Tribal Briefing Book

Northwest Power Planning Council

March 2002

Council document 2002-4
2

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Tribal Briefing Book.....................................................................................3

U.S. Tribes and Tribal Organizations ..........................................................................................4

Burns Paiute Tribe ...................................................................................................................5

Coeur d’Alene Tribe ................................................................................................................9

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation ...................................13

Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation....................................................................18

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation ........................................................21

Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation of Oregon...............................28

Kalispel Tribe of Indians .......................................................................................................34

Kootenai Tribe of Idaho.........................................................................................................38

Nez Perce Tribe .....................................................................................................................40

Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation .........................................................46

Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation........................................................49

Spokane Tribe of Indians.......................................................................................................53

Yakama Nation......................................................................................................................57

Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC) .....................................................64

Upper Columbia United Tribes (UCUTs)...............................................................................64

Canadian Tribes and Tribal Organizations.................................................................................65

Canadian Columbia River Tribes (First Nations)....................................................................66

Canadian Columbia River Intertribal Fisheries Commission ..................................................68
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Introduction to the Tribal Briefing Book

The Northwest Power Act established a special relationship between the Northwest Power 

Planning Council and Indian tribes of the Columbia River Basin. In amending the Columbia 

River Basin Fish and Wildlife Program, the Council is required to seek recommendations from 

the tribes for objectives and measures to include in the program. The Council always has 

recognized this narrow statutory obligation as the root of a broader relationship in which the 

tribes and the Council are partners in the effort to protect, mitigate and enhance fish and wildlife 

affected by hydropower dams while assuring the region an adequate, efficient, economical and 

reliable power supply.

The Council assembled this briefing book to enhance our understanding and appreciation of the 

unique tribal culture and the 13 tribes and tribal confederations in the basin. It also serves as a 

tribal directory, with contact information for offices and individuals. It is a work in progress, 

and will be updated periodically. We wish to thank the tribes for their assistance in compiling 

this information.
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U.S. Tribes and Tribal 

Organizations
5

Burns Paiute Tribe

Tribal Headquarters Address HC-71, 100 Pasigo Street

Burns, OR 97720-9302

Phone Number (541) 573-2088

Fax Number (541) 573-2323

The Burns Paiute Tribe is descended from the Wadatika band of Indians, who take their 

name from the wada seeds they collected near the shores of Malheur Lake in eastern Oregon. 

The Wadatika’s territory covered about 5,250 square miles between the Cascade Mountains and 

the Payette Valley near Boise, Idaho, and from the southern edge of the Blue Mountains to the 

Steens Mountains in southeastern Oregon. 

Early Burns Paiute Indians were hunters, fishers and gatherers in all but the winter 

seasons, when they would settle into shelters they built to protect themselves from the cold 

weather. The first Europeans to travel across and settle into Burns Paiute territories brought 

destruction on the tribe in two principle ways: they carried smallpox and other diseases to which 

the tribes had no resistance; and their livestock grazed and trampled the native ecology, reducing 

its natural productivity for the tribe. The Burns Paiute people retaliated with raids on early 

settlers. 

When tribes to the north of the Burns Paiute people signed treaties with the U.S. 

government in 1855 and 1856, which confined them to reservations, the Paiute did not. They 

continued their historic migrations for at least another decade, until the U.S. Army began to cut 

off their access to migratory routes, compelling them in 1868 to sign a treaty that would confine 

them to a reservation in their homelands. However, the U.S. Congress never ratified that treaty. 

In 1872, after four years during which the government tried to force the Paiute onto land outside 

their traditional territory, the 1.78 million acre Malheur Reservation was created as a new home 

for all the remaining “wandering” bands of Indians, as they were called, in eastern Oregon.

Within only a few years, however, settlers began to move onto the reserved land. In 

1876, President Grant ordered that the northern shores of Malheur Lake be opened for 

settlement, cutting off the tribe from its most important source for wada seeds. At the same time, 

the tribal population was increasing, while food supplies and other resources were not. 

