In the past the Yakama people have faced many obstacles, one of which was most important was the Yakama War. During this war white Americans attempted to claim Yakama territory. The white Americans drove them out of their land, and were then moved to a reservation east of the Yakama rivers, which is where they were originally from. An effect of that war is that their native language is now endangered due to the fact that the U.S. got involved in their way of life.