Walla Walla Council (1855)

Walla Walla Council (1855) was a pivotal diplomatic conference held in the spring of 1855 between representatives of the United States government and leaders of several Native American tribes in the Pacific Northwest. Convened by Washington Territory Governor Isaac Stevens and Oregon Territory Superintendent Joel Palmer, the council aimed to negotiate land cessions and establish Indian reservations to facilitate American settlement. The resulting treaties, particularly the Treaty with the Yakama and the Treaty with the Walla Walla, Cayuse, and Umatilla, dramatically reshaped the political and geographical landscape of the region, leading to immediate conflict and long-lasting consequences for the tribes involved.

Background and Context

In the early 1850s, the United States Congress created the Washington Territory and appointed Isaac Stevens as its first governor and superintendent of Indian affairs. Stevens was under intense pressure to secure land for American settlers following the Oregon Trail migration and to enable construction of a northern transcontinental railroad survey. The fertile lands of the Columbia Plateau, inhabited by the Cayuse, Nez Perce, Umatilla, Walla Walla, and Yakama peoples, were a primary target. This period followed the Cayuse War and preceded the formal organization of the Oregon Territory, creating an atmosphere of mutual suspicion. The federal policy, embodied in the Indian Appropriations Act of 1851, sought to concentrate tribes onto confined reservations, a strategy Stevens pursued aggressively across the Pacific Northwest.

Negotiations and Treaty Terms

The council convened in late May 1855 at a site in the Walla Walla Valley. Governor Isaac Stevens and Superintendent Joel Palmer led the U.S. delegation, presenting treaties that required the tribes to cede millions of acres of their ancestral homeland. In exchange, they were promised much smaller, distinct Indian reservations, monetary compensation, and guarantees of hunting and fishing rights. After lengthy and tense discussions, marked by significant oratory from tribal leaders like Kamiakin and Peo-peo-mox-mox, three treaties were signed. The Treaty with the Yakama was signed on June 9, ceding over 10 million acres. The Treaty with the Walla Walla, Cayuse, and Umatilla (June 9) and the Treaty with the Nez Perce (June 11) followed, creating the Umatilla Indian Reservation and a large Nez Perce reservation. The treaties required ratification by the United States Senate.

Key Participants and Delegations

The American delegation was led by Washington Territory Governor Isaac Stevens, a former United States Army officer, and Oregon Territory Superintendent of Indian Affairs Joel Palmer. They were supported by interpreters, including Andrew J. Bolon, and military escorts. Prominent tribal leaders played crucial roles. For the Yakama, the influential leader Kamiakin was a central but reluctant figure. The Walla Walla chief Peo-peo-mox-mox and the Cayuse leader Five Crows were key negotiators. The Nez Perce delegation included leaders like Lawyer, Eagle from the Light, and Joseph the Elder. Umatilla leaders such as Howlish Wampum also participated. Their diverse perspectives and authority significantly influenced the council's dynamics.

Aftermath and Consequences

The aftermath of the Walla Walla Council was immediate and violent. Before the U.S. Senate could ratify the treaties, news of the land cessions and encroaching miners and settlers sparked widespread anger among many tribal members who felt their leaders had been coerced or had not fully represented communal will. This discontent ignited the Yakima War in the fall of 1855, led by Kamiakin and involving allies from the Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla tribes. The conflict saw battles such as the Battle of Toppenish Creek and the death of Indian agent Andrew J. Bolon. The United States Army, including forces under Major Granville O. Haller and later Colonel George Wright, was deployed to suppress the resistance. The war delayed Senate ratification of the treaties until 1859.

Legacy and Historical Significance

The Walla Walla Council (1855) represents a defining moment in the history of the Pacific Northwest. The treaties negotiated became the legal foundation for the creation of the Yakama Indian Reservation, the Umatilla Indian Reservation, and the Nez Perce reservation, fundamentally altering the lives of the tribes. They established a framework of reserved rights, including fishing and hunting, that would become the subject of major 20th-century legal rulings like United States v. Washington (the Boldt Decision). The council and the subsequent Yakima War set a pattern of conflict and forced relocation that continued in the Nez Perce War of 1877. Today, the treaties are recognized as living documents, with ongoing legal and political significance for tribal sovereignty and resource management in the states of Washington and Oregon.