Kamiak Ridge, LLC, Environmental Consulting

The name "Kamiak" honors Chief Kamiakin of the Yakama Indian Nation from the early- and mid-1800s. Kamiakin was born about 1800 near present-day Asotin, Washington. His father was a Palouse Indian and his mother was a Yakama Indian. Kamiakin had two brothers, named Skloom and Show-a-way. As a child, Kamiakin and his brother Skloom returned with their mother who left their father and went back to the Yakama's lands. During the Yakama War that started in 1855, Kamiakin formed an alliance with 14 Tribes living on the Columbia plateau. The alliance was formed in order to defend Indian Country against American officials who broke the Yakima Treaty of 1855 and the military force who attacked Indian Villages to make room for settlers eager to occupy the fertile soils of the region. Following the brutal defeat of the Indians by the U.S. Army in 1858, Kamiakin escaped to the eastward into the Bitterroots. He died in 1877 and was buried at along shore of Rock Lake, not far from Spokane, Washington.

Today, the Indian Nation and Indian Reservation located east of the Cascade Mountains in Washington are known as the Yakama Nation and Yakama Indian Reservation. The nearby city of Yakima, Washington, spells the name with an "i" in the place of the second "a". The Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation is a Native American group with nearly 9,000 enrolled members, living in Washington State. Their reservation, along the Yakima River, covers an area of approximately 1.3 million acres (5,260 km²). Today the nation is governed by the Yakama Tribal Council, which consists of representatives of 14 tribes and bands. The name "Yakama" was changed from "Yakima" in 1994 to reflect the native pronunciation.

Kamiak Butte is a Park operated by the Whitman County, Washington, Department of Parks and Recreation. You can visit the park web site by clicking here.