Klikitat is derived from a Chinook term meaning "beyond" (the Cascade Mountains). Their self-designation was Qwulh-hwai-pum, "Prairie People." The Klikitat were culturally similar to the Yakima.
Location Klikitats lived and continue to live in the vicinity of Mt. Adams in south-central Washington.
Population The precontact population was roughly 700. Today Klikitat descendants constitute roughly 8 percent of the population of the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Indian Nation (about 500 people).
Language Klikitat was a member of the Sahaptian division of the Penutian language family.
Historical Information
History The Klikitat may have originated south of the Columbia River, moving north in the prehistoric period to become skilled horsepeople and fighters after they acquired horses around 1700. The 1805 encounter with Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, on the Yakima and Klikitat Rivers, was friendly all around.
Skilled with firearms, the Klikitat sometimes acted as mercenaries for other Indian tribes, taking women and horses as pay. Their effort during the 1820s to expand south of the Columbia was repulsed by the Umpqua. Later, the Klikitats had their revenge by helping whites to conquer the Umpqua. They also scouted for the U.S. Army in the 1850s.
In 1855, the United States asked Klikitats and other local Indians, including Yakimas, to cede 10.8 million acres of land. Most tribes accepted a 1.2-million-acre reservation in exchange. Although Indians retained fishing and gathering rights at their usual off-reservation places and were given at least two years to relocate, the governor of Washington declared their land open to non-Indians 12 days after the treaty council ended.
In anger at this betrayal, a few Yakimas killed some whites. When soldiers arrived, a large group of Indians drove them away. In retaliation for the treacherous murder of a Wallawalla chief and negotiator, the Wallawalla, Klikitat, Cayuse, and Umatilla Indians joined the Yakimas in fighting non-Indians. Yakimas agreed to settle on a reservation in 1859, after the war ended and 24 of their number were executed. The future Yakima Indian Nation included, in addition to Yakima bands, the Klikitat, Wanapam, Wishram, Palus (Palouse), and the Wenatchi.
Reservation Yakimas entered a brief period of prosperity but were soon pressured to sell land; most people were forced into poverty, obtaining some seasonal work at best. In 1891, about one-third of the reservation land had been allotted to individuals, but the Yakima Nation, under Chief Shawaway Lotiahkan, was able to retain the "surplus" usually sold to non-Indians in such cases. Still, many of the individual allotments, including some of the best irrigated land, were soon lost. Around the turn of the century as much as 80 percent of the reservation was in non-Indian hands.
As a result of twentieth-century dam construction (Bonneville, 1938; Grand Coulee, 1941; Dalles, 1956), the number of salmon and steelhead that returned to spawn to the Yakima River declined by between 98-99 percent. The issue of fishing rights remained an important and controversial one from the beginning of the reservation period through its resolution in 1974. Well into the twentieth century, Yakima Nation people continued much of their traditional subsistence and ceremonial activities.
Religion Klikitats believed in a supreme creator and many other deities as well. Adolescent boys undertook spirit quests in the mountains. Shamans, recipients of particularly powerful guardian spirits, cured illness but were sometimes killed themselves if their patient died.
Government Nomadic bands were led by nonhereditary chiefs with advisory powers. Before the historic period, the tribe created two divisions, eastern and western, of which the latter mixed with Cowlitz Indians west of the Cascades to become Taitnapams.
Customs Dogs and women carried most burdens before the horse’s arrival. Burial took place in rock slides and gravel pits lined with cedar planks. Occasionally a corpse, along with tools and ornaments, was cremated in such a pit. Klikitats were skilled horse riders.
Dwellings Klikitats traditionally lived in typical Plateau-style semisubterranean circular pit houses with conical earth-covered roofs. Aboveground, mat-covered houses partially replaced the pit houses around 1800.
Diet Fish, especially salmon, was the dietary staple. Various berries, roots, bulbs, and other plant foods were also important. Men also hunted deer, elk, antelope, and various large and small game.
Key Technology The reed mat served a number of purposes, as did coiled and twined baskets. Containers were made out of bark as well as reeds. Hunting weapons included spears and the bow and arrow. Spears, nets, and weirs were used in fishing. Other tools included stone drills, scrapers, and knives. Antler wedges were used to split wood. Bone was used to make awls and needles.
Trade Skilled traders, Klikitats served as intermediaries between Northwest Coast and Plateau peoples.
Notable Arts Women made fine baskets that were sometimes decorated with geometric patterns. Beginning in the late prehistoric period, they also made clothing decorated with quillwork, shells, and feathers, as well as fine beaded blankets.
Transportation The people used dugout canoes and snowshoes. They acquired horses around 1700.
Dress Bark and fur breechclouts, aprons, and ponchos were replaced by Plains-style clothing in the eighteenth century. Women wore twined basket hats.
War and Weapons Weapons of war were generally the same as hunting weapons, with the addition of stone clubs. Klikitat bows and arrows were of particularly high quality.
Contemporary Information
Government/Reservations The Yakima Reservation and Trust Lands (1859) are located in Klikitat, Lewis, and Yakima Counties, Washington. They consist of roughly 1.4 million acres. The 1992 enrolled Indian population was 8,315 (of a total reservation population of well over 27,000). The reservation is governed by a 14-member tribal council.
Some Klikitats also live on the Siletz Reservation (see Upper Umpqua in Chapter 3).
Economy Timber and its associated industries, including a furniture manufacturing plant, are the nation’s main income producer. The reservation also owns extensive range and farmland, although 80 percent of irrigated land remains leased by non-Indians. The Wapato Project provides control over their own water. The Yakima-Klikitat Fish Production Project, a cooperative effort between the Yakima Nation and Washington State, is a major fishery restoration/conservation venture.
In addition to fishing and small business enterprises, the nation owns an industrial park containing Indian and non-Indian industries. The Yakima Land Enterprise operates fruit orchards and stands and a recreational vehicle park. Government and the tribe provide other jobs. Still, unemployment fluctuates between about 30 and 60 percent, and up to 75 percent of the people live below the poverty level.
Legal Status The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakima Indian Nation is a federally recognized tribal entity.
Daily Life Klikitats are no longer distinct as a tribe. In 1972, the United States restored about 22,000 acres of land, including the sacred Pahto (Mt. Adams). The Longhouse (Seven Drums) religion is active on the reservation, as are sweat house customs and first foods feasts. The longhouse serves as the locus of Indian identity. Longhouse families throughout the Plateau region are tied together, mostly through marriage. The Indian Shaker religion is also active on the reservation, as are Christian churches.
In addition to religious practice, Yakimas maintain many aspects of traditional culture, including family customs, service, and leadership. The language is alive and well, especially as part of religious ceremonies and among more traditional people. There are language classes for adults and childrens. Yakima basketry is still an important art and craft.
The nation operates a huge, full-service cultural center, museum, and restaurant in addition to two community centers and an elders’ retirement center. As part of an overall emphasis on education, the nation provides incentives such as scholarships and summer programs. Children attend public school on the reservation. There is also a tribally run school as well as a private, four-year liberal arts college on the reservation. The nation publishes newspapers and operates a radio station. It also hosts an annual summer all-Indian rodeo, a powwow, a huckleberry festival, and basketball tournaments. Lawsuits over water use from the Yakima River system are pending.
