Yakama
The Yakama were a Sahaptian-speaking people who occupied the Yakima River valley and adjacent areas of present-day south-central Washington, ranging from the eastern slopes of the Cascades to the Columbia River. Lewis and Clark encountered bands associated with the Yakama during the downstream journey on the Columbia in October 1805, observing large fishing camps and communities dependent on the great salmon runs. The Yakama were part of the broader Plateau cultural complex, practicing a seasonal subsistence round of salmon fishing, root gathering (especially camas and bitterroot), and upland hunting, and they maintained extensive trade connections with both coastal and interior peoples.
Portrait: Wikimedia Commons / Wikipedia: Yakama
Most Mentioned in Yakama-tagged Entries
People
- Clark (1)
Places
- Snake River (1)
- Columbia River (1)
- Pasco, Washington (1)
- Pacific Ocean (1)
- River of the West (1)
Wildlife
- salmon (1)
Territory & Encounter Locations
Treaties (3)
Tent of Many Voices (4)
Journal Entries (1)
Cross-Narrator Analyses
AI-assisted scholarly analyses that cite or discuss Yakama — showing 2 of the most recent matches.
The Shawnee Nation in the Lewis & Clark Record
Though the Corps of Discovery did not encounter the Shawnee homeland during their westward journey, the Shawnee people occupied a notable place…
The Yakama Nation in the Lewis & Clark Journals: A Brief Encounter at the Great Confluence
The Yakama people appear in the expedition record at a single pivotal moment — the Corps of Discovery's October 1805 arrival at…
From Heacock's Writings
2 mirrored articles by Robert Heacock that mention Yakama.
