Published in 1862, Grammar and Dictionary of the Yakama Language originated from the field notes of Catholic Oblate missionary Charles Marie Pandosy, whose French manuscript was subsequently translated and edited by federal ethnologist George Gibbs and historian John Gilmary Shea. The volume stands as the first formal linguistic documentation of the Sahaptin language spoken by the Yakama people of eastern Washington, detailing its intricate grammatical syntax alongside a comprehensive bilingual lexicon. A keen insight drawn from the publication is how the collaboration between a proselytizing missionary and a government ethnologist illustrates the profound entanglement of religion and colonial statecraft, demonstrating how linguistic reference materials originally designed to facilitate spiritual assimilation were systematically repurposed by officials like Gibbs to execute federal treaty negotiations and accelerate indigenous displacement.