Five Crows

Five Crows
Chief Five Crows, She-ca-yah, Cayuse Indian, photograph by Lee Moorhouse, ca. 1900
Born	She-ca-yah ca. 1832
Died	1902 Pendleton, Oregon
Other names	Hezekiah, Achekaia, or Pahkatos
Occupation(s)	Chief, diplomat
Years active	19th century
Known for	chief, signatory of the Treaty of Walla Walla

Five Crows, also known as Hezekiah, Achekaia, or Pahkatos, was a Cayuse Indian chief. ^[1]

Early life

Five Crows was born circa 1832. ^[2] He was Cayuse, an Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau, whose territory was in Eastern Washington and Oregon.

Leadership career

His principal rival for the role of Head Chief of the Cayuse was Young Chief (Weatenatemany). ^[3]

Five Crows was the maternal half-brother of Tuekakas, Old Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce, and the brother-in-law of Peopeomoxmox. The richest of the Cayuse chiefs with over 1,000 horses, he was ruined financially by the Cayuse War that followed the 1847 Whitman Mission killings. Although he was not involved in the killings, he took one of the mission hostages, Lorinda Bewley, as his wife. After he was wounded in the Cayuse War the Nez Perce under Tuekakas nursed him back to health. Five Crows was popular with the Cayuse people and spoke often at the treaty council.

Five Crows was a signatory of the 1855 Treaty with the Wallawalla, Cayuse, etc.. ^[4]

Dealth and legacy

Five Crows died in Pendleton, Oregon, at age 70 and his body was found near Athena, Oregon. ^{[5] [2]}

References

1. "Cayuse man known as Five Crows, Achekaia and/or Pahkatos sits for portrait". University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections. Retrieved 2016-07-08.
2. "Descendants of Esther Lorinda Bewley". Archived from the original on 2013-04-11. Retrieved 2013-03-10.
3. "The Treaty Trail, Context for Treatymaking: Biography, Young Chief (Weatenatemany)". Washington State Historical Society. Archived from the original on 2015-09-20. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
4. "Treaty with the Wallawalla, Cayuse, etc., 1855". Tribal Treaties Databse. Retrieved 20 April 2025.
5. Fort Wayne Sentinel, December 17, 1902 page 2

External links

• Photograph of Chief Five Crows
• "The Treaty Trail, Context for Treatymaking: Biography, Young Chief (Weatenatemany)". Washington State Historical Society. Archived from the original on 2015-09-20. Retrieved 2013-09-15.