It’s a tragic tale of a cultural misunderstandings. Today we visited The Whitman Mission National Historic Park in the fertile Walla Walla Valley of southern Washington State, the site of the 1847 Whitman massacre. As newlyweds Narcissa and Marcus Whitman, who grew to adulthood during the religious revival known as The Second Great Awakening had both striven to become missionaries, along with three others traveled to the Oregon Country in what is considered the first wagon train on the Oregon Trail in 1836. The two settled among the Cayuse to minister to them, to teach them Euro-American agricultural techniques, and to save their souls and to tend to them in illness. But when too many of the Cayuse died of European diseases the Whitmans and several others paid the ultimate price. We’d watched the introductory video last night online then again just after we arrived. We talked at length with the ranger and got some amazing insights then walked the loop trail to visit the locations of the mission buildings and the grave sites. It’s a place to not only ponder the past but to learn lessons of respect for other cultures as we move into the future.
Although the Whitmans initially were the only Americans in the area there were some other people of European descent, some French missionaries and fur trappers living only a few short miles away. We also visited the site where French Town had once stood.
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