Okanagan Indians

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Indigenous Peoples of the United States

Indigenous Peoples of Washington

Okanagan Indians

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Indians of British Columbia > Okanagan Indians
Indians of Montana'Indians of Washington > Okanangan Indians

Ancestral Homeland: Washington and British Columbia

History

The Okanagan tribe came into contact in the early 1800's with the non-Indians. Among their first contacts were the Lewis and Clark Expedition, John Jacob Astor of the Pacific Fur Trading Co., and other fur traders.

In 1833 the tribe suffered through a smallpox epidemic.

The influence of missionaries was felt in the 1840's as they hoped to convert them to their Christianity. The Oblates, a group of French Catholic missionaries arrived in Walla Walla. The Oblates moved to British Columbia in 1859, they also interacted with the Yakima and Cayuse tribes, establishing missions.

The 1840 and 50's were a time of recurring famine.

The discovery of gold in the Caribou area brought transit immigrants to the area,

In 1872 the Colville reservation was established for the tribe.

Brief Timeline

• 1805: Lewis and Clark Expedition
• 1810: John Jacob Astor formed the Pacific Fur Trading Company.
• 1811: Fur traders came in contact with the tribe
• 1811-1860: Fort Okanagan established
• 1813: Fort Astoria (French), re-named Fort George and Fort Okanagan now in British Columbia
• 1833: Smallpox epidemic
• 1840: Many had become "Christianized."
• 1840-1850's: Recurring periods of famine
• 1847-1855: Cayuse War
• 1847: French Catholic missionaries - Oblates - arrived in Walla Walla
• 1858: Caribou gold-rushers
• 1859: French Catholic missionaries - Oblates -moved to British Columbia and worked with the Okanagan Father Charles Pandosy and Bishop Magloire Blanchet; also worked among the Yakima and Cayuse missions.
• 1872: Colville Reservation is established
• 1891: Treaty - not ratified

Webber Jean and En'owkin Center. edited by. Okanagan Sources. Theytus Books Ltd. Penticton, B.C.copyright 1990. ISBN 0-919441-33-5

Additional References to the History of the Tribe

Additional details are given in John Swanton's The Indian Tribes of North America.

Reservations

Colville Reservation

Records

The majority of records of individuals were those created by the agencies. Some records may be available to tribal members through the tribal headquarters.They were (and are) the local office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and were charged with maintaining records of the activities of those under their responsibility. Among these records are:

• Allotment records
• Annuity rolls
• Census records
• Correspondence
• Health records
• Reports
• School census and records
• [[American Indian Vital Records Supplements in Census Rolls|Vital records]

Important Web Sites

• Okanagan People Wikipedia

Bibliography

• Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives; Record Group 75, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
• Hodge, Frederick Webb. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1906 Available online.
• Klein, Barry T., ed. Reference Encyclopedia of the American Indian. Nyack, New York: Todd Publications, 2009. 10th ed. WorldCat 317923332; FHL book 970.1 R259e.
• Malinowski, Sharon and Sheets, Anna, eds. The Gale Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. Detroit: Gale Publishing, 1998. 4 volumes. Includes: Lists of Federally Recognized Tribes for U.S., Alaska, and Canada – pp. 513-529 Alphabetical Listing of Tribes, with reference to volume and page in this series Map of “Historic Locations of U.S. Native Groups” Map of “Historic Locations of Canadian Native Groups” Map of “Historic Locations of Mexican, Hawaiian and Caribbean Native Groups” Maps of “State and Federally Recognized U.S. Indian Reservations. WorldCat 37475188; FHL book 970.1 G131g.

Vol. 1 -- Northeast, Southeast, Caribbean

Vol. 2 -- Great Basin, Southwest, Middle America

Vol. 3 -- Arctic, Subarctic, Great Plains, Plateau

Vol. 4 -- California, Pacific Northwest, Pacific Islands

• Sturtevant, William C. Handbook of North American Indians. 20 vols., some not yet published. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1978– .
  

Volume 1 -- Not yet published

Volume 2 -- Indians in Contemporary Society (pub. 2008) -- WorldCat 234303751

Volume 3 -- Environment, Origins, and Population (pub. 2006) -- WorldCat 255572371

Volume 4 -- History of Indian-White Relations (pub. 1988) -- WorldCat 19331914; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.4.

Volume 5 -- Arctic (pub. 1984) -- WorldCat 299653808; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.5.

Volume 6 -- Subarctic (pub. 1981) -- WorldCat 247493742; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.6.

Volume 7 -- Northwest Coast (pub. 1990) -- WorldCat 247493311

Volume 8 -- California (pub. 1978) -- WorldCat 13240086; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.8.

Volume 9 -- Southwest (pub. 1979) -- WorldCat 26140053; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.9.

Volume 10 -- Southwest (pub. 1983) -- WorldCat 301504096; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.10.

Volume 11 -- Great Basin (pub. 1986) -- WorldCat 256516416; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.11.

Volume 12 -- Plateau (pub. 1998) -- WorldCat 39401371; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.12.

Volume 13 -- Plains, 2 vols. (pub. 2001) -- WorldCat 48209643

Volume 14 -- Southeast (pub. 2004) -- WorldCat 254277176

Volume 15 -- Northwest (pub. 1978) -- WorldCat 356517503; FHL book 970.1 H191h v.15.

Volume 16 -- Not yet published

Volume 17 -- Languages (pub. 1996) -- WorldCat 43957746

Volume 18 -- Not yet published

Volume 19 -- Not yet published

Volume 20 -- Not yet published

• Swanton John R. The Indian Tribes of North America. Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin #145 Available online.
• Waldman, Carl. Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. New York, New York: Facts on File, 2006. 3rd ed. WorldCat 14718193; FHL book 970.1 W146e 2006.