1.
Plateau Transportation
The tribes owned a tremendous number of horses. The bunch grass covered hills of Columbia
Basin was the home of the Cayuse and Appaloosa, as well as Pintos, Paints, and Mustang horses.
Due to the extraordinary amount of horses owned by the Indians living at the headwaters of the
Umatilla the rugged Cayuse horse was identified with the people who have traditionally lived
along the headwaters of the Umatilla River, on the foothills of the Blue Mountains. Appaloosas
were bread for speed and ceremony by the Cayuse, Palouse, and Nimipu (Nez Perce).
The Cayuse Tribe was known for their large horse herds that grazed in the foothills of the Blue
Mountains. Cayuse ponies were stout and able to move quickly through the steep and timbered
Blue mountains Prestige and wealth was partially reflected by the number of horses that a person
owned.
Tribal elders tell us that in those days the Indians had thousands and thousands of horses and that
they needed areas for them to graze. There wasn't enough grazing area so they had to spread the
horses out. The Cayuse used to graze horses all through the Umatilla Basin, across the Columbia
River on the Horse Heaven Hills all the way to Hanford to the north, on the east side of the Blue
Mountains from the Grande Ronde country all the way to Huntington, to the John Day River
country in the South and all the way to the Cascades in the west.
The horse expanded Shahaptian and Cayuse culture, improved mobility and brought the Cayuse,
Walla Walla, and Umatilla into contact with other Indian cultures in Montana, Wyoming, Canada,
California, Nevada, and throughout the Pacific Northwest. Horses increased the Tribes mobility
allowing members to travel further, faster. Horses allowed for new ideas to be introduced from
new places as well as allowing other Indians to travel and trade along the Columbia River.
While on the extended seasonal round, Indians would hunt elk, deer, and gather plant foods.
Instead of packing resources themselves or by dog they would now dry meat and plants and pack
them onto horses and move on to the next destination. They would go down to the river to trade
and fish. If there was a surplus of food supplies and/or horses procured during the seasonal round
the surplus would be used for trading to obtain desirable resources.
Source:http://www.umatilla.nsn.us/hist1.html#wayoflife (article and photo)
2.
In the old days the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla people had to have housing that was easy
to move from place to place because they had to travel much of the time to gather food.
The Cayuse, Umatilla, Walla Walla and other Plateau tribes had a special kind of tent that no
other Indian people used. It was called a longhouse. The longhouse was made out of lodgepoles
much like a tepee, only much longer. It could reach up to 80 feet in length. The longhouse
resembled the modern day "A" frame house in appearance. The covering was made out of "tule"
mats. The long skinny-leafed tule plants grow along rivers and ponds. They were gathered, dried
and strung together to make mats. The mats were placed on the poles and tied down. When the
family wished to move they simply removed the mats and traveled on to the next camp. The
poles were left behind because it was much easier to have a set of poles at each camp.
Beginning in the early 1700's the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla people raised great herds of
horses. Having horses made it possible for them to travel great distances from the lowlands along
the Columbia River to the upper reaches of the Blue Mountains to gather and harvest the seasonal
crops of wild foods. They also traveled across the Rocky Mountains to trade dried roots and
salmon to midwestern tribes who had buffalo meat and hides. They also learned how to make
tepee's from the
midwestern tribes and
sometimes used buffalo
hides to cover the poles;
although this was never as
common as tule mats.
Another item borrowed
from the tribes east of the
Rocky Mountains was the
travois. A travois is two
long poles tied together
and pulled along by a
horse. This was how they
carried their belongings.
Today the Indian people of
the Umatilla Reservation
live in houses, but they still use teepees on certain occasions, like traditional celebrations or
camping in the mountains. However, the tepees are now covered with canvas instead of tule mats.
Source: http://www.umatilla.nsn.us/hist3.html
3. Colville women including Nellie Friedlander on horseback, Washington
Three women wearing beaded dresses & headbands on horseback in front of tepees.
Woman in middle holds a toddler.
Source: http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/loc&CISOPTR=475&CISOBOX=1&REC=8
4. Colville men on horseback cross bridge, ca. 1906
Source: http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/loc&CISOPTR=446&CISOBOX=1&REC=17
5. Colville woman carries a cradleboard on horseback, Washington
Colville woman carries a cradleboard on horseback, Washington
Notes Woman in scarf, with blanket over legs rides astride, with a beaded
cradleboard hanging from the saddle. In background can be seen tepees in the
distance.
Source : http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/loc&CISOPTR=506&CISOBOX=1&REC=20
6.
Source : http://www.k12.wa.us/IndianEd/Curriculum/IndiansofWashingtonState.pdf