When asked to name some famous indigenous women most people will recall Pocahontas or Sacajawea. These women certainly deserve the praise.[1] There are great stories about them, but their fame is based on their interaction with white men. That is why I am posting stories that tell of their long forgotten deeds.
When the European settlers came to the colonies they found that Indian women shared some things in common with white women such as childbearing and homemaking. However, there were some significant differences. Indigenous women were not always subservient to men, they had their own political voices, and they had a say in family affairs. They were not patriarchal as the Europeans; they had a matrilineal system. The people belonged to their mother’s tribe or clan or extended family.[2]
It should not come as a surprise to us then that though war was mostly “men’s work” many native women were warriors too. Some, like Pine Leaf, even became chiefs. Many others, like Colestah, fought alongside their husbands.
We have related the stories of warriors Lozen (Apache), Dahteste (Apache), Buffalo Calf Road (Cheyenne), Pi’tamaka (Running Eagle, Blackfeet), Pretty Nose (Arapaho), and Moving Robe Woman (Sioux). This week we will recount the stories of Chief Pine Leaf Woman (Crow) and Colestah (Yakima). It is clear from this list that native women in battle was not just a part of a few tribes but many.
Pine Leaf (Fallen Leaf, Woman Chief 1806-1854 – Crow
Pine Leaf was born in 1806 to the Gros Ventre Nation. When she was about 10 she was captured by the Crow. One of the Crow warriors adopted her. His son had died in battle and he liked Pine Leaf. When he noticed that Pine Leaf could ride a horse with skill and also shoot a bow and arrow accurately, he encouraged her to do these things even though usually only the boys did them. He was proud of her, saying she rode and shot better than the boys. Her foster father let her guard the horses, protecting them from animal predators and human horse thieves.
Because she could shoot so well she accompanied the men on buffalo hunts. She sometimes killed four or five buffalo in one run. She also butchered them and brought the meat back to the tribe without help from the men.
On another occasion she proved her accuracy with her bow and arrow when a group of Blackfoot warriors attacked their camp. She mounted her horse and led the charge against them. Also accurate with a rifle, she shot one Blackfoot brave and then took down two more with her bow and arrow. The attackers felt overwhelmed and fled. The story of her bravery was repeated far and wide.
Forming her own band of warriors a year later, she retaliated against the Blackfoot. She rounded up 70 horses for her tribe. In this skirmish she killed two warriors including a Chief. She stole a gun from another warrior. For these feats she was named Woman Chief and was accepted by the Council of Chiefs. As a council member she was involved in the decision making process for the tribe. The became a leader that was involved in peace negotiations with the neighboring tribes.
In 1854, when she was about 48, a warrior party from her former tribe the Gros Ventres ambushed her and killed her. This is especially tragic since she had completed peace negotiations with the Gros Ventres a few years earlier. Near where she died is the Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site. It is thought that she may have been riding toward this trading post when she was ambushed. You can visit it today.
Colestah (Clickitat, Yakama, 1800-1865)
Colestah was born around 1800 as the youngest daughter of Chief Tenax. He was a leader of the Klickitat tribe who were closely allied with the Yakama. She became a medicine woman and warrior of the Pacific Northwest. She was one of the five wives of Chief Kamiakin. She gave him two sons named Tomeo and Tomomolow (also called Tomolio, and Tomolow).
Besides acting as a healer and prophet she fought at her husband, Chief Kamiakin’s side in many of the Yakama Wars during the 1850’s. One such was the Battle of Spokane Plains near Spokane in 1858. It is said that she went to battle armed with a stone club. She dressed for battle wearing a buckskin dress. She braided her hair, a sign that she was ready to fight.
The tribes fought the US government because, no surprise here, the government had signed a treaty with them taking 11 million acres of tribal land in exchange for a 1.4 million acre reservation. Many tribal members would later say they did not understand the terms and that they were coerced. The treaty ignored long-standing tribal practices of the use of the resources across the Pacific Northwest. Tensions mounted.
White miners and settlers moved in disregarding the boundaries, particularly following the discovery of gold in 1854-1855. Thousands of white settlers moved into the Yakama territory and committed crimes against the tribes including horse theft, crop destruction and assaults on native women. Chief Kamiakin protested to federal agents but little was done to correct the injustices. There were skirmishes with trespassers and eventually Kamiakin led a force of 300 warriors against a US Army force of 84 under Major Granville O. Haller near Union Gap. The army retreated and the war began in earnest.
Other tribes joined in to help resist the dispossession of their territory including the Palouse, Spokane, and Coeur d’Alene. The Battle of Four Lakes occurred on September 1, 1858, near present-day Cheney, Washington Territory. Colonel George Wright commanded approximately 500 US Army troops equipped with rifles, howitzers, and aid of native scouts. They faced 400-500 Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, Palouse, and Yakama warriors.
