Editing Hanford Site (section)

==Early history==
The confluence of the [[Yakima River|Yakima]], [[Snake River|Snake]], and Columbia rivers has been a meeting place for [[Indigenous peoples|native peoples]] for centuries. The archaeological record of [[Native Americans in the United States|Native American]] habitation of this area stretches back over ten thousand years. Tribes and nations including the [[Yakama]], [[Nez Perce people|Nez Perce]], and [[Umatilla (tribe)|Umatilla]] used the area for hunting, fishing, and gathering plant foods.<ref name="HistoryLink">{{cite web |title=Hanford Reach National Monument |website=HistoryLink.org: The Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History |url=http://www.historylink.org/essays/output.cfm?file_id=7438 |access-date=January 29, 2007}}</ref> [[Archaeologist]]s have identified numerous Native American sites, including "pit house villages, open campsites, fish farming sites, hunting/kill sites, [[game drive complex]]es, quarries, and spirit quest sites",{{sfn|Marceau|Harvey|Stapp|Cannon|2002|p=1.12}} and two archaeological sites were listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1976.<ref name="nris1">Hanford Island Archaeological Site (NRHP #76001870) and Hanford North Archaeological District (NRHP #76001871). {{NRISref|2007a|dateform=mdy}} (See also the commercial site [http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/wa/Benton/state.html National Register of Historic Places.)]</ref>

In 1855, [[Isaac Stevens]], the governor of the [[Territory of Washington]], negotiated with the Native American tribes to establish a [[Indian reservation|reservation]] system, in which Indians would not occupy the area of the Hanford Site. Treaties were signed, but were often ignored, as the reservation system they mandated was not compatible with traditional food-gathering or family groupings. In September 1858 a military expedition under [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] [[George Wright (general)|George Wright]] defeated the Native American tribes in the [[Battle of Spokane Plains]] to force compliance with the reservation system.{{sfn|Gerber|1992|p=1}} Nonetheless, Native American use of the area continued into the 20th century. The [[Wanapum]] people were never forced onto a reservation, and they lived along the Columbia River in the [[Priest Rapids|Priest Rapids Valley]] until 1943.{{sfn|Marceau|Harvey|Stapp|Cannon|2002|p=1.12}}

After gold was discovered in [[British Columbia]], prospectors explored the Columbia River basin in search of gold, but with little success. [[Walla Walla, Washington|Walla Walla]], which had been established as a military post in 1858, became a center for mining supplies, and a general store was established at [[White Bluffs, Washington|White Bluffs]]. A ranch was established in Yakima Valley by Ben Snipes in 1859, and the [[Northern Pacific Railroad]] was extended into the area beginning in 1879. The railroad engineers founded the towns of Kennewick and Pasco. Settlers moved into the region, initially along the Columbia River south of Priest Rapids. They established farms and orchards supported by small-scale irrigation projects, but most went bankrupt in the [[Panic of 1893]]. The [[Reclamation Act of 1902]] provided for federal government participation in the financing of irrigation projects, and the population began expanding again, with small town centers at [[Hanford, Washington|Hanford]], White Bluffs and Richland established between 1905 and 1910. The [[Great Depression]] of the 1930s decreased the price of agricultural commodities and many farms were foreclosed on or abandoned. The economy was supported by the construction of the [[Grand Coulee Dam]] between 1933 and 1942, and the establishment of the [[Naval Air Station Pasco]] in 1942.{{sfn|Gerber|2007|pp=16–22}}{{sfn|Gerber|1992|p=2}}