1. Chief Kamiakin moved to his father's former territory at Rock Lake in Whitman County, Washington in 1864, where he lived until his death.
16 Facts About Chief Kamiakin
1. 2.
Chief Kamiakin was of mixed Nez Perce, Spokane and Yakama ancestry.
3.
In 1825 Chief Kamiakin married Sal-kow, a Yakama, whose father Te-i-as and grandfather Weowikt were leaders in the tribe.
4.
Chief Kamiakin threatened leaders of several tribes to remove the Natives by force from the area east of the Cascades and bordering the Columbia River if they did not sell their lands.
5.
Chief Kamiakin thought that the most reasonable strategy was to gather many other tribes.
6.
Chief Kamiakin eventually formed an alliance with a total of 14 tribes living on the Columbia plateau.
7.
In 1855 Chief Kamiakin convened a council in Eastern Oregon, with representatives from all of the tribes in the Grande Ronde Valley, in order to discuss how best to deal with the invaders and keep their lands.
8.
At the subsequent Walla Walla Council, when Chief Kamiakin arrived, he noticed the large number of Nez Perce and US Government officials, and realized his confidences had been betrayed.
9.
When Oregon's Superintendent of Indian Affairs asked Chief Kamiakin to speak, the proud Yakama refused.
10.
The other chiefs eventually pressured Kamiakin into signing the treaty "as an act of peace;" it established the Yakama reservation.
11.
Chief Kamiakin led a band of warriors into the first engagement of the war and on October 4 and 5,1855, he defeated a force of 84 soldiers led by Major Haller near Simcoe Valley.
12.
Chief Kamiakin was instrumental in the final battle of the war.
13.
Chief Kamiakin was wounded in the battle when he was struck by a pine tree felled by cannon fire.
14.
In 1860, Chief Kamiakin returned to his home on the Palouse River.
15.
Chief Kamiakin followed through on his vow to allow Kamiakin to live out his days there.
16.
Several years later, when Chief Kamiakin's body was exhumed in order to be reburied elsewhere, it was discovered that "the head and shoulders had been cut off and removed", probably for "public exhibition" as a curiosity.