 The Tenino people spoke a dialect of the Sahaptin language, a tongue shared by the neighboring Umatilla people located to the East.Other neighboring tribal entities spoke other languages, including the Wasco and Wishram, located to the Northwest, who spoke a dialect of the Chinookan language, the Molala people across the Cascade Range to the West, who spoke Waiilatpuan, and the Northern Paiute to the South, who spoke a variant of Shoshoni.The Tenino people historically recalled only one great war with other Columbia River peoples, a victorious battle with the Molala which forced the latter to the other side of the Cascade Mountains.