Colestah accompanied Chief Kamiakin to the battle. When Kamiakin was knocked from his horse and badly hurt, she rescued him and helped him get back to the family camp. There she used her native skills to heal him.
The natives lost the battle. After the defeat at Four Lakes the tribes resisted again at the Battle of Spokane on September 2. The US Army defeated them, capturing many warriors and hanging them. With Colestah’s help, Kamiakin had evaded capture and continued guerilla actions but eventually submitted to the US government. The tribes were forced to live on the reservation and endure the constant influx of settlers illegally grabbing more of their land.
Colestah and Kamiakin moved from place to place as was traditional as they followed the seasons, digging for roots, fishing for salmon, and gathering berries. Eventually they moved to a camp near the Palouse River.
Colestah died a few years later, 1865 after giving birth to their second son, Tomolow. Records are not clear about the exact cause of death, but it was likely postpartum complications. The boy survived. There are no details of where she was buried. Kamiakin grieved for her.
The Yakama continued to face hardships and Kamiakin moved the family to Rock Lake in Whitman County, Washington. This area was more isolated and historians feel that it was in part due to his grief. He lived there until his death in 1877.
The Yakama historical narratives include Colestah as a woman warrior who was directly involved in combat. She is revered as a woman who supported the battles with US forces. Besides the tales of support for her husband the stories show the importance of family loyalty and female involvement in the Yakama tribe. Women were not merely supporters but aided the tribe as combatants to preserve tribal sovereignty. Her acts of bravery influenced the morale of the tribe. She is remembered to this day as a female warrior-healer.
[1] See post on January 20, 2025 – https://authormarywalker.com/native-american-women-explorers-sacagawea/
[2] See the stories on Wilma Mankiller (https://authormarywalker.com/native-american-women-leaders-wilma-mankiller/), Nanyehi – Beloved Mother (https://authormarywalker.com/native-american-women-leaders-nanye-hi-beloved-mother/) and Mary Golda Ross (https://authormarywalker.com/native-american-women-scientists-mary-golda-ross/) Just to name 3 of the many examples.
Native American Women Warriors – Pine Leaf (Crow) and Colestah (Klickitat)
Women were not merely supporters but aided the tribe as combatants to preserve tribal sovereignty.
When asked to name some famous indigenous women most people will recall Pocahontas or Sacajawea. These women certainly deserve the praise.[1] There are great stories about them, but their fame is based on their interaction with white men. That is why I am posting stories that tell of their long forgotten deeds.
When the European settlers came to the colonies they found that Indian women shared some things in common with white women such as childbearing and homemaking. However, there were some significant differences. Indigenous women were not always subservient to men, they had their own political voices, and they had a say in family affairs. They were not patriarchal as the Europeans; they had a matrilineal system. The people belonged to their mother’s tribe or clan or extended family.[2]
It should not come as a surprise to us then that though war was mostly “men’s work” many native women were warriors too. Some, like Pine Leaf, even became chiefs. Many others, like Colestah, fought alongside their husbands.
We have related the stories of warriors Lozen (Apache), Dahteste (Apache), Buffalo Calf Road (Cheyenne), Pi’tamaka (Running Eagle, Blackfeet), Pretty Nose (Arapaho), and Moving Robe Woman (Sioux). This week we will recount the stories of Chief Pine Leaf Woman (Crow) and Colestah (Yakima). It is clear from this list that native women in battle was not just a part of a few tribes but many.
Pine Leaf (Fallen Leaf, Woman Chief 1806-1854 – Crow
Pine Leaf was born in 1806 to the Gros Ventre Nation. When she was about 10 she was captured by the Crow. One of the Crow warriors adopted her. His son had died in battle and he liked Pine Leaf. When he noticed that Pine Leaf could ride a horse with skill and also shoot a bow and arrow accurately, he encouraged her to do these things even though usually only the boys did them. He was proud of her, saying she rode and shot better than the boys. Her foster father let her guard the horses, protecting them from animal predators and human horse thieves.
Because she could shoot so well she accompanied the men on buffalo hunts. She sometimes killed four or five buffalo in one run. She also butchered them and brought the meat back to the tribe without help from the men.
On another occasion she proved her accuracy with her bow and arrow when a group of Blackfoot warriors attacked their camp. She mounted her horse and led the charge against them. Also accurate with a rifle, she shot one Blackfoot brave and then took down two more with her bow and arrow. The attackers felt overwhelmed and fled. The story of her bravery was repeated far and wide.
