MARCUS WHITMAN AND PEOPEOMOXMOX
Regarding the Debunking of the Whitman Myth
The problem I see with the Marcus Whitman story as well as with the current
debunkers, is lack of balance. Storytelling is an exercise in drama either for
entertainment or another purpose, which often relies on exaggeration.
The legacies of Marcus and Narcissa Whitman, like many, are complex.
Marcus was a hero in support of his values and culture, a doctor who made house
calls to care for other missionaries’ wives by riding horseback in emergencies
from Walla Walla to Lewiston and Spokane, an evangelical Christian missionary
spreading “the faith” of his fathers and riding horseback across the country in
the dead of winter to try to save his mission, a farmer trying to teach a
nomadic people how to survive the coming invasions and inevitable transformation
of their lands and lives, and a man who had insufficient appreciation for the
spiritual and other values of the alien culture he found himself immersed in.
As to balance, those wishing to honor the Whitmans have emphasized their
sacrifices and their contributions to easing the difficult transitions facing
both the Native Americans and whites during the trying times of the 1800s, while
glossing over or ignoring their failings. On the other hand, those now
attacking the Whitmans appear to lack balance and appreciation for the human
challenges they faced as well as their accomplishments.
Joel Connelly in his review of “Murder at the Mission” by Blaine Harden
tells us “it traces how Native Americans were cheated out of and pushed off
ancestral lands.” He omits the fact that as the Whitmans and Spaldings were
coming west in 1836 both the Cayuse and the Nez Perce met and welcomed them at
the Green River Rendezvous. According to historian Clifford Drury, “A strong
spirit of rivalry developed between the two tribes as to where the missionaries
were to settle. The members of each of these tribes had come to feel they would
reap many benefits if the missionaries would live with them.”
In addition to inviting the Whitmans to settle with them on their lands, it
should also be remembered that the Cayuse themselves were fairly recent
immigrants to the area, where they fiercely demanded and received tribute from
the Walla Wallas and other tribes already residing here and along the
Columbia.
Unfortunately, the Protestant religion of the Whitmans at the time also
lacked balance in its view of other religions and cultures, which many of us
still suffer from.
What all of this means
to me is that we should continue to be open to honoring prominent individuals
for their positive contribution to our societies, while seeking to also provide
acknowledgment of their limitations.
As to statues, an
account of my effort to create a statue of a Native American to balance those of
Marcus Whitman and Christopher Columbus is online at https://wallathoughts.blogspot.com/2021/04/yellowbirdreturns-walla-walla-has.html , which resulted in the dedication of a statue to
Walla Walla Chief Peopeomoxmox in 2005, whose death bears some similarities to
Whitman’s. I’ve also put up a website regarding the Walla Walla Treaty Councils
of 1855 and 1856, with a link to key excerpts from the transcript of the Treaty
Council of 1855, which are worth reading, both for the moving statements by the
Native American leaders present, and for the statements of Washington
Territorial Governor Isaac Stevens as well as Oregon Superintendent of Indian
Affairs Joel Palmer, who said at one point:
My friends, it is fifty years since the first white men came among you. Those were Lewis and Clark who came down the Big River--the Columbia, then the Hudson Bay Co. traders; next came missionaries, these were followed by emigrants with wagons.Why do they come? Can you stop the waters of the Columbia River from flowing? Can you prevent the wind from blowing, rain from falling? Can you prevent the whites from coming? You cannot stop them, we cannot stop them. They say this land was not made for you alone, the air we breathe, the water we drink was made for all. The white man will come to enjoy these blessings with you. Let us, like wise men, act to prevent trouble.While there is room to select for you a home where there are no white men living, let us do so.
I like the idea of leaving the Whitman statue where it is, but adding
interpretive plaques providing a variety of perspectives on his life and times,
including the views of local Native Americans. You can see the statue of
Peopeomoxmox at the corner of Rose & 3rd across from City Hall and the
Marcus Whitman Hotel.
Best wishes,
Daniel Clark
PO Box 1222
Walla Walla WA 99362
clarkdn@charter.net
509-522-0399
PO Box 1222
Walla Walla WA 99362
clarkdn@charter.net
509-522-0399
