The peoples of these tribes originally lived in the areas of montana, parts of idaho, british columbia and wyoming. Laws of the confederated salish and kootenai tribes, codified cskt laws codified january 1, 2000 revised march 21, 20 introduction. Huckleberry harvesting of the salish and kootenai of the. The tribe historically lived in the mountains and plains of montana and now makes its home on the flathead indian reservation in northwestern montana. Some of that history has been lost, but much remains vibrant within community stories and narratives that have yet to be documented. Since april 15, 2003, the tribal council of the confederated salish and kootenai tribes has amended tribal ordinance 103a to provide needed substantive changes and minor editorial corrections to the cskt laws codified. Much of this book focuses on the ancient cultural landscape and history. The confederated salish and kootenai tribes of the flathead nation the bitterroot salish, kootenai, and pend doreilles tribes. The only records available are in the form of rock paintings and ruins. What was montana indian life like before european contact. While the early blackfeet, salish, pend doreille, and kootenai were all plant dependent, the. We have indexed our native american legend section by tribe to make them easier to locate. Montana map, learning the meaning of land status labels and reservation seals, writing the land status acreage in standard, expanded and word form, and coloring a tribal seal. The paintings which adorn the kootenai tribe of idahos shield tell the story of a people with a rich history and a proud future.
As we reach out to you we will be expanding our coverage of kootenai country, montana to inform you of the vastness of our recreational opportunities and the warm hospitality of our folks. In the middle of the nineteenth century, the salish, pend doreille, and kootenai tribes of western montana navigated a world of military struggles with enemy tribes in alliance with the newly arrived tribe. In 1986, the kootenai tribe of idaho celebrated the first major step in their economic independence the kootenai river inn. In this book, the kootenai and blackfeet tribes share their traditionsstories and legends, foodways and hunting techniques, games and spiritual beliefs. The winning design was created by karen hale, a 25year veteran employee at cskt. The ashley asselin family in the pacific northwest by. These listings will be updated as we receive the information. The salish tribe grew, becoming so large that the people had to divide into smaller bands. While not allencompassing, they serve as instructional tools that. In this handbook we are attempting to give a brief look at indians in montana. The shuswap band includes a small number of people of the kinbasket family from the shuswap secwepemc people who in the mid1800s journeyed into ktunaxa territory from the west while exploring. Page 3 acres were to be recorded in the crow land book.
In the far northwest corner of montana lived the kootenai indians. Another group of kootenai live on a reservation in idaho. By the tribal office published in the history of boundary county, id compiled by the boundary county historical society 1987. The confederated salish and kootenai tribes of the flathead reservation are a federally recognized tribe in the u. You seem to like your money, and we like our country edited by robert bigart and joseph mcdonald is a collection of documentary sources of tribal affairs from 1875 to. The salish, along with the pend doreille and the kootenai tribes, by the treaty of hell gate on july 16, 1855, ceded to the united states their lands in montana and idaho. The tribal flag of the fort peck tribes was designed and sketched by artist. Roaming tribes such as the saalish, kootenai, and pend doreille indians of montana did not leave artifacts behind, and the only historical records are in the form of ancient bones and oral tradition leustig, 1994. The kootenai people lived along the kootenai river in idaho, montana, and british columbia. The kootenai tribe of idaho is a federally recognized tribe of lower kootenai people, sometimes called the idaho ksanka.
How have historical events impacted american indians. What makes the salish people and the lewis and clark expedition a startling departure from previous accounts of the lewis and clark expedition is how it depicts the arrival of non indians not as the beginning of history, but as another chapter in a long tribal history. The blackfeet had controlled large portions of alberta and montana. Montana indian reservations montana tribal flags and seals. Flathead reservation timeline montana office of public. The confederated salish and kootenai tribes fight for. Pdf a synthesis of kootenai river burbot stock history and. Although the kootenay tribe was party to the treaty of hellgate in montana on july 16, 1855, the idaho kootenai were apparently not represented, although the treaty ceded lands of the idaho kootenai. One tribe was located throughout all forks of the flathead river, the swan river, the flathead lake area and the land that is now the flathead reservation. Stories of the kootenai and blackfeet people before. Doug monger, montana state parks division administrator said the new memorial helps council grove state park to tell the salish, kootenai and pend doreille peoples story. Mary ann pierre topsseh coombs and the bitterroot salish october 14, 2014 18001899, cultural preservation, native american bitterroot, mary ann coombs, montana, salish, women whm ten year old mary ann pierre cried when u. Native plants and early peoples, by jeff hart, montana historical society.
Welcome to the kootenai tribe of idaho official website. The big picture the settling of the west by nonindians and the destruction of the great bison herds the center of plains lifechanged human history here. Montana indians their history and location bozeman public. Kootenai tribe of idaho the kootenai tribe of idaho was once part of a larger kootenai tribe situated in what is now montana and canada. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. However, most salish indians avoided moving to the reservation until about 1872. The flathead indian reservation is home to the confederated salish and kootenai tribes. The flathead indian reservation is home to three tribes, the bitterroot salish, upper pend doreille, and the kootenai. See more ideas about native american indians, native american and native american history.
