Wishram ("Wish rem), or Tlakluit, a Plateau group with many cultural attributes of Northwest Coast Indians. They were culturally similar to the neighboring Wasco people.
Location Wishram Indians lived along the north bank of the Columbia River, several miles above and below the Dalles. Today, their descendants live on local reservations, especially the Yakima, and in regional cities and towns.
Population The eighteenth-century Wishram population was about 1,500. A 1962 census listed 10 Wishrams in Washington. The contemporary population is part of the Warm Springs and Yakima Reservation communities.
Language Wishram was a member of the Chinookan (Kiksht) division of the Penutian language family.
Historical Information
History Owing to their physical location at the Dalles, the most important trading area in the Northwest, the Wishram traditionally enjoyed favorable trade relations with many neighboring tribes. In the early nineteenth century, however, non-Indian traders threatened this position while at the same time the Wishram population was declining rapidly due to disease. Conflict with traders was one result. Ongoing intertribal warfare also took a population toll.
In 1855, the Wishram and Wasco were forced to sign treaties ceding most of their land (roughly 10 million acres); the treaties established the Warm Springs Reservation in north-central Oregon. Wishram Indians also became part of the Yakima Indian Nation on the Yakima Reservation. A key treaty provision allowing the Indians to fish "at all. . . usual and accustomed stations in common with the citizens of the United States…" served as the basis for a landmark legal ruling in 1974 that protected the Northwest Coast Indian fishery. In the 1860s members of the Warm Springs Reservation organized informally into linguistic and cultural divisions: There were Sahaptian-speaking people ("Warm Springs Indians"); Upper Chinookan-speaking Wascos and Wishrams; and Northern Paiutes after 1879.
In 1891, about one-third of Yakima Reservation land was allotted to individuals, but the Yakima Nation, under chief Shawaway Lotiahkan, retained the "surplus" usually sold to non-Indians in such cases. Still, much land that was allotted to Indians was soon lost, including some of the best irrigated land. Around the turn of the century as much as 80 percent of the reservation was in non-Indian hands.
The Warm Springs Boarding School opened in 1897; designed to eradicate Indian culture, it fell short of its goal before it closed in the 1960s. Dams, however (Bonneville, 1938; Grand Coulee, 1941; Dalles, 1956), destroyed the native fisheries. Although the tribes were compensated financially for the fisheries, the spiritual and cultural loss was devastating. During the course of the twentieth century the number of salmon and steelhead that returned to the Yakima River to spawn declined by about 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, Yakimas continued much of their traditional subsistence and ceremonial activities.
Religion Adolescent boys sought guardian spirits by fasting and performing feats of skill or daring associated with remote places. Shamans’ guardian spirits, usually several animals, helped them cure the sick. Important ceremonies included first salmon rites as well as midwinter guardian spirit dances.
Government Each of several villages was led by a hereditary chief.
Customs Wishram Indians observed the system of social stratification typical of Northwest Coast Indians: There were nobles, middle-class, commoners, and slaves; the slaves were acquired in war or trade. Slavery was also hereditary. Marriage was formalized by an exchange of gifts and family visits. Infants were occasionally betrothed for purposes of creating or cementing family alliances. Corpses were wrapped in buckskin and interred in plank burial houses. Remarriage to the dead spouse’s sibling was common. Fishing areas were privately owned and inheritable by groups of families.
Dwellings Wishrams probably built plank houses characteristic of the coastal style. Beginning about the eighteenth century, they also built circular winter houses, holding between one and six families. These were built of a pole framework over a six-foot pit, covered with mats of grass and dirt or cedar bark. Entrance was through the smoke hole. Bed platforms were located around the walls. In summer, people built gabled-roof mat lodges with several fireplaces. Hunters and mourners purified themselves, and the sick healed, in sweat lodges.
Diet Fish, especially salmon, pike, eels, sturgeon, and smelts, was the most important food. Salmon eggs were also eaten. Fish were either eaten fresh or dried or smoked and ground for long-term storage. Important plant foods included roots, bulbs (especially camas), wild onions, wild potatoes, acorns, and various nuts and berries. Men hunted game to supplement the diet.
Key Technology In addition to nets, weirs, traps, and spears for fishing, men made a variety of carved wood tools and utensils. Women made twined baskets and bags decorated with geometric figures.
