Cayuse (Native Americans of the Plateau)

Cayuse is a word derived from the French cailloux, meaning "People of the Stones or Rocks." Their self-designation was Waiilatpus, "Superior People." The Cayuse were culturally similar to the Nez Perce and Wallawalla.

Location In the eighteenth century, Cayuse Indians lived along the headwaters of the Walla Walla, Umatilla, and Grande Ronde Rivers, in present-day Oregon and Washington. Today, most Cayuse live in Umatilla County, Oregon, and in regional cities and towns.

Population The Cayuse population was about 500 in the eighteenth century. In 1990, 1,028 Cayuse, Umatilla, and Wallawalla Indians lived on the Umatilla Reservation.

Language Cayuse, or Waillatpuan, may have been associated with the Sahaptian division of the Penutian language family. However, many Cayuse adopted the Nez Perce language in the nineteenth century.

Historical Information

History The Cayuse may have lived with the Molala Indians, on the John Day River, until the early eighteenth century. At that time the Cayuse acquired horses, and by the nineteenth century they owned many horses and were very strong and dominating for the size of the tribe. They expanded northward and eastward, into the Grande Ronde and Walla Walla Valleys, subjugating the Wallawalla tribe in the process. They also regularly hunted buffalo on the Great Plains, adapting many Plains cultural attributes.


Largely because of their enormous herds of horses, the Cayuse became so wealthy during this period that they no longer bothered to fish, trading instead for fish and other necessities. They welcomed the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1806 and welcomed as well the fur traders who entered their territory shortly thereafter. They were not especially interested in furs but rather in the goods of non-Indian manufacture that they might trade for. Their openness to non-natives was also due in part to their luck at having so far escaped most of the disease epidemics that ravaged other Indian peoples.

The first Presbyterian missions in the area opened in 1836. In 1843, the first emigrants traveled on the Oregon Trail. In 1847, relations between the Cayuse and whites, hitherto friendly, took a dramatic turn for the worse when a group of Indians destroyed the local mission and killed its founders, Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, and others. They blamed the missionaries for the disease epidemics that were destroying their people. They also resented the Whitmans for their intolerance to the Indians and their new wealth based on sales of former Indian land.

The Whitman "massacre" was the opening salvo in a constant struggle (the Cayuse war) with non-natives that lasted until about 1850. Tiloukaikt, a band chief and former friend of non-native traders, was a leader in this conflict. The tribe was ultimately defeated, and some of its members were hanged by the U.S. government. By this time, disease, warfare, and intermarriage with the Nez Perce had greatly reduced the tribe. Although the Cayuse kept up sporadic resistance into the 1850s, they were assigned by treaty to the Umatilla Reservation in 1855 and most were removed there in 1860. Some Cayuses took up farming on the reservation. Some joined the Yakimas (1855), Nez Perces (1877), and Bannocks (1878) in their various wars against the whites, but some also served with the U.S. Army during these wars.

Religion Individuals acquired and maintained relationships with helping nature spirits. Such spirits were obtained during adolescent quests; their powers, which facilitated various skills, were revealed many years later. Shamans acquired particularly strong guardian spirits. They led religious ceremonies and cured illness by blowing, sucking, and chanting. They were also regularly killed for misusing or stealing power. The main religious ceremonies were related to guardian spirits (winter ceremonies), food, and battle.

Government At least in early historic times, each of three autonomous bands was led by a chief and occasionally a war chief. The three chiefs made up a tribal council. Chiefs usually owned many horses and were responsible in part for lecturing their people on proper behavior. The bands, composed of families, were seminomadic. Most subsistence activity was carried out at the family level. By the mid-nineteenth century a single chief had replaced the tripartite structure.

Customs Wealthy men could have more than one wife. The Cayuse regularly intermarried with the Nez Perce. There were strict sanctions against adultery. Infants’ heads were shaped for aesthetic purposes. Twins were often killed at birth. In the eighteenth century, the Cayuse became highly skilled horsepeople and adopted the Plains philosophy of war and raiding.

