Yakima

Introduction - (SLL-ChristinaL)
Washington State.

Habitat/Homes (SLL-ChristinaL)-
The Yakima lived in a tipis with buffalo hides and wooden poles. . The yakima lived along the river named after them, a tributary of the Columbia River, in tributary now in southern Washington Sate.They are conisdered a part of the Plateau Culyure Area.

The tipi uses a hide flap as a doorway. The entrances faced east, toward the rising sun. If the weather was miserable or a storm was brewing, the people positioned the flap to keep themselves dry.

Dress - (OSL-Rebekah)
The Yakimas wore clothing so different from us. The men wore robes and the women wore dresses made out of deerskin and mountain goat skin. On the dresses there was quilt work and beads. They wore breech clouts, moccasins on their feet, and fur robes and hats. The Yakimas wore short buckskin shirts with a pattern of holes punched out of the shirt. Originally men wore headdresses. They wore feather warbonnets like The Sioux. Women wore fez-shaped basket hats, wedding headdresses, and sometimes the women painted their faces for festive occasions, but men did not paint their faces. The Yakima tribe wore their hair either in 2 braids or let it hang long and loose, and only cut their hair when mourning ( mourning means to be sad). Men wrapped their robes in fur.



Food - (OSL-Rebekah)
The Yakima Indians fished for fish. They hunted deer and caribou.They also hunted for elk and. They ate bears too. The Yakima women picked berries such as blueberries, strawberries and other berries. They also ate nuts. I think I would have a hard time living there. But to them its just home. They had water in their environment so they probably drank water.




 * Yakima Favorites **

The Yakimas favorite stories to tell are legends and fairy tales. The Yakima Indians make baskets, wood carvings, and other Indian art work. Some of the stories they told were The Stick People, Chinook Wind, and Legend of the Lost Salmon. The Yakima Indians speak a language they call The Yakima Language. The little girls played with buckskin dolls.


 * Yakima Parents **

The children liked to hunt, fish with their fathers. The women collect herbs took care of children and cooked. The men hunted, fished and to protect their family even went to war. Both the parents told stories did artwork liked music and were like doctors to their kids.

** A Yakima Legend  **

One of the reasons the Yakima’s regions were very rough is because there is a legend that says Once upon a time the creator of a land got angry at the people because they were always fighting. The creator caused landslides to bury them. The Yakima say that they can hear the spirits of the dead in the winds whistling through the mountains.

The Townsmen
The fisherman of the Yakima used spears, nets, and wooden fish traps to catch fish. They made light weight canoes for fishing and traveling on the river. Hunters used bows and arrows and trained dogs that helped them hunt.

Yakima Battles
Yakima men used spears and bows and arrows to fight. Warriors used shields of hardened elk hid to protect themselves from the enemy. In the 1850’s 2 wars went on 1 of them was the Yakima War and the other was the war in Grande Ronde Valley in July of 1856.

Miscellaneous Facts -
The Yakima called them the Waptailmim. It means people of the narrow river.