In response to their growing suffering, the Paiute Tribe joined with the Bannocks in the 

Bannock Indian War of 1878. The war went badly for them. About two-thirds of the Paiute 

people, whose numbers had grown to nearly 2,000 just a decade earlier, were killed. The 

survivors were rounded up and divided into three groups. One group was forced to march to the 

Yakama Indian Reservation in Washington. Another group was taken to Fort Boise. The third 

group’s fate remains unknown. 

Many of those who had traveled to Yakama territory returned within about five years to 

their homelands, but not to the reservation. In 1883white settlers opened the reservation for 

settlement. Surviving tribal people were offered 160-acre parcels of land, but many refused out 

of fear and distrust for the U.S. government. It was not until 1923, when the tribe was given a 

10-acre parcel of land by the Egan Land Company, that the tribe once again had a home – the 
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former site of the Burns city dump. Homes and a church were built, and eventually a school and 

community center were added.

In 1969, after a 35-year-old law suit was finally settled, tribal members were paid for the 

land they had lost when their reservation was taken away. They were paid on the basis of the 

value of the land in 1890, between 28 cents and 45 cents per acre. 

In 1935, the tribe purchased 760 acres of land, which is now held in trust for them by the 

U.S. government. Individuals in the tribe also own more than 11,000 acres of allotment land 

from the original land grants.

It was not until 1972, that the Burns Paiute people were federally recognized as an 

independent Indian tribe.

Today there are fewer than 300 members of the tribe, about a third of them residing on 

the reservation. Their primary means of support comes from jobs in the local community and in 

tribal government, as well as land leasing for crops. Many tribal members still hunt and gather 

their traditional foods. They are also trying to recover and nurture other elements of their history 

and culture.

Burns Paiute Tribal Information

Treaty/Executive Orders and Agreements

The tribal government was chartered under the constitution and bylaws adopted May 16, 

1968, and revised in 1988.

Land Base

Current Reservation 770 acres

Tribes and Bands: Wadatika Band

Religion: Traditional Ways – Sweat Lodge, Sundance and the Native American Church

Language: Paiute (dialect) and English

Enrolled Tribal Population

Pre Treaty/Executive Order 3,000

ANNUAL HOLIDAYS

FEASTS AND CELEBRATIONS

July

Independence Day

October

Reservation Day, October 13

September

Labor Day

November

Veteran’s Day

Thanksgiving
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Governance

Treaty Times: The tribe maintained small family members, usually with family headsmen.

Today: The tribe was originally organized under the Indian Reorganization Act (IRA) of 1936, 

but was not approved until 1968. A seven-member Tribal Council governs the tribal government 

and the General Council, composed of all enrolled tribal members age 18 and older elects 

representatives to the tribal council.

Election Years: Each Tribal Council Member serves a 3-year term.

Tribal Business Council

Chairperson Albert Teeman

Vice Chair Tyrone Hoodie

Treasurer/ Secretary Barbara Teeman

Sgt. At Arms Dan Adams

Members Albert Teeman

Barbara Teeman

Ruth Lewis

Wanda Johnson

Cecil Dick

Eric Hawley

Economy

Current Tribal Enterprises

Leasing of cropland, including public, private, and Federal grants

Gaming (may become a source to Tribal income)

Total Tribal Employment

Government 296

Fish and Wildlife

Fish and Wildlife Program Address Natural Resource Building

HC 71, 100 Pasigo Street

Burns, OR 97720

Program Phone Number (541) 573-1375
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Current Activities

Redband Trout project on Stinking Water Creek

Develop Information from the tribal perspective

Develop appropriate mitigation plans and agreements

Concentrate in areas of cultural resources and resident fish

Oregon Wildlife Trout fund
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Coeur d’Alene Tribe

