WANAPAM

The Wanapam were a Sahaptian-speaking tribe located on the Columbia River near Priest Rapids in present-day eastern Washington State. They are thought to have consisted of two branches, the Wanapam proper and the Chamnapum. Their close linguistic relatives were the PALOUSE and the YAKAMA, who lived to their north and south, respectively. The Wanapam, pronounced WAH-nuh-pahm and also written as Wanapum, with Sokulk an alternate name, and other Sahaptians living along the Columbia River and its tributaries are classified as part of the Plateau Culture Area (see PLATEAU INDIANS). They depended heavily on the river for food, especially salmon during annual spawning runs. Other staple foods included the camas root, berries, and small game.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition, traveling the Columbia, reached Wanapam territory in 1805. Fur traders soon followed and eventually settlers. The Wana-pam, despite outbreaks of disease carried to them by non-Indians and loss of lands, remained on peaceful terms with the newcomers until the mid-19th century. An 1855 treaty called for the relocation of area tribes to the Yakama Reservation. Some Wanapam warriors resisting relocation presumably participated with other tribes of the region in the Yakama War of 1855—56 and the continuing unrest known as the Coeur d’Alene, or Spokan, War of 1858 (see COEUR d’alene and SPOKAN). Starting in 1859, after these conflicts, tribes were forced to move.

During this period, a Wanapam shaman rose to prominence. His given name has been recorded as both

Wak-wei (Arising from the Dust of the Earth Mother) and Waip-shwa (Rock Carrier). After a vision quest, he changed his name to Smohalla (Dreamer), in reference to the means by which he believed spirits communicated with him. Smohalla was exposed to Christianity in addition to the Washani Religion and related Waashat Dance, a ritual involving drumming, a feast of salmon, the use of eagle and swan feathers, and a song to be sung every seventh day. Sometime after the Yakama War, he is said to have had a dispute with Moses, the chief of the COLUMBIA (sinkiuse), in which he was killed and came back to life. He may actually have been wounded and left for dead. He is said to have departed the area and traveled for several years, as far south as Mexico, then back overland through Nevada. On his return, he claimed he had visited the spirit world. Another version of his rebirth is that after the death of his daughter from a European disease, he died of grief at her graveside, returning to life with new knowledge.

In any case, Smohalla now preached a return to aboriginal customs free from white influences, such as alcohol and agriculture. He established ceremonial music and dancing to induce meditations. He also prophesied the resurrection of all Indians to rid the world of white oppressors. Along with his followers, he traveled to different reservations, denouncing missionaries and government officials. As an orator, he was known as Yuyunipi-Tqana, or “Shouting Mountain.” Because of the perception that he was inciting Indians to rebellion, he was jailed on several occasions. Yet he did not advocate violence, but rather dreaming and waiting for supernatural events. His faith was called the Dreamer Religion. It influenced later religions such as the Ghost Dances of 1870 and 1890 founded among the PAIUTE. Smohalla continued preaching until increasing blindness forced him to withdraw from public life. He died in 1895.

Wanapam descendants live on the Yakama Reservation with 13 other tribes, most of them fellow Sahaptians.