Chief Peo was a Umatilla man, part of the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation (Cayuse – Walla Walla – Umatilla)

Then...

and Now...

"FIFTY years ago, the Indians living in the valleys and mountains where Oregon, Washington, and Idaho meet, first heard the white man's cry of Gold. Onward came the excited miners, reckless with gun and regardless of rights, and away sped the Indians' game. The Indians gazed in wrathful consternation. What should they do?

"Fight," said the chiefs. "Fight for the land of our fathers!" echoed the warriors. And fight they did, with the desperate ferocity of men who know that in the end they must lose. And they lost.

Then in 1859 the Government gathered up the remnants of three tribes,—the Walla Wallas, the Cayuse, and the Umatillas,—made a treaty with them, and placed them all together on a reservation in northeastern Oregon.

In consideration for the cession of their vast hunting-grounds, which included the exceedingly valuable Walla Walla valley, this Umatilla reservation was secured to them, with certain annuities and other benefits, including an agency for their protection and instruction in farming, and a school for the education of their children. They then settled down to learn to "travel the white man's road.""
Source: Humphrey, Seth K. “The Indian Dispossessed/the Umatillas - Wikisource, the Free Online Library.” Wikisource.org, Sept. 1905, en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Indian_Dispossessed/The_Umatillas. Accessed 1 Apr. 2025.

The Umatilla are a Sahaptin-speaking Native American tribe who traditionally inhabited the Columbia Plateau region of the northwestern United States, along the Umatilla and Columbia rivers.

The Nez Perce and Umatilla (along with the Walla Walla and Cayuse) tribes, historically inhabited the Columbia River Plateau, and in 1855, were coerced into signing a treaty ceding vast lands and moving to the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon.

Today, the Umatilla, Cayuse, and Walla Walla tribes are recognized as the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, sharing a joint political structure and land. Today, most nimíipuu (Nez Perce) live on either the Nez Perce Reservation in Idaho, the Umatilla Reservation in Oregon, or the Coleville Reservation in Washington.

Biography:
Elijah Lowrey aka Chief Peo was born c. 1848 to then chief Walter "Wa-nap-snoot" Lowrey and a woman named Mary 30 years his junior. According to legend, Peo was born "on the banks of the Umatilla River, a few miles above the city of Pendleton, Oregon. Chief Peo is attributed with having two daughters by his wife Mary Lowrey, but census records, which are confusing, seem to suggest that he fathered at least four other children. Peo may have been married twice as census reports refer to a wife named Ah lim wa tau my 'Mary' aka 'Colville Woman' as early as 1889. this could be the same person as both seem to bear the English given name Mary.

Peo is first shown as Chief on July 1, 1889.

Chief Peo - Antique and vintage photo - Native american / Umatilla Indian / American Indian. Moorhouse, Lee, 1850-1926, photographer. 1900, Public Domain

-original
Chief Peo was among the Cayuse and Shahaptian delegates meet with Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Washington D.C. In the back row stand four: John McBain (far left), Cayuse chief Showaway, Palouse chief Wolf Necklace, and far right, Lee Moorhouse, Umatilla Indian Agent. In the front row sits Umatilla chief Peo, Walla Walla chief Hamli, and Cayuse chief Young Chief [Tauitau]. All the chiefs except Showaway wear clothing of their tribe in the 1890s.
Source: U.S. National Archives and Records Administration

