ipl-logo

What Led To The Conflict Between The Missionaries And The Cayuse Tribe

450 Words2 Pages

There were many causes of conflict between the missionaries and the Cayuse tribe that led to the Whitman Massacre. Tensions were building after the Cayuse tribe recognized cultural differences between the two groups. The settlers wanted the tribe to learn Christianity, while the tribe was willing to learn it, it would not be the Cayuse Tribe’s way of religion. More and more settlers were coming and more resources were being used up such as grass to feed Cayuse horses, and unauthorized hunting by the settlers.
The Whitman Massacre took place on November 29, 1847 at Waiilatpu, near Walla Walla Washington. The conflict involved Dr. Marcus Whitman, his wife Narcissa Whitman, The Cayuse Tribe and 11 others linked to Dr. Whitman. The conflict finally took place as the tensions rose and the final problem was the Cayuse Tribe believed they were being infected with the measles, which the tribe did not have natural immunes to the disease. They believed Dr. Whitman was causing them to have the measles and purposely trying to inflect them. …show more content…

The Whitman’s wanted the Tribe to accept Christianity and the tribe had their own beliefs. You can’t force religion on others even back then. The loss of land as more and more settlers were coming upset the Cayuse Tribe. They were losing control of their land as well as their resources to survive. The tribe felt that the white man was going to take all of their land. As the settlers were coming they were bring diseases with them. The Cayuse Tribe did not have the capability to fight against the measles. They believed that Dr. Marcus Whitman was infecting

Open Document