Tribal Headquarters Address 850 A Street

P.O. Box 408

Plummer, ID 83851-0408

Phone Number (208) 686-1800

Fax Number (208) 686-1182

Web Site www.cdahistory.com/main.htm

The Coeur d’Alene people were named that by French fur traders who believed they 

drove a hard bargain in their dealings. The expression probably comes from the French words 

for heart, coeur, and for sharp, aigu. The people called themselves “schee-chu-umsh” – the ones 

who were found here. “Here,” for the Coeur d’Alene, was 4 million acres bordered by the Clark 

Fork River in Montana on the east, the Clearwater River area on the south, Spokane Falls on the 

west and Lake Pend d’Oreille in the north. 

Traditionally, Coeur d’Alene hunters traveled in groups joined by hunters from other 

tribes. They hunted buffalo in Montana, as well as deer and elk closer to home. The meat of the 

various animals was often cut and dried or smoked right where it was caught, then packed back 

to the tribal homelands. The hides were used for clothes and blankets for the cold winters. The 

buffalo harvests ended in the 1860s. By then, the tribal people had begun growing their own 

wheat and raising livestock to butcher. 

Unlike many Northwest Indian tribes, the Coeur d’Alene people had not signed treaties 

with the U.S. government in the 1850s. Instead, as settlers and miners swarmed over the Rocky 

Mountains and into Coeur d’Alene country, the tribe sought a new homeland within their 

traditional territory where they could retreat and preserve their old ways. They decided to move 

to an area known as “DeSmet,” (after early Jesuit missionary Father DeSmet) south of Lake 

Coeur d’Alene, where they could continue to farm and raise their cattle. 

In 1873, the U.S. president issued an executive order establishing a 592,000 acre 

reservation for the Coeur d’Alene people. 

Unfortunately, white settlers and the U.S. Army continued to move into the Coeur 

d’Alene’s territory. In 1878, to protect their land, the Coeur d’Alene tribe joined the Palouse 

Indians in an assault on a group of U.S. Army soldiers. The soldiers were forced to retreat, but 

retaliated later with greater force. 

After incurring much destruction at the hands of the Army, the Coeur d’Alene agreed to a 

peace treaty. 

In 1889, the president issued a second executive order, this time requiring the Coeur 

d’Alene to cede all their remaining land except for what is now the tribe’s reservation, plus the 

town of Harrison, Idaho. In 1894, the town was removed from the tribe’s landholdings. Today, 

the tribe owns or leases a total of 345,000 acres. The tribe’s population is less than half what it 

was before the settlers arrived.

The economy of the Coeur d’Alene tribe today is based on several co-operative tribal 

industries: the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Farm, the Benewah Market, the Coeur d’Alene Tribal 

Bingo-Casino, the Benewah Auto Center, the Tribal Cut and Saw, the Tribal Logging Operation 
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and the Benewah Medical Center. The tribe uses money from its gaming operations to 

repurchase land it once owned. It also operates its own schools, and natural resource recovery 

programs.

Coeur d’ Alene Tribal Information

Treaty/Executive Orders and Agreements

1873, Executive Order established a reservation of 592,000 acres

1889, Executive Order required the tribe to cede all land except for present reservation, 

including Harrison, Idaho

1894, Agreement changed the northern border of the reservation to exclude Harrison

Land Base

Pre-Treaty/Executive Order 4 million acres (territory of what is now north 

Idaho, eastern Washington and western Montana)

Current Reservation 345,000

Tribes and Bands: Coeur d’Alene

Religion: Predominantly Catholic

Language: dialects of the Salish family. Coeur d’Alene tribal members are closely related to the 

Flathead, Kalispel, Spokane, and Colville Tribes.

