The Klickitat were noted for being active and enterprising traders, and served as intermediaries between the coastal tribes and those living east of the Cascade Mountains.

In the early 1850s, the Klickitat Tribe raided present-day Jackson County, Oregon from the north and settled the area.

Modoc, Shasta, Takelma, Latgawas, and Umpqua Indian tribes had already lived within the present boundaries of that county.

Despite accepting the un-ratified Treaty in 1855, the Kilkitats were reported to have surrounded the city during the Battle of Seattle on January 26, 1856.

[2] The Klickitats were noted to trade salmon, roots, and berries and to have two chiefs within the tribe who welcomed Lewis and Clark in their arrival.