The name Yakima originates from the Yakama Nation, a Native American tribe whose ancestral lands encompass much of central Washington. The word “Yakima” is believed to derive from the Sahaptin word E-yak-ma, which has been interpreted as “runaway waters,” “bountiful,” or “beginning of life”—all poetic reflections of the region’s natural abundance. Historically, the Yakama people were part of a larger network of Plateau tribes who lived along the Yakima River and its tributaries. They relied on salmon fishing, root gathering, and hunting, and their territory stretched from the Cascade Mountains to the Columbia River. In the 1850s, the U.S. government negotiated the Treaty of 1855, which led to the creation of the Yakama Indian Reservation. Tensions over the treaty sparked the Yakima War (1855–1856), after which the Yakama were confined to the reservation. The first white settlers arrived in the 1860s, founding a village called Yakima City near Ahtanum Creek. But when the Northern Pacific Railway bypassed it in 1884, a new town—North Yakima—was established four miles north. The entire town was literally moved to the new site, which became the county seat and was incorporated in 1886. In 1918, “North” was dropped, and it officially became Yakima.
Historically, the Yakama people were part of a larger network of Plateau tribes who lived along the Yakima River and its tributaries. They relied on salmon fishing, root gathering, and hunting, and their territory stretched from the Cascade Mountains to the Columbia River.
In the 1850s, the U.S. government negotiated the Treaty of 1855, which led to the creation of the Yakama Indian Reservation. Tensions over the treaty sparked the Yakima War (1855–1856), after which the Yakama were confined to the reservation.
The first white settlers arrived in the 1860s, founding a village called Yakima City near Ahtanum Creek. But when the Northern Pacific Railway bypassed it in 1884, a new town—North Yakima—was established four miles north. The entire town was literally moved to the new site, which became the county seat and was incorporated in 1886. In 1918, “North” was dropped, and it officially became Yakima.