Wishram

The Wishram lived on the north bank of the Columbia near the great rapids and falls at The Dalles. Their villages stood at the meeting of Chinookan and Sahaptin country, where salmon fishing and overland portages made the river a great place of trade. Fishers worked from wooden scaffolds with long-handled dip nets, and dried salmon travelled to communities far from the river.

Lewis and Clark camped beside the Wishram village of Nixluidix in 1805 and returned the following spring. In April 1806 they witnessed a ceremony honouring the first salmon of the season, as people gathered once more at the fisheries that drew visitors from across the plateau. The expedition had to carry its goods around the dangerous rapids, following a portage long used by local travellers.