This year the confederated salish and kootenai tribes cskt hoped it would finally quantify its federal water rights after decades of legal and political battles. Debi remembers fondly the sunny july morning in 1990 when she first visited the kootenai lodge. Skc press release second book on tribes history news. Chippewa, cree, crow, gros ventre, kootenai, little shell chippewa, northern. After a brief tour, she phoned mark in maui, and with his blessing. Jocko valley and mission districts, two councilmen each. Stories of the kootenai and blackfeet people before glacier. Governors office of indian affairs, history 1951 established by the state legislature facilitates effective tribalstate communications with special attention to the issues that indian people face regarding their unique political status and as full citizens of the state of montana. Greg strandberg was born and raised in helena, montana. The territories of these three tribes covered all of western montana and extended into parts of idaho, british columbia and wyoming.
Kootenai legends, myths, and stories kootenay this is our collection of links to kootenai legends and traditional stories that can be read online. The confederated salish and kootenai tribes are comprised of descendants of salish flathead, pend doreille, and kootenai indians, tribes that traditionally occupied a twenty million acre area stretching from central montana to eastern washington and north into canada. The kootenai and blackfeet before glacier national park, talks about some of the stories contained in the book, which she cowrote with the kootenai culture committee and the pikunni traditional association. Montanas official state website brief history of montana.
Then rolfing and her husband, mark, arrived on the scene, smiling, shining, exuberant and eager to make their dreams of owning the lodge come true. Taken from the boundary county history book, published by the boundary co historical society, 1987. Mary ann pierre topsseh coombs and the bitterroot salish. Of the approximately 7,753 enrolled tribal members, about 5,000 live on or near the reservation. The awardwinning quarterly, montana the magazine of western history, contains articles on the history of montana. This is a brief timeline of the confederated salish and kootenai tribes and the flathead reservation. The present day flathead reservation is in northwestern montana. Native americans native americans who lived in this area before the white man came were mostly members of the kootenai tribe who lived and hunted in this part of montana and adjoining territory in idaho and canada. Your history book and a tribal history present points of view. Applicable law the confederated salish and kootenai tribes have exclusive jurisdiction over misdemeanor crimes committed by indians, under the retrocession agreement of 1993. The treaty failed to recognize use of salish, pend doreille, and kootenai. From early kutenai history, carl malouf, montana magazine of history, april 1952, vol. List of books and articles about montana history online.
Three coyote talescoyote gets lovesick, coyote and raven, and coyotes dry meat turns into live deerare told and illustrated by members of the salish indian tribe. Step out of a world governed by clocks and calendars and into the world of the kootenai and blackfeet peoples, whose traditional territories included the area that is now glacier national park. The salish, pend doreille, and kootenai flourished in their aboriginal territory that included most of montana and portions of wyoming, idaho, washington, and canada. Rave alert the rave alert is a reservation wide alert system that sends out major announcement like work delays, closures, and emergencies that are related to the cskt tribal government. The kootenai indians were from the west, and the blackfeet indians were from the eastern side of montana and the continental divide. Flathead reservation timeline confederated salish and kootenai tribes 2017 the montana tribal histories reservation timelines are collections of significant events as referenced by tribal representatives, in existing texts, and in the montana tribal colleges history projects. The kootenai tribe of idaho has a very small land base located approximately three miles west of bonners ferry, idaho. Mhs press publishes regional books on the history and cultural resources of montana. Media in category kootenai tribe the following 22 files are in this category, out of 22 total. Pablo the salish kootenai college press has published the second book of documents about salish, pend doreille, and kootenai history.
The three tribes salish, kootenai, and pend doreille lived a life of sustenance and relative peace. Students will know montana indian life before and after european contact. Students will be able to create a timeline that reflects life for a montana tribe in the precontact era, contactera, and postcontact era. A history of its discovery and settlement, social and commercial progress, mines and miners, agriculture and stockgrowing, churches, schools and societies, indians and indian wars, vigilantes, courts of justice, newspaper press, navigation, railroads and statistics, with histories of counties, cities, villages and mining camps. They were known as people of the broad water, referring to flathead lake. For fast facts on the tribes, reservations and their economy, and tribal councils, please click on the links below or use the interactive map.
Book titles with asterisks are available as ebooks from most major online ebook retailers. The confederated salish and kootenai tribes natural resources department has created an animal field app that was created to support the annual river honoring. Unfortunately, in april 20 republicans in the montana state legislature blocked several bills that would have ratified the water rights compact. The montana governors office of indian affairs is pleased to provide a tribal directory listing of tribal governments and tribal department directors. Chief three moons, a former chief and legendary leader of the people, is represented by the drawing of three moons. Montana tribal history timelines all montana office of public. The twelve american indian tribes in montana are recognized as nations. Although i separated these into three different themes, these too are linked together so that one has an effect on another. Tribes include the crows in the south central region, the cheyenne in the southeastern part of the state, the blackfeet, assiniboine, and gros ventres in the central and northcentral areas, and the kootenai and salish in the western sector. Jun 22, 2017 sally thompson, archaeologist, ethnographer, ethnohistorian, and lead author of people before the park. A synthesis of kootenai river burbot stock history and future management goals article pdf available in transactions of the american fisheries society 1426. This event was recorded by baptiste mathiass father on a. Constitution and bylaws of the confederated salish and kootenai tribes of the flathead reservation preamble we, the confederated salish and kootenai tribes of the flathead reservation, montana, in order to establish a more responsible organization, promote our general welfare, conserve and. Montana is home to 7 indian reservations and the staterecognized little shell tribe of chippewa indians.
