National Park Service

U.S. Department of the Interior

Name:

Explore

Junior Ranger

Activity Booklet

Learn Protect

Whitman Mission
How to be a Junior Ranger

Welcome to Whitman Mission

National Historic Site!

Do you have what it takes to be a Ranger? Do you want to have fun exploring and discovering the history of the land? Follow the instructions

below to become a Whitman Mission Junior Ranger!

To become a Junior Ranger at Whitman Mission NHS you must complete

activity pages for your age group:

Ages 5 and under need to complete 2 pages

Ages 6-10 need to complete 4 pages

Ages 11 + need to complete 6 pages

As you go through your Junior Ranger book, you can also record

which activities you did while you visited Whitman Mission NHS.

Watched the park movie Watched a ranger program

Walked to the mission grounds Explored the museum

Climbed to the top of the hill Hiked to the Walla Walla River

The park film is always available online at nps.gov/whmi
For thousands of years the Cayuse used tku,

also called tule (too-lee), to create homes,

tools, toys, and more. Tule loves water and

grows near rivers and ponds. This is tule.

The Cayuse have transitioned to new types of

homes, but tule is still an important part of

the Cayuse culture and our local ecosystem.

Draw It Out! Explore the

hands-on tule lodge in

the visitor center using your

hands, eyes, ears and nose.

Draw your own tule

lodge based on what

you sense!^

Think about why the

Cayuse used tule over

other materials found near

Whitman Mission NHS

What materials is the home you live in created from?

Bonus: Why do you think your home was created with those materials?

 
While the Cayuse don't move

with the seasonal rounds

anymore, they still harvest the

first foods throughout the year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

0 aMaze! The Cayuse moved th

each ^e :nd follow the maze to each.s tart at

s\)nng until you end back at spring. easo11
 

When the Cayuse invited Marcus and Narcissa Whitman to

the Cayuse Nation, there were many languages used throughout the area. Below are just a few of the languages that could

have been heard in and around the Whitman Mission.

 

Some of the letters and

sounds of the Plateau

languages don’t exist in

English. And some do not

exist anywhere else in the

world. Try to pronounce

some of these letters below!

 

c is pronounced

like ch in cherry

Kwis pronounced

like the qu in quick

Unscramble! The Whitmans spoke English, but they would

have heard words in many different languages at the mission.

Using the word bank, unscramble the letters to learn native

words from around Whitman Mission National Historic Site.

7 is called a glottal stop,

it is a brief pause, like

in uh-oh or Hawai'i

1. (iusikyl) is the Cayuse name for themselves in their original language.

2. The Whitmans set up their mission at

valley of

3.The Columbia River, or

(yieeiwlt), a village in the

(xapsa), the area between the Walla Walla River and Mill Creek.

(inc naaw) is one of the major sources of food for the

Cayuse and Plateau Indians. Salmon, lamprey and steelhead trout are vital winter food sources.

4. (uullaaw) is the intersection of the Walla Walla River and Columbia River,

was a permanent Walla Walla village and the location of the trading post Fort Nez Perces.

Word Bank:

Weyiilet

(Way-ee-let)

Nci Wana

(Neech-ee Wah-Nuh)

Liksiyu

(Licks-you)

Waluula

(Wah-loo-lah)

Pasxa

(Pah-sh-ka)
Cultural Exchanges

When Marcus and Narcissa

Whitman came to live among

the Cayuse, they planned on

sharing parts of their culture

with the Cayuse. Native

American culture had already

become a large part of the

Whitman's American culture

when they arrived to start a

mission. Today Native

American culture is still a huge

part ofAmerican culture

Innovate! Native Americans

invented all of the things on the

map above. Circle the inventions

you have heard of before today.

How many did you circle?

If you were going to share something

important from your life with others,

what would you choose to share?
 

Act It Out! Weyiilet (Why-ee-let) is the valley where Whitman Mission is located.

Cayuse and immigrant children lived at and around the Mission! Each child

helped the community by doing chores and tasks. With a partner (parent,

sibling, friend, or park ranger) act out each task and have them guess which one

you are acting out. Put a checkmark next to each chore after you act it out.

Collect fruits

and berries

Start

a fire

Feed and take

care of animals

Fish for salmon,

steelhead trout,

and lamprey

Think about the things you do to improve your community. What are things

that you can do to help those around you?
A Trail of Changes

3000

Connect the Dots! Using the numbers on the left and years at the

bottom ofthe page, draw a dot to mark how many immigrants came on the

Oregon Trail. Connect the dots making a graph ofthe Oregon Trail.

1500

1000

The Oregon Trail immigrants brought major changes for the Cayuse and

the Whitmans. The immigration started as a trickle, then a river, and then

a flood of people into Cayuse land and to the mission. Look below to see

how many Oregon Trail immigrants used the trail each year.

500

0

50

100

200

1841 1842 1843

Yea__ _Immigrants

800

100

1841 25

1843

1842

5000
When Marcus Whitman encouraged more people to come

through the Cayuse’s land on their way to Oregon, the

Cayuse had to compete with many new people for resources.

Name two resources the Cayuse, Whitmans, and Oregon Trail

immigrants needed to survive in the Oregon Country.

1845

1844

1846

1847

1845 1847 44 1846

1,500

5,000

1,500

3,000

Before the Oregon Trail

there were 500 Cayuse people living in

/ Pasxa. In 1847, over 5,000 immigrants were

moving through Cayuse land. Imagine 10 people

for each family member coming to stay in your

home. Today, there are about 3,100

members in the Cayuse, Umatilla

and Walla Walla Tribes across

the country.
 

State the Answers!The Whitmans built their mission in the

Cayuse nation, which was a foreign country. Just a few months

after the attack, the United States claimed control over the

Oregon Country. When the Oregon Territory was created, parts of

several modern day states were included, marked in red below.

Answer the questions below to think more about how the events

here change the United States. The challenge question is optional!

Oregon Territory

1. How many states have parts of the Oregon Territory?

2. Which ocean does the Oregon Territory touch?

3. How many states did you travel through to reach Whitman Mission?

4. Challenge question! How would you react if another person said they owned

your home?
 

Whitman Mission National Historic Site preserves the story of an

important part of United States history. The lives of Cayuse,

missionaries, fur trappers, pioneers, and more are part of the story

here. The park still connects to the lives of many people today.

Write it out! Take a moment to find a place to rest. Think about what

you’ve heard, saw, touched, and smelled while you explored the park.

Write a letter to a friend about your time in the park and what

was the most important thing you learned when you visited.

The Cayuse use oral history to share stories, lessons, and their history. Find

someone to share a piece of your oral history by talking to them about what

you learned at the park and what you will remember most about your visit.
Whitman Mission

Junior Ranger

Certificate

As a Junior Ranger,I, pledge to explore

the national parks, learn about our nation’s shared history,

and protect our natural and cultural resources.

Stamp Here

Park Ranger Date

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