Who Are the Cayuse?
The Cayuse are one of three confederated tribes at the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon, within the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (CTUIR). Historically, they spoke a language isolateāCayuseāunrelated to any other known language; it became extinct by the 1930s. The Cayuse now speak English and some have learned Sahaptin from their Umatilla and Walla Walla relatives. Famous as horse breeders, the Cayuse developed a distinctive pony breed that bore their name. Their territory centered on the Blue Mountains of Oregon and Washington.
Horse Culture
The Cayuse became synonymous with horsesāthe term "cayuse" entered English as a word for a small, hardy pony. Acquiring horses earlier than many Columbia Plateau peoples, the Cayuse developed expertise in breeding and trading horses. Their herds sometimes numbered in the thousands. Horses transformed Cayuse society, enabling long-distance travel, buffalo hunting on the plains, and military power against neighbors. The Cayuse traded horses to tribes across the Pacific Northwest. This horse culture connected them to Plains peoples despite their plateau homeland.
The 1847 Massacre and Its Aftermath
The 1847 killing of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman and 11 others at the Whitman Mission remains the defining event in outsiders' perception of the Cayuse. A measles epidemic had killed perhaps half the Cayuse population while leaving most settlers aliveāin Cayuse understanding, a medicine man who failed to cure was responsible and could be killed. The incident triggered military retaliation, the Cayuse War, and ultimately the execution of five Cayuse men. The remaining Cayuse, devastated by war and disease, joined with Umatilla and Walla Walla peoples. This single event has shaped historical memory despite centuries of Cayuse history.
Contemporary Cayuse
Modern Cayuse identity persists within the CTUIR confederation. Though the Cayuse language died in the early 20th century, cultural practices and identity remain distinct from neighboring Umatilla and Walla Walla. The TamƔstslikt Cultural Institute at CTUIR documents and displays Cayuse history. Descendants work to recover Cayuse language from historical documentation. The Cayuse represent an important case study: a people whose distinct language was lost but whose identity persists through oral tradition, ceremony, and community memory. How Cayuse identity survives within a multi-tribal confederation without its original language shapes indigenous cultural preservation more broadly.
References
- Ruby, R. H., & Brown, J. A. (1972). The Cayuse Indians: Imperial Tribesmen of Old Oregon
- Stern, T. (1998). "Cayuse, Umatilla, and Walla Walla" (Handbook of North American Indians)
- Drury, C. M. (1973). Marcus and Narcissa Whitman and the Opening of Old Oregon