Trade The Dalles, or Five Mile Rapids, in Wishram territory was the most important trading location in the Northwest; several thousand Northwest Coast and Plateau Indians traded there during various trade fairs. Wishram and Wasco people acted as intermediaries in the trade of a huge amount and variety of items, including blankets, shells, slaves, canoes, fish and animal products, dried roots, bear grass, and, later, horses. Trade connections stretched from Canada to Mexico and from the Rocky Mountains west to the ocean.
Notable Arts Baskets and some carved wood items were exceptionally well made.
Transportation Men built and traded for dugout canoes and snowshoes.
Dress Most clothing was made of skins. Men wore breechclouts; women wore aprons and basket caps. People also painted their faces and wore dentalium shell ornaments. Plains-style clothing became popular in the nineteenth century.
War and Weapons At least in the early to mid-nineteenth century, the Wishram and Wasco fought Northern Paiutes, Bannocks, and Northern Shoshones.
Contemporary Information
Government/Reservations The Yakima Reservation and Trust Lands (1859) are located in Klikitat, Lewis, and Yakima Counties, Washington. They contain roughly 1.4 million acres. The 1990 Indian population was 6,296, of a total population of well over 27,000. The Yakima Nation is governed by a 14-member tribal council.
The Warm Springs Reservation (1855; Wasco/Wishram, Wallawalla [Warm Springs], and Northern Paiute) is located in Clakamas, Jefferson, Marian, and Wasco Counties, Oregon. It contains 643,507 acres. The 1990 Indian population was 2,818. The 1993 tribal enrollment was 3,410. Decisions of the 11-member tribal council are subject to general review by referendum. An Indian Reorganization Act constitution was adopted in 1938.
Economy Warm Springs features the Kah-Nee-Ta resort; the Warm Springs Forest Products Industries, which includes logging, a plywood plant, and a sawmill; herds of wild horses; a salmon hatchery; a tribally owned hydroelectric plant; a museum; a casino; and two radio stations. Tribal government is also a major provider of jobs. The tribe’s economy is significantly self-sufficient and reservation based.
A Wishram bride wears a loop necklace, a dress with six broad rows of lazy-stitch beading on the yoke. She has three strands of white disk shell beads, used as currency, as a necklace. The front of her wedding cap has a row of Chinese coins.
Timber is the Yakima Nation’s main income producer; its forest products industry includes a furniture manufacturing plant. The nation maintains extensive range and farmland. However, 80 percent of irrigated land remains leased by non-Indians. The Wapato Project provides the Indians with control over their own water.
The Yakima-Klickitat Fish Production Project, a cooperative effort between the Yakima Nation and Washington State, is a major fishery restoration/ conservation venture. An industrial park contains Indian and non-Indian industries. The Yakima Land Enterprise operates fruit orchards and stands and a recreational vehicle park. Other employment is provided by the government and the nation as well as by small business enterprises. 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 Nation and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation are both federally recognized tribal entities. Lawsuits over water use from the Yakima River system are pending.
Daily Life The Warm Springs Sahaptians remain the most traditional group on the reservation; this language is spoken on ceremonial occasions. Few people still speak Wishram. Warm Springs children attend public grade school on the reservation and public high school off the reservation. The Seven Drum religion, conducted in Sahaptian, provides a link to other Plateau Sahaptian communities. The Feather Dance religion, which emphasizes ritual healing, is also active on the Warm Springs reservation.
On the Yakima Reservation, many people follow the Longhouse (Seven Drums) religion as well as sweat house customs and first foods feasts. The longhouse serves as the locus of Indian identity and is used for ceremonial occasions. Longhouse families throughout the Plateau region are linked together, mostly through marriage. The Indian Shaker religion is also active on the reservation, as are several Christian churches.
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. Adults and children may take classes to strengthen their native language skills. Yakima basketry is still an important art and craft.
The Yakima Reservation boasts a huge, full-service tribal cultural center, museum, and restaurant in addition to two community centers. There is an emphasis on education, with the tribe providing incentives such as scholarships and summer programs. Children attend public school on the reservation. The reservation also sponsors a tribally run school; a private, accredited, four-year liberal arts college; tribal newspapers; and a radio station. It hosts an annual all-Indian rodeo, a powwow, a huckleberry festival, and several basketball tournaments. In 1972, the government restored about 22,000 acres of land to the Yakima Nation, including the sacred Pahto (Mt. Adams).
