Editing Omak, Washington (section)

===Origin===
The Okanogan Valley was the traditional homeland of the [[Syilx]] (also called Okanogan) Native Americans, whose territory extended north into what is now [[British Columbia]]. The Syilx acquired horses in the mid-18th century, which helped them expand northward. They first met non-native traders and missionaries in the early 19th century. The Syilx participated in trade fairs held at [[Kettle Falls]] and at the mouth of the [[Fraser River]]. Trading networks strengthened after the acquisition of horses in the mid-18th century.<ref name="Pritzker2000">{{cite book|last=Pritzker|first=Barry|title=A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples|url=https://archive.org/details/nativeamericanen0000prit|url-access=registration|year=2000|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-513877-1|pages=[https://archive.org/details/nativeamericanen0000prit/page/270 270]–272}}</ref>

In 1811, [[Fort Okanogan]] was built by the [[Pacific Fur Company]] at the confluence of the Okanogan and Columbia Rivers. The fort's ownership passed to the [[North West Company]], then the [[Hudson's Bay Company]]. [[Fort Colvile]], near Kettle Falls, was another important fur trading outpost. The Okanogan River was used by fur brigades traveling between Fort Okanogan and [[Kamloops]]. In the late 1850s this route became known as the [[Okanagan Trail]] and was widely used as an inland route to the [[Fraser Canyon Gold Rush]].

In the 1850s, European-Americans settled in the area that is now Omak and built houses and inaugurated mining, logging and agricultural activities. As more white settlers arrived, a dispute about land ownership arose between them and the Native Americans.<ref name="sifce" />

[[File:Ben Ross cabin.jpg|thumb|left|Ben Ross' cabin]]

In response, a treaty stating that an [[Indian reservation]] would be formed on some of the disputed land while the European-Americans would own the remaining land was signed. The Indian land was later reduced to about {{convert|5,000,000|acre}}. [[Colville Indian Reservation]] was developed around 1872 during the [[Presidency of Ulysses S. Grant]]. In 1887, the [[Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation]], a [[federally recognized tribe]], was formed by executive order from 12 individual bands as per the [[General Allotment Act|General Allotment Act of 1887]]. The [[federal government of the United States|federal government]] decided to move Colville Indian Reservation's location west of [[Columbia River]], reducing its area to {{convert|2,800,000|acre}}. It would continue to be reduced for the next 60 years.<ref name="sifce">{{cite web |first=Lisa |last=Tobe |url=http://www.sierrainstitute.us/neai/WA_case_studies/Omak_WA.pdf |title=Omak, Okanogan County, Washington |publisher=Sierra Institute for Community and Environment |access-date=March 19, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120917020917/http://sierrainstitute.us/neai/WA_case_studies/Omak_WA.pdf |archive-date=September 17, 2012 |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

Nearby Alma was [[plat]]ted as an [[unincorporated area|unincorporated community]] around 1886. Alma was renamed Pogue in honor of orchardist J.I. Pogue, and was later renamed [[Okanogan, Washington|Okanogan]]{{mdash}}the present name. J.I. Pogue was upset that his name was replaced, and requested that surveyor, civil engineer and settler Ben Ross establish another town {{convert|4|mi}} to the north.<ref name="stampedetown">{{cite news|first=Rick |last=Steigmeyer |url=http://www.wenatcheeworld.com/news/2008/mar/20/omak-stampede-town/ |title=Omak{{mdash}}Stampede town |work=[[The Wenatchee World]] |date=March 20, 2008 |access-date=April 30, 2013}}</ref> Born in [[Bureau County, Illinois]], Ross worked for the Great Northern Railroad shortly before moving to Okanogan County.<ref name="thirdaddition" /> He decided to found a new community at Pogue's proposed location during 1907.<ref name="stampedetown" /> It was named Omak, supposedly for the Salishan word ''Omache''{{mdash}}said to mean "good medicine" or "plenty"{{mdash}}and referring to the town's favorable climate;<ref name="sifce" /> although according to [[William Bright]] the name comes from the [[Okanagan language|Okanagan]] placename [umák].<ref name="Bright2004"/> Ross sold various items on the present townsite, trying to have his town recognized,<ref name="stampedetown" /> and built a cabin in 1907 to provide shelter for his daughter, son and grandchildren{{mdash}}becoming one of the first white men to settle the area.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/wastate&CISOPTR=499 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130407004949/http://content.lib.washington.edu/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/wastate&CISOPTR=499 |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 7, 2013 |title=Ben Ross cabin, Omak, Washington |publisher=[[University of Washington]] |access-date=April 30, 2013 }}</ref>