Description
The Wenatchi people ("People in the between") are Native Americans who originally lived near the confluence of the Columbia and Wenatchee Rivers in Central Washington state. The Wenatchi tribe was far more isolated prior to the arrival of the horse, but afterward they adopted many of the traditions and style of dress of the Plains Indians and were closely allied with the Spokane tribes by the time white settlers arrived. It is also estimated that 90% of the indigenous population died prior to white contact, infectious diseases spreading with the horse far in advance.
Language
Salish
Culture
They ate salmon, starchy roots like camas and biscuitroot, berries, deer, sheep and whatever else they could hunt or catch. The river that they lived on, the Wenatchee River, had one of the greatest runs of salmon in the world prior to numerous hydroelectric dams being put in on the downstream Columbia, pollution and other issues, and was their main food source.