Now the park affirms the honor that the tribes hold for their ancestors and for this special place, he said. While it is believed that no tribe made a permanent home in the libby area, several tribes frequented the area to hunt and for spiritual purposes. At times, when the tribes met, they fought in order to steal goods and horses, or to settle old scores resulting in tribe members on both sides being killed. Today, a majority of the land and people on the flathead reservation are non indians. Realizing the changing times, the confederated salish and kootenai tribes became the first tribe in the u. The kootenai tribal reservation is located in northern idaho along the northern border with british columbia, canada, in idahos most northerly county, boundary county. They were huntergatherers, and salmon was an important staple to their diets. Things to keep in mind as you do your research on a montana tribes o ral history and its origin story montana tribal histories differ in point of view from your american history book.
Ronan, pablo, polson, elmodayton, hot springscamas prairie, and dixon, one councilman each. The tribes are a combination of the salish, the pend doreille and the kootenai. The kootenai are related to the salish, with whom they share the flathead reservation in nw montana. When the american economy began to collapse strandberg quickly moved to china, where he became a slave for the english language industry. In 1990 there were 750 kootenai and about 2,300 people of mixed salish and kootenai descent in the united states, as well as some 500 kootenai in canada. The kootenai indians in boundary county spoke a language very different from other tribes. Did life for montana indians change after european contact. The aboriginal name of the kootenai tribe is kutanaxa, a name. The government includes members of several bitterroot salish, kutenai and pend doreilles tribes and is centered on the flathead indian reservation. The inn is wholly owned by the kootenai tribe, which is very proud of the fine facility. He graduated from the university of montana in 2008 with a ba in history. Being a correct and impartial narrative of the chase, trial, capture, and execution of henry plummers road agent band, together with accounts of the lives and crimes of many of the robbers and desperadoes by thomas j. Chippewa cree tribe of the rocky boys reservation water. Organized under the auspices of the idaho supreme court.
Chapter ten montana tribal history timelines model lesson with extended. Montana indians their history and location montana office of. The indian affairs manual, which explains and sets forth the procedures. The following year, the montana power company negotiated a lease with the confederated salish and kootenai tribes for the construction of kerr dam on montana s flathead river. First contact with europeans came when lewis and clark encountered the salish in the bitterroot valley of montana, who helped them cross the bitterroot mountains in their journey west. The tribal elders hand down the skills and traditions of the ancestors, and many tribal members still speak the kootenai language. The government includes members of several bitterroot salish, kutenai and pend doreilles tribes and is centered on the flathead indian reservation the peoples of this area were named flathead indians by europeans who came to the area. That statute provides that anyone operating a motor vehicle on a. The largest and oldest histories of montana tribes are still very much oral histories and remain in the collective memories of individuals. Treaties and agreements have influenced these traditions, and things such as treaty rights are still coming into play today. The salish, pend d oreille, and kootenai of the flathead indian reservation are fortunate to be.
The selection committee felt karen had woven into the flag the strongest representation of the cskt people. Book your trip now into our area that is accessible via nearby glacier international airport, amtrak lines, or highway 2 and 37. The similarity of names and the fact that the area claimed was included in the treaty map that was the basis of the montana tribes claim suggested to the government that the idaho kootenai were but a geographic subdivision of a single kootenai tribe. The kootenai tribe of idaho is a federally recognized native american tribe. The aboriginal territory of the coeur dalene tribe encompassed approximately four million acres over an area that extended into washington and montana and which was centered around coeur dalene lake.
Indians roamed the americas for many centuries, figure 1. Others lived in todays northern idaho, western montana, and eastern washington. Native americans were the first inhabitants of the area to become known as the state of montana. Native americans who lived in this area before the white man came were mostly members of the kootenai tribe who lived and hunted in this part of montana and adjoining territory in idaho and canada. They have permanent winter villages of coneshaped houses made from wooden poles and rush mats. A history of montana, volume one montana history series book 1 kindle edition by strandberg, greg. The maps section of the toolbar contains printable pdf files of blank montana maps to download and print. In the 2010 census, 105,304 people identified as piegan blackfeet, 27,279 of them fullblooded, the remainder selfidentified as being of more than one race or, in some cases, with ancestry from more than one tribe, but they primarily identified as blackfeet. The awardwinning quarterly, montana the magazine of western history, contains articles on the history of montana and the west. Confederated salish and kootenai tribe and flathead.