We had a wonderful view of the High Cascades on my flight home out of Seattle yesterday morning. On the right is Mount St. Helens, on the left is Mount Adams, and in the distance beyond Mount Adams is Mount Hood. Mount Adams and its associated protected wilderness forms the western boundary of the Yakama Nation- to them, Mount Adams is called "Pahto". You can see all the low clouds that fill the Yakima Valley east of Mount Adams. Mount Hood and its protected areas forms the western boundary of the Warm Springs Reservation.
I can see Mount Adams from central Oregon on some of my hikes- from the tops of Black Butte and Lava Butte in particular. That's cool to be able to see that far on a clear day.
I have been asked about the spelling difference "Yakama" versus "Yakima". The city, the valley, the river and the county are spelled "Yakima" but the tribe uses "Yakama" in reference to themselves and their lands.
There is some disagreement about the origins of the name which offers some insight into the spelling differences.
"E-yak-ma" in the Sahaptin language means "growing familiy". "Iyakima" means "pregnant". The other Sahaptin word "yakama" means "black bear" while the word "iyakima" means "runaway".
In 1858, the inland plateau tribes of the Pacific Northwest fought at three year war called the Yakima War when the federal government failed to uphold the 1855 treaty obligations after gold was discovered. The Yakama and their allies became the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation and were relocated to the current Yakama Reservation. No one is quite sure how "Yakama" became "Yakima" as the Treaty of 1855 uses the spelling "Yakama", but it became a sore point with the Yakama Nation for generations given the meaning of the words "Yakama" versus "Yakima".
In 1994, the Yakama formally reverted back to their original spelling as used in the Treaty of 1855. In their own language, though, they refer to themselves as "Waptailmim" which means "People of the Gap", referring to the Yakima River Canyon north of the city of Yakima.