Treaty of Walla Walla (Cayuse, Umatilla, Walla Walla), 1855

What happened

On June 9, 1855, at Camp Stevens in the Walla Walla Valley, Governor Isaac Stevens and Oregon Superintendent Joel Palmer signed a treaty with chiefs and delegates of the Walla Walla, Cayuse and Umatilla, treated as "one nation." Stevens treated for those in Washington Territory and Palmer for those in Oregon. The tribes ceded the country described in the treaty and kept a reservation on the Umatilla River. They secured the right to take fish at "all other usual and accustomed stations" and to hunt and gather on unclaimed land. The United States promised annual payments falling from $8,000 to $2,000 over twenty years.

The National Park Service says Stevens and Palmer undermined tribal unity "by cajoling and threatening the delegates," and that tribal representatives successfully demanded a third reservation, for the Umatilla, Walla Walla and Cayuse. HistoryLink says Stevens used a combination of promised gifts and threats of force.

Congress ratified the treaties in 1859. The Park Service says Stevens allowed white settlement before ratification and that the Yakama War followed. The reserved rights are still debated in court today, per HistoryLink.

Good to know. The National Park Service gives 60,000 square miles for all three Walla Walla Council treaties combined; the treaty itself states no area, and other estimates for this cession alone (about 45,000 square miles) are not from a cited source.

Summarized with AI assistance from 3 sources and checked against their words; not yet reviewed by historians or by the nations. Report an error