I drove to Walla Walla this past Sunday and enjoyed a rather unexpected tour of the Palouse. En route to my destination, I stopped at a historical marker memorializing the defeat of Colonel Steptoe in the war between local tribes and the United States. As far as I know, it was specifically the only armed conflict between the Spokane Tribe and the US military. The tribes won the day, but their triumph soon withered. Colonel George Wright returned to avenge their losses and inflicted a heavy penalty on the Native patriots. Ironically, the victory at Steptoe battlefield hastened the end of tribal independence in the Inland Northwest.
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