's name from Yakima to Yakama, matching the spelling used in the 1855 treaty.

Reservation area measured

2000

The United States Census Bureau reported that the Yakama Reservation covered 2,185.94 square miles, or 5,661.56 square kilometers.

Governance and jurisdiction

Tribal misdemeanor jurisdiction retained

1963

Although most criminal and civil jurisdiction transferred to Washington in 1963, the tribe continued handling misdemeanors and traffic infractions.

Image source: Public Law 280

Tribal misdemeanor jurisdiction retained

Public Law 280 jurisdiction transfer

1963

In 1963, most criminal and civil jurisdiction over tribal members was transferred from the tribe to the Washington state government under Public Law 280.

Tribal alcohol ban expanded

2000

In 2000, the tribal council voted to extend its alcohol ban across the entire 1.2-million-acre reservation, including private land owned by an estimated 20,000 nontribal residents.

Federal liquor enforcement opinion

2001

In 2001, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington stated that federal prosecutors would enforce existing federal liquor laws but would not enforce a ban on alcohol sales in privately owned, non-Indian communities within the reservation.

Washington legalizes recreational marijuana

2012

Washington voters enacted Initiative 502 in 2012, making recreational marijuana generally legal in the state. The Yakama later opposed marijuana licensing on their lands.

Image source: Cannabis in Washington (state)

Washington legalizes recreational marijuana

Yakama challenges marijuana licenses

2014

In 2014, the tribe filed challenges to nearly 1,300 pending applications for marijuana business licenses across the ten-county area containing the reservation.

Public safety and land issues

Unsolved killings on the reservation

1983 - 1993

From 1983 to April 1993, thirteen women were killed on the reservation and two other women disappeared in the early 1990s. None of the cases was solved, contributing to Native distrust of the FBI.

Women disappearances in the early 1990s

1990 - 1993

Two women disappeared on the reservation in the early 1990s. Their cases, like the killings from the same period, remained unsolved.

Shrub-steppe rangeland documented

2014

About 410,000 acres of the reservation are shrub-steppe rangeland. The land supported a severely excessive wild horse population by 2014.

Wild horse population reported

2014

In 2014, about 15,000 wild horses roamed the reservation's shrub-steppe rangeland, a population described as unsustainable and many times greater than the land could support.

Cougar Creek fire affects reservation

2015

The Yakama Reservation was affected by the Cougar Creek fire, one of the Washington wildfires of 2015.

Image source: 2015 Washington wildfires

Cougar Creek fire affects reservation

Public safety crisis declared

Feb 2018

In February 2018, the Yakama tribal council declared a public safety crisis in response to a surge of crime on the reservation, particularly in White Swan.

Youth curfew and crime measures imposed

Jun 2019

In June 2019, the tribal council said the reservation faced drug use, violent crime, disregard for the rule of law, and civil unrest. It responded with a youth curfew, a telephone hotline for reporting crime, and increased penalties for theft and assault.

Community conditions

Reservation population recorded

2000

According to the United States Census Bureau, the reservation's population was 31,799 in 2000.

Yakama unemployment and poverty documented

2005

The Yakama Nation was described as suffering from high poverty and unemployment, with the 2005 report documenting substantial family poverty.

Yakama poverty rate reported

2005

A 2005 report indicated that 42.8 percent of Yakama Nation families lived in poverty.

Yakama Nation enrollment reported

2009

Roughly 10,000 people were enrolled members of the Yakama Nation in 2009.

Reservation housing encampment established

2016

In 2016, about 130 people evicted from tribal housing established an encampment on the reservation.

Housing eviction encampment forms

2016

The 2016 encampment brought attention to housing insecurity after tribal-housing evictions left roughly 130 people without stable housing.

Tribal housing wait list reported

2017

As of 2017, approximately 1,800 families were on a wait list for tribal housing, while the reservation also experienced high rates of homelessness.

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Key Facts

  1. The Yakama peoples have longstanding cultural, economic, and spiritual connections to the Columbia Plateau, especially the areas surrounding the Yakima and Columbia Rivers.
  2. In the Treaty of 1855, Yakama leaders reserved rights to fish, hunt, gather foods and medicines, and practice cultural traditions across their usual and accustomed territories.
  3. The Yakama Indian Reservation was established in south-central Washington under the 1855 treaty, though the treaty process involved major land cessions and continuing conflict.
  4. The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation have defended their treaty fishing rights through legal and political action, including the landmark United States v. Washington case.
  5. Yakama communities continue to strengthen sovereignty, language, ceremony, traditional foods, and cultural education while governing as a federally recognized tribal nation.

Source

This Yakama History timeline was generated with the help of AI, using information found on the internet.

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