Photograph of Indian camp at Centennial Grounds, Astoria, OR, 1911.
Indian Camp (Yakima Village) At Astoria Centennial Grounds: At this camp the modern day cloth tents and tipis are erected and usually at favored campsites there was already a supply of tipi poles awaiting use. Hay is stacked at the camp grounds and it could have been used not only for horse feed but also to line the bottom of the dwellings to keep out the cold air. In winter times the dried reeds and tall grass was mixed with mud in a kind of plaster or cement consistency and this mix insulated the homes from the elements. This camp may be new and was just being set up on a new arrival because the horses are still near the dwellings. Or the site may have been small and the animals had to be kept close to the living quarters. There looks to be a mix of Indian and white campers, each in their own type of structure. Vivian M. Adams, Yakama
Daily Life
If you look at a map and see the distance from the Yakama area to Astoria, Oregon, that will give you an idea of the expanded travels Plateau people made historically.When you travelled with your family by wagon and horseback, you moved everything with you. This makes it easier to understand why Plateau families were considered semi-nomadic in their gathering also. When you packed up and went on a trip, you meant to stay for a few months at your destination. In order to perform this kind of travel your supplies and materials had to be light and transportable. So everyone carried something, even the dogs were packed with necessary living materials. Vivian M. Adams, Yakama