Dwellings Typical Plateau woven reed and mat summer huts and semisubterranean earth-covered winter lodges gave way to hide tipis in the eighteenth century.

Diet Salmon and other fish were the staples. This was supplemented by various plant foods, especially camas and other roots, and berries. Large and small game also contributed to the Cayuse diet.

Key Technology Woven reed mats and baskets played a major role in Cayuse material culture.

Trade Particularly after the early eighteenth century, the Cayuse dominated trade at the Dalles, site of the region’s premier trade fair, as well as at other trade locations. Among other items, salmon products and shells came from the west, and elk and buffalo products came from the east. Horses became the most important trade item: In the early nineteenth century, the Cayuse commonly exchanged beaver and horses for guns and ammunition. The Cayuse also collected tribute from weaker tribes.

Notable Arts Cayuse Indians were known for their fine baskets and, later, horse equipment.

Transportation Horses arrived in Cayuse country about 1750. In the early nineteenth century, each person had from 10 to 15 to up to as many as 2,000 horses.

Dress Plateau-style clothing of bark and fur breechclouts, aprons, and ponchos were replaced in the eighteenth century by Plains-style clothing such as long dresses for women, shirts and leggings for men, and moccasins. This late-prehistoric clothing was made of tanned skins, especially antelope and elk, and decorated with fringe and quillwork.

War and Weapons In common with most Plateau groups, the Cayuse engaged in little raiding or warfare until they acquired horses. At that time, they quickly subjugated neighbors such as the Umatilla and the Wallawalla. Plains-style raiding for booty and glory became very important, as did secret war societies and ceremonial preparations for combat. Women and children, particularly Shastas and Klamaths, were taken as slaves, and captured men were killed. The prebattle ceremony included fasting, sweating, praying, and dancing. Western Shoshones were traditional enemies of the Cayuse, whereas the Nez Perce were longtime allies.

Cayuse finery in this early 1900s photograph shows two styles of warbonnets: The horseman wears a halo style with bison horns, and a standup warbonnet is worn by the man holding the heavily fringed rifle scabbard. In common with most Plateau groups, the Cayuse engaged in little raiding or warfare until they acquired horses. The prebattle ceremony included fasting, sweating, praying, and dancing.

Cayuse finery in this early 1900s photograph shows two styles of warbonnets: The horseman wears a halo style with bison horns, and a standup warbonnet is worn by the man holding the heavily fringed rifle scabbard. In common with most Plateau groups, the Cayuse engaged in little raiding or warfare until they acquired horses. The prebattle ceremony included fasting, sweating, praying, and dancing.

Contemporary Information

Government/Reservations Most Cayuses live on the Umatilla Reservation, Umatilla and Union Counties, Oregon (1855; Umatilla, Cayuse, Wallawalla). The reservation contains 95,273 acres; in 1990, its Indian population was 1,028 people. The reservation is governed by a nine-member elected tribal council plus several active committees. The constitution and bylaws were adopted in 1949.

The Umatilla Reservation is a member of the Umatilla Basin Project, the Columbia River Intertribal Fish Commission, the Basalt Waste Isolation Project, the Hanford Environmental Dose Reconstruction Project, the Columbia Gorge Commission, and other environmental and planning organizations.

Economy In the 1960s, each member of tribe was paid almost $3,500 as compensation for fishing sites lost to the Dalles Dam. There have been other land claims settlements as well. The reservation is developing an Oregon Trail Interpretive Center. There is income from farm leases. Tribal programs provide credit as well as seasonal and regular employment. The tribes also own a forest, a range, a store, and a lake (facilities for camping and fishing).

Legal Status The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation is a federally recognized tribal entity.

Daily Life The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Reservation value both traditional and modern education. There are some language preservation programs as well as a college scholarship fund. Facilities include a day care center, an arts and crafts organization, and health education and substance abuse programs. Activities include the annual Pendleton Round-up (dances, crafts fair, rodeo) and an annual Indian festival of the arts. The Seven Drum religion is a major force in cultural revitalization.

Traditional first salmon and roots ceremonies are also celebrated. The tribes’ role in regional economic and political affairs continues to grow.

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