Forming her own band of warriors a year later, she retaliated against the Blackfoot. She rounded up 70 horses for her tribe. In this skirmish she killed two warriors including a Chief. She stole a gun from another warrior. For these feats she was named Woman Chief and was accepted by the Council of Chiefs. As a council member she was involved in the decision making process for the tribe. The became a leader that was involved in peace negotiations with the neighboring tribes.
In 1854, when she was about 48, a warrior party from her former tribe the Gros Ventres ambushed her and killed her. This is especially tragic since she had completed peace negotiations with the Gros Ventres a few years earlier. Near where she died is the Fort Union Trading Post National Historic Site. It is thought that she may have been riding toward this trading post when she was ambushed. You can visit it today.
Colestah (Clickitat, Yakama, 1800-1865)
Colestah was born around 1800 as the youngest daughter of Chief Tenax. He was a leader of the Klickitat tribe who were closely allied with the Yakama. She became a medicine woman and warrior of the Pacific Northwest. She was one of the five wives of Chief Kamiakin. She gave him two sons named Tomeo and Tomomolow (also called Tomolio, and Tomolow).
Besides acting as a healer and prophet she fought at her husband, Chief Kamiakin’s side in many of the Yakama Wars during the 1850’s. One such was the Battle of Spokane Plains near Spokane in 1858. It is said that she went to battle armed with a stone club. She dressed for battle wearing a buckskin dress. She braided her hair, a sign that she was ready to fight.
The tribes fought the US government because, no surprise here, the government had signed a treaty with them taking 11 million acres of tribal land in exchange for a 1.4 million acre reservation. Many tribal members would later say they did not understand the terms and that they were coerced. The treaty ignored long-standing tribal practices of the use of the resources across the Pacific Northwest. Tensions mounted.
White miners and settlers moved in disregarding the boundaries, particularly following the discovery of gold in 1854-1855. Thousands of white settlers moved into the Yakama territory and committed crimes against the tribes including horse theft, crop destruction and assaults on native women. Chief Kamiakin protested to federal agents but little was done to correct the injustices. There were skirmishes with trespassers and eventually Kamiakin led a force of 300 warriors against a US Army force of 84 under Major Granville O. Haller near Union Gap. The army retreated and the war began in earnest.
Other tribes joined in to help resist the dispossession of their territory including the Palouse, Spokane, and Coeur d’Alene. The Battle of Four Lakes occurred on September 1, 1858, near present-day Cheney, Washington Territory. Colonel George Wright commanded approximately 500 US Army troops equipped with rifles, howitzers, and aid of native scouts. They faced 400-500 Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, Palouse, and Yakama warriors.
Colestah accompanied Chief Kamiakin to the battle. When Kamiakin was knocked from his horse and badly hurt, she rescued him and helped him get back to the family camp. There she used her native skills to heal him.
The natives lost the battle. After the defeat at Four Lakes the tribes resisted again at the Battle of Spokane on September 2. The US Army defeated them, capturing many warriors and hanging them. With Colestah’s help, Kamiakin had evaded capture and continued guerilla actions but eventually submitted to the US government. The tribes were forced to live on the reservation and endure the constant influx of settlers illegally grabbing more of their land.
Colestah and Kamiakin moved from place to place as was traditional as they followed the seasons, digging for roots, fishing for salmon, and gathering berries. Eventually they moved to a camp near the Palouse River.
Colestah died a few years later, 1865 after giving birth to their second son, Tomolow. Records are not clear about the exact cause of death, but it was likely postpartum complications. The boy survived. There are no details of where she was buried. Kamiakin grieved for her.
The Yakama continued to face hardships and Kamiakin moved the family to Rock Lake in Whitman County, Washington. This area was more isolated and historians feel that it was in part due to his grief. He lived there until his death in 1877.
The Yakama historical narratives include Colestah as a woman warrior who was directly involved in combat. She is revered as a woman who supported the battles with US forces. Besides the tales of support for her husband the stories show the importance of family loyalty and female involvement in the Yakama tribe. Women were not merely supporters but aided the tribe as combatants to preserve tribal sovereignty. Her acts of bravery influenced the morale of the tribe. She is remembered to this day as a female warrior-healer.
[1] See post on January 20, 2025 – https://authormarywalker.com/native-american-women-explorers-sacagawea/
[2] See the stories on Wilma Mankiller (https://authormarywalker.com/native-american-women-leaders-wilma-mankiller/), Nanyehi – Beloved Mother (https://authormarywalker.com/native-american-women-leaders-nanye-hi-beloved-mother/) and Mary Golda Ross (https://authormarywalker.com/native-american-women-scientists-mary-golda-ross/) Just to name 3 of the many examples.
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