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Spokane Indian Tribe |
Spokane means "children of the sun." The Spokane Tribe's reservation, bounded in the south
by the Spokane River and in the
west by the Columbia River, consists
of 154,000 acres in eastern
href="http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1480.html">Washington
Plateau. All but 10 percent of the acreage is held in trust by the federal government. The
reservation exists in the original area inhabited by the Spokane, which sprawled across three
million acres.
The Spokane Tribe of Indians' ancestors were the Spokan, a plateau people that shared
numerous cultural traits with their
The Spokanes' original tongue is a member of the Salish language family, and they are often
categorized as a Salishan tribe.
A brief history
For unrecorded millennia, the Spokane tribe lived in the area around the Spokane River,
leading a seasonal way of life consisting of fishing, hunting and gathering endeavors.
The Spokane people shared their territory and language with several other tribes, including the
Colville, Flathead, and Kalispel tribes. The Spokane consisted of three bands that lived along
the Spokane River. The Spokane Falls were the tribe's center of trade and fishing.
The typical Spokane kinship unit was the nuclear family, plus the father's and mother's nearest
relatives. The acceptable, but uncommon practice of polygamy was a potential family
feature.
The spiritual life of the Spokane was closely interwoven with the land and living things. The
beliefs of all Plateau Indians held many commonalities with religions of other North American
Indians. The Spokane believed in a Great Spirit. There also were such atmospheric spirits as
the wind and thunder, and numerous supportive animal spirits that people sought for personal
guardians. Firstling rites were celebrated for the first-caught salmon, or the first berries, roots
and fruits harvested during the summer season.
By the 13th century, the Spokane had developed permanent winter villages typically situated
on rivers, especially along rapids and other places where fish were plentiful. Those dwellings
were elongated and semi-subterranean. To hunt and gather roots and berries in the summer,
they lived in camps on mountain valley meadows. Those shelters were cone-shaped huts
covered with mats.
From the 13th to 17th centuries, gradual changes to the Spokane culture appear to have
arrived from the west. The Plateau peoples became influenced by the rich and intricate
href="http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h610.html">Northwest Coast culture
Washington's and Oregon's Pacific coasts. A few of the influences included plank houses, and
wood and bone carvings depicting animals.
At the turn of the 18th century, other influences on the Spokane came from Plains Indians
residing east of the Rockies -- the major one being the horse (introduced to the continent by
European explorers). The Spokane
probably started using horses in 1730 when they were brought into the Palouse region of
present-day eastern Washington.
Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries entered the region to convert the Native
Americans and improve their lot. Missionaries usually meant well, but they deliberately sought
to minimize the natives' religion as well as many of their customs.
Early in the 19th century, Indian and white fur trappers out of the east came into the northern
Columbia Plateau forests. They were friendly with the native people they encountered. They
often lived with them, took on their customs, and intermarriage was not uncommon. In 1810,
the Spokane commenced major trading with white men. The Northwest Company's Spokane
House was established on their lands; it was moved to Fort Colville in 1826.
However, smallpox, syphilis, influenza and other diseases, unwittingly introduced by the white
man, proved to be disastrous to native peoples, including the Spokane. Entire villages were
wiped out.
Following the 1849 Gold Rush in
California, prospectors looked for gold elsewhere in the West. Gold seekers arrived in
Washington territory in the 1850s and '60s. They were frequently unruly, caring little about
Indians and their rights. If a white man was killed, U.S. soldiers would get involved --
regardless of what he had done.
href="http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1008.html">Indian wars
erupted as a result. Native veterans of the wars were assumed to be murderers and were
killed.
From 1860 onward, the Spokane shared the fate of numerous other tribes in the Northwest
and elsewhere. Land-hungry homesteaders poured into the Plateau region and forced off the
original inhabitants. Indians from disparate tribes were concentrated onto reservations, which
compromised their tribal identity. The Prophet Dance of the 19th century seems to have been a
reaction against the increasing compromise of ancestral culture by the new influences.
Natural resources that Native Americans had depended upon were exploited to the point of
destruction. Off-reservation burial grounds and ancient villages were often disrupted and
destroyed by earthmoving and house construction. The Indian agent (federal reservation
supervisor), imposed regulations and restrictions on his native charges. There was an open
effort to suppress the Indians' language and culture; for example, they were assigned English
names. Indians endured the prejudice of the dominant white society. Alcoholism and other
diseases exacted an awful toll.
In the latter part of the 19th century, there occurred two major agreements between the
Spokane and the federal government:
Spokane Reservation by November 1. In January 1881, President
href="http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h398.html">Hayes
a reservation by executive order.
reservation.
In 1906, 651 members of the Spokane tribe were allotted 64,750 acres to be divided into
individual plots.
Following the construction of Grand
Coulee Dam on the Columbia River in central Washington (1939), salmon were
prevented from migrating, thus disrupting the Spokane fishery. In addition, the waters behind
the dam rose nearly 400 feet, which flooded numerous tribal lands and cultural sites. The tribe
struggled for years to win compensation from the federal government, which culminated in H.R.
1753, submitted by U.S. Rep. George R. Nethercutt Jr. and two co-sponsors in April 2003.
The bill would
"...provide for equitable compensation of the Spokane Tribe of Indians of theSpokane Reservation in settlement of claims of the Tribe concerning the contribution [sacrifice
made] of the Tribe to the production of hydropower by the Grand Coulee Dam, and for other
purposes."
In October 2003, the bill was scheduled for subcommittee hearings.
In August 1951, the tribe filed significant claims:
the tribe argued that the amount of monetary compensation the federal government offered then
had been negligently paltry.
properties held in trust.
The foregoing were combined, and the Indian Claims Commission sanctioned a settlement of
$6.7 million. The tribe accepted the offer in December 1966. Half of the funds were distributed
among 1,600 members; minors' shares were placed in trust. The other half was disbursed for
various tribal programs.
commission judgment funds as well as other monies. The tribe was compensated in the amount
of $271,431 in 1981.
The Spokane Tribe today
There are 2,153 enrolled members (est. 2004). The tribe's governing body is a five-member
business council elected at large by the tribal membership. The tribe maintains an economic
development plan.
The Indian Health Service's David C. Wynecoop Memorial Clinic, in Wellpinit on the Spokane
Reservation, provides medical, dental, and pharmacy services to the Spokane and Kalispel tribes. In addition, the Spokane
Tribe operates numerous other programs, including:
Tribal employment is the equivalent of 62 full-time employees.
Spokane Tribal College is a branch campus of Salish Kootenai College. The branch provides
academic, Adult Basic Education, community- and cultural-interest courses, programs and
other activities. The Salish Kootenai College is fully accredited.
The Spokane Tribal Hatchery participates in a multi-agency artificial production program to
restore and increase kokanee salmon and rainbow trout populations in Lake Roosevelt and
Banks Lake, both created by the Grand Coulee Dam.
The Wellpinit School District serves students on the Spokane Indian Reservation, with an
enrollment as of 2004 of 440 pupils.
The tribe also operates the the Sherwood Memorial Tribal Center Museum, Two Rivers
Resort & Marina, the Spokane Tribal Hatchery, and the Spokane Tribal Parks Department,
which operates many beautiful parks and campgrounds in the Spokane area.
The longstanding Annual Spokane Tribal Labor Day Celebration is held in Wellpinit. Other
events include the Spokane Falls Northwest Indian Encampment & Pow Wow, and Spokane
Tribal Fair & Powwow.
| Location | 6195 Ford Wellpinit Rd. Wellpinit Washington 99040 |
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