Here's what we know about Dr. Whitman:
* He was a missionary to the Cayuse Indians in Oregon Country. Whitman and his wife, Narcissa, established a mission at Waiilatpu in 1836, where they worked to convert the Cayuse to Christianity and teach them farming and other Western skills.
* He was instrumental in promoting American settlement in the Oregon Country. Whitman traveled to the United States in 1842, advocating for the annexation of the region. He led a group of American settlers (the Whitman Wagon Train) back to Oregon in 1843.
* He was killed in the Whitman Massacre in 1847. The Cayuse, angered by the arrival of white settlers and the spread of disease, attacked the mission, killing Whitman, his wife, and several other settlers.
The Whitman Massacre was a complex event with many contributing factors, but it is not attributed to Dr. Whitman's actions. He was a victim, not a perpetrator.