The Wascoes
The Wasco bands on the Columbia River were the eastern-most group of Chinookan-speaking Indians. Although they were principally fishermen, their frequent contact with other Indians throughout the region provided for abundant trade. Roots and beads were available from other Chinookan bands such as the Clackamas. Game, clothing and horses came from trade with Sahaptin bands such as the neighboring Warm Srings and the more distant Nez Perce. In exchange for these goods, the Wasco traded root bread, salmon meal, and bear grass.

The Warm Srings
The Warm Srings bands who lived along the Columbia's tributaries spoke Sahaptin. Unlike the Wascoes, the Warm Srings bands moved between winter and summer villages, and depended more on game, roots and berries. However, salmon was also an important staple for the Warm Srings bands and, like the Wascoes, they built elaborate scaffolding over waterfalls which allowed them to harvest fish with long-handled dip nets. Contact between the Warm Srings bands and the Wascoes was frequent, and, although they spoke different languages and observed different customs, they could converse and traded heavily.

The Paiutes
The Paiutes lived in southeastern Oregon and spoke a Shoshonean dialect. The lifestyle of the Paiutes was considerably different from that of the Wasco and Warm Srings bands. Their high-plains existence required that they migrate further and more frequently for game, and fish was not an important part of their diet. The Paiute language was foreign to the Wasco and Warm Srings bands, and commerce among them was infrequent. In early times, contact between them often resulted in skirmishes. Although Paiute territories historically included a large area from southeastern Oregon into Nevada, Idaho, and western Utah, the Paiute bands which eventually settled at Warm Srings lived in the area of Lake, Harney, and Malheur counties in Oregon.

The Arrival of Settlers
During the 1800's, the old way of life for the Indian bands in Oregon was upset by the new waves of immigrants from the east. In 1843, 1,000 immigrants passed through The Dalles. In 1847 there were 4,000. By 1852, up to 12,000 settlers were crossing Wasco and Warm Srings territories each year.

In 1855, Joel Palmer, superintendent for the Oregon Territory, received his orders to clear the Indians from their lands. He did so by negotiating a series of Indian treaties including the one establishing the Warm Srings Reservation. Under the treaty, the Warm Srings and Wasco tribes relinquished approximately ten million acres of land, but reserved the Warm Srings Reservation for their exclusive use. The tribes also kept their rights to harvest fish, game and other foods off the reservation in their usual and accustomed places.

Early Reservation Years
Traditional ways of life changed greatly after the Wasco and Warm Srings tribes relocated onto the Warm Srings Reservation. Salmon wasn't as plentiful as it had been on the Columbia, and the harsher climate and poor soil conditions made farming more difficult. They quickly found that their former economic system was no longer workable. In addition, federal policies to assimilate the Indian people forced them to abandon many of their customary ways in favor of modern schools, sawmills, and other infrastucture foreign to the tribes

Paiute Settlement at Warm Srings
The settlement of the Paiutes on the Warm Srings Reservation began in 1879 when 38 Paiutes moved to Warm Srings from the Yakama Reservation. These 38 people, along with many other Paiutes, had been forced to move to the Yakama Reservation and Fort Vancouver after joining the Bannocks in a war against the U.S. Army. Eventually more of them came, and they became a permanent part of the Warm Srings Reservation.

Tribal Government and Indian Self-Determination
In 1934, Congress passed the Indian Reorganization Act (Wheeler-Howard Act) to revitalize Indian communities and to bolster Indian tribes as governments. The IRA recognized the necessity for tribal governments to manage their own affairs, and offered Federal assistance to tribes organizing under its provisions. The Warm Springs, Wasco, and Paiute tribes studied the IRA carefully before deciding to accept its terms.

In 1937, the three tribes organized as the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Srings Reservation of Oregon by adopting a constitution and by-laws for tribal government. In 1938, they formally accepted a corporate charter from the United States for their business endeavors. These organizational documents declared a new period of tribal self-government on the Warm Srings Reservation.

Milestones on the Road to Self-Sufficiency
Once the Confederated Tribes had established themselves as a self-governing entity, they began to actively pursue self-sufficiency. Some of the notable contributions to the financial independence of the Confederated Tribes have been:
1942 - Warm Srings Lumber Company Established
1957 - $4,000,000 settlement for the destruction of Celilo Falls 1959 - Pelton Dam completed
1964 - Round Butte Dam completed
1964 - Opening of Kah-Nee-Ta Village
1966 - Warm Srings Forest Products established
1972 - McQuinn Strip returned to tribes
1972 - Opening of Kah-Nee-Ta Lodge
1982 - Warm Srings Power Enterprise established
1986 - KWSI and KWSO begin broadcasting
1991 - KWSI moves to Bend to become K-TWINS
1993 - Opening of the Museum at Warm Srings
1993 - Warm Srings Composite Products established
1995 - Warm Srings Plaza opens
1996 - K-TWINS sold
1996 - Indian Head Casino opens
1996 - Warm Srings Credit Enterprise established 

Culture
Despite the great loss of traditional culture that occurred as a result of settlement on the reservation, the people of the Warm Srings Reservation have succeeded in holding on to many of our ancient traditions and values. Our longhouses still ring with prayer songs that have been handed down for generations. Traditional feasts are still held each year. Indian languages are still spoken, and the old legends of Coyote and the other Animal People still told.

Regardless of our success in the present, the people of Warm Srings realize that we must hold on to our past and bring it into the future lest the spiritual and cultural values that sustained our people for centuries be lost.

Foods
Prior to settling on the Reservation, natural food resources were so plentiful that agriculture was unnecessary for the three tribes of the Warm Srings Reservation. Salmon from the nearby Columbia was a staple for the Wasco and Warm Srings bands. The high-plains Paiutes depended more on deer and other large game. All three tribes took advantage of assorted roots, fruits, and other plant-life.

Since gathering and preparing food was a substantial part of daily life for the three tribes, their methods became as much a part of the tribal culture as the foods themselves. Salmon were hauled out of the Columbia with long-handled dip nets. Roots were pulled from the ground with specialized digging sticks, or kapns. Berries were gathered in ornate baskets. After centuries of trial and error, these methods were perfected and became second nature.
Many of these foods and the methods of obtaining them are still an important part of life on the Warm Srings Reservation. Roots are dug from early through late summer. Fruits, especially huckleberries, are harvested summer and fall. Hunting and fishing occur year round. These foods are highly prized, and are a significant part of the many special festivals and rituals as well as part of the regular Indian diet.

Annually the Warm Srings Indians observe three religious feasts of thanksgiving based on important native foods.

The Root Feast in the recognizes the first appearance of many important roots.
The First Catch, or Salmon Feast, in the recognizes the migration of salmon.
The Huckleberry Feast in early fall recognizes the ripening of the first berries.

Language
Despite extensive efforts, the three languages of the Confederated Tribes of Warm Srings Oregon are in danger of becoming lost languages. The Kiksht (Wasco), only have five fluent speakers, all elders, left in our area. The Numu (Paiute), have only five fluent speakers, and the Ichishkiin (Sahaptin) have about fifty speakers. There are no fluent speakers under the age of fifty. It is extremely important for the Warm Srings people to come together and strive for our languages to again become the first languages of our children.

The Tribal Language Program has taken various steps to bring language back to the community. We believe that it is up to the people of the community to develop a true commitment and the desire to revive and maintain our languages.

Copyright:  Confederated Tribes of Warm Srings

Contact Info:
Confederated Tribes of Warm Srings
1233 Veterans St.
Warm Springs, OR 97761
Phone: (541) 553-1161
Website link
www.warms.com