Seven times he made the trip to Washington, D.C., to confer with the great white father relative to the adjustment of 'land problems' on the reservation. When Rev. J.M. Cornelison, Presbyterian missionary at Tutuilla, first came to take up his work thirteen years ago, he found Chief Peo in the management of a large number of acres which properly lay in the jurisdiction of the church. The missionary began immediately to *wrest* this land from the chief and for more than three years, the two men waged a bitter war over it, the red leader using all of his power and influence to oppose the white minister. Gradually, however, his hold began to weaken and it was then that he began to give free rein to his unquenchable thirst for "fire water." Finally, during a spree he was placed under arrest here in Pendleton and in subduing him, the officer was forced to wield his club. The blow is said to have cracked his skull which together with some poisonous liquor which he drank affected his reason and he became violent. When he became unmanageable, his commitment to the Canton, South Dakota asylum was secured where he has responded partly to treatment. The authorities of that institution had issued a warning to his daughter that if he is ever allowed any more liquor, all of the *treatment* of the past seven years will have gone for naught. His wants are summed up in three words, 'eat, sleep, smoke,' and, inasmuch as several thousand dollars have accumulated in his name during his absence, he has sufficient to supply the wants for his remaining years." Excerpt from the "East Oregonian," published Feb. 27, 1912]. ...

According to the book Vanished in Hiawatha, author Carla Joinson states that Peo was Umatilla, was admitted in January 1905, and was, as former chief, apparently discharged and escorted home by Hummer on February, 21, 1912. He was diagnosed as being senile or with arterio sclerotic dementia, revised to senile psychosis demeting, by Dr. Hummer. (Arteriosclerotic dementia, now more commonly known as vascular dementia, is a type of dementia characterized by cognitive decline due to reduced blood flow to the brain, leading to brain damage. The obit in the Oregon Daily Journal dated January 12, 1913 suggests that Chief Peo was committed due to a blow to the head by police during an alcoholic altercation.

Obit: "FULL OBITUARY: Chief PEO, Umatilla Indian. (Published January 12, 1913)." Newspapers.com, The Oregon Daily Journal, January 12, 1913, https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-oregon-daily-journal-full-ob...

"Haggard and gray and bent with the weight of his 75 years and the mental affliction he has been suffering for years, old Chief Peo, a one time strong man of the Umatilla reservation is back among his people. He arrived yesterday via the Northern Pacific from the federal asylum in Canton, S.D., and on the trip he was accompanied by Dr. Hummer, Superintendent of the asylum." [Excerpt from the "East Oregonian," published Feb. 26, 1912].

In May 1905, just a few months after their elderly father was removed from his home and community and sent to the South Dakota Insane Asylum, Jennie [Lowrey] VanPelt, youngest daughter of Chief Peo, petitioned for the appointment of a guardian for her father, and Lee Morehouse, who was at the time the Indian agent for the Umatilla Indian Reservation, was appointed by the county judge to fill this roll. This action may have possibly provided Chief Peo with a degree of protective 'oversight' within the insane asylum that most of the Native American inmates did not have access to.

And in 1912, two of the daughters, Mrs. Charles "Jennie" VanPelt and Mildred Peo, petitioned the court for the release of their elderly father, to be returned to his own community in Pendleton, Umatilla, Oregon, as he neared the end of his life, so he could be cared for by his own loving family members. Thanks to his daughters, this truly amazing "release" occurred in January of 1912, empowering Peo to be returned to his home, in Umatilla, Oregon.

Chief Peo died on Friday, January 9, 1913 in Pendleton, Umatilla County, Oregon. He is reportedly buried in the Tutuilla Presbyterian Indian Mission Cemetery but a records search cannot confirm this.

His profile is part of the https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Space:Canton_Asylum.

Research Notes:
-Chief Peo-Peo Tholekt, piyopyóot’alikt (Peo-Peo Tholekt or Bird Alighting) was a young Nez Perce warrior in the War of 1877
-In the 1886 census we find Wenam We-nap-snoot chief at age 67 and his wife mary age 46 but son Peo is NOT listed.
-Chief Peo is NOT identified in Umatilla census reports after 1906, possibly because he had been committed tot the Canton Asylum after the June 30, 1905 census date but before the June 30, 1906 date. If he was escorted back to the Umatilla Reservation on February 21, 1912 then he should have been included in the June 30, 1912 census, why he was not has not been explained.

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Sources:

1887 Jun 30 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll616unit/page/n56/mode/1.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 57/541, line 5 (age 40 as Peo "Clouds"), census of the Umatilla Indians, Umatilla Agency, Oregon

(Curator Note: Mary Lowrey is shown as wife of Chief Wa-nap-snoot father of Peo, she is 40, he is 70. did widowed mother have children with son Peo?)

1888 Jun 30 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll616unit/page/n109/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 110/541, line 4 (age 41 as Peo "Clouds"), census of the Umatilla Indians, Umatilla Agency, Oregon

(Curator Note: Mary Lowrey listed on line 1 and widow age 41 apparently married once before Peo, suggesting that husband We-nap-snoot has died)

1889 Jul 1 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll616unit/page/n162/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 163/541, line 1 (age 42 as Peo Chief Umatillas), census of the Umatilla Indians, Umatilla Agency, Oregon

1890 Jun 30 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll616unit/page/n198/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 199/541, line 1 (age 43 as Chief), census of the Umatilla Indians, Umatilla Agency, Oregon

1891 Jun 30 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll616unit/page/n234/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 235/541, line 1 (age 44 as Chief), census of the Umatilla Indians, Umatilla Agency, Oregon

1892 Jun 30 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll616unit/page/n273/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 274/541, line 36 (age 45), census of the Umatilla tribe of Indians, Umatilla Agency, Oregon

1893 Jun 30 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll616unit/page/n281/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 282/541, line 30 (age 46), census of the Umatilla Indians, Umatilla Agency, Oregon

1894 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll616unit/page/n320/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 321/541, line 30 (age 47), census of the Umatilla Indians, Umatilla Agency, Oregon

1896 Jul 31 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll616unit/page/n394/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 395/541, line 23 (age 48), census of the Umatilla Indians, Umatilla Agency, Oregon

1898 Jun 30 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll616unit/page/n440/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 441/541, line 21 (age 50), census of the Umatilla Indians, Umatilla Agency, Oregon

1899 Jun 30 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll616unit/page/n486/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 487/541, line 22 (age 51), census of the Umatilla Indians, Umatilla Agency, Oregon

1900 Jun 30 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll616unit/page/n496/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 497/541, line 22 (age 52), census of the Umatilla Indians, Umatilla Agency, Oregon

1901 Jun 30 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll617unit/page/n42/mode/1.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 43/530, line 45 (age 53), census of the Umatilla Indians, Umatilla Agency, Oregon

1902 Jun 30 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll617unit/page/n92/mode/1.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 93/530, line 48 (age 54), census of the Umatilla Indians, Umatilla Agency, Oregon

1903 Nov 30 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll617unit/page/n141/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 142/530, line 48 (age 55), census of the Umatilla Indians, Umatilla Agency, Oregon

1904 Jun 30 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll617unit/page/n151/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 152/530, line 66 (age 56), census of the Umatilla Indians, Umatilla Agency, Oregon

1905 Jun 30 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll617unit/page/n256/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 257/530, line 65 (age 57), census of the Umatilla Indians, Umatilla Agency, Oregon

1910 Jul 2 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll015unit/page/n501/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 502/519, line 20, male census Canton Asylum

1911 Jul 3 - “Indian Census Rolls, 1885-1940 [Microform].” Internet Archive, Washington : National Archives and Records Service, 1965, https://archive.org/details/indiancensusroll015unit/page/n504/mode/.... Accessed 29 Feb. 2024, pg. 505/519, line xx, annual census Canton Asylum

1913 Jan 9 - Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/72064593/peo-lowery: accessed April 2, 2025), memorial page for Peo “Clouds” Lowery (1840–9 Jan 1913), Find a Grave Memorial ID 72064593, citing Tutuilla Presbyterian Indian Mission Cemetery, Pendleton, Umatilla County, Oregon, USA; Maintained by Cathy Porter-Maynard (contributor 47009361).