Enrolled Tribal Population

Pre-Treaty/Executive Order 3,000 – 4,000

Current 1,700

ANNUAL HOLIDAYS

 FEASTS AND CELEBRATIONS

January

New Year’s Day

October

Water Potato Day

-3

rd weekend of the month

Halloween

July

4

th of July

Julyamsh Pow-wow

-3

rd week of the month

November

Thanksgiving

August

Feast of the Assumption

-August 15th

December

Christmas
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Governance

Pre-Treaty Times: Existed of band and tribal leaders.

Today: A seven-member Tribal Council governs tribal affairs and delegates authority for 

implementation of the council’s legislative actions to the administrative director. The Council is 

elected by all tribal members age 18 and older. On September 2, 1949 a constitution was 

approved and amended in 1960-1961. The constitution provides for a general council and seven 

council members. Council members are elected to three-year terms. The constitution was 

revised November 10, 1984, and approved by the Secretary of the Interior, Bureau of Indian 

Affairs, December 21, 1984.

TRIBAL COUNCIL MEMBERS

Chair Ernest Stensgar

Vice Chair Charles Matheson

Secretary-Treasurer Norma Jean Louie

Members Chiarpah D. Matheson

Valerie Fast Horse

Francis SiJohn

Richard James Mullen

Economy

Tribe’s Pre-Treaty/Executive Order Economy

Hunting

Fishing

Intertribal trade

Current Tribal Enterprises

Tribal Development Corporation

Coeur d’Alene Casino and Resort

Tribal Logging Operation

Coeur d’Alene Tribal Farm

Benewah Market

Benewah Auto Center

Benewah Medical/Wellness Center

New Projects

Iron Man Safe Manufacturing Company

Pacific NW Fiberboard

Plummer ID Sawmill Operation

Total Tribal Employment

Government 440

Enterprise 600
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Tribal Entrepreneurs/Private Sector

Agriculture

Small Business

Contractor/Developer

Fish and Wildlife

Fish and Wildlife Program Address Fish & Wildlife Program

PO Box 408

Plummer, ID 83851

Program Phone Number (208) 686-6803

Current Tribal Fisheries

Spokane Falls

Lake Coeur d’Alene

Coeur d’Alene River

St. John River

Palouse River

North Fork Clearwater

Basis for Gathering, Hunting and Fishing Rights

Negotiations in the Treaties of 1873, 1887, 1889 (Never ratified)

Agreement with the State of Idaho, 1984

Current Activities

Stream Survey

Habitat Improvement

Monitoring

Lake Creek Land Acquisition
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Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead 

Reservation

Tribal Headquarters Address P.O. Box 278

U.S. Highway 93 S.

Pablo, MT 59855

Phone Number (406) 675-2700

Fax Number (406) 675-2806

Web Site www.charkoosta.com

www.skc.edu

The Flathead Indian Reservation in northwestern Montana is home to 4,076 members of 

three Northwest tribes: the Salish (sometimes called the Flatheads, a misnomer because the 

Flathead tribe lived on the Pacific Coast), the Pend d’Oreille (also called the Kalispel) and some 

bands of Kootenais. (The Kootenai Tribe of Idaho and the Lower Kalispels did not move to the 

Flathead Reservation and are described elsewhere in this paper.) 

The reservation, which runs from the Continental Divide on the east and includes the 

lower half of Flathead Lake, was created after the Hellgate Treaty of 1855. The original 

reservation covered 1.245 million acres, but the Allotment Act of 1908 reduced tribal ownership 

of the land to only 771,900 acres. The tribal economy is based largely on income from the 

Montana Power Company for the land on which Kerr Dam, a hydropower project is constructed. 

The tribe also has logging and Christmas tree operations that bring in revenue.

While the Salish and Pend d’Oreille people speak a common Salish language, the 

Kootenai language is unique in the world. Similarly, the cultural heritage of the Salish speakers 

differs somewhat from that of the Kootenai. 

Salish People: One of the tribal elders of the Salish tribes had a prophecy that men 

wearing long black robes would come and teach the Indian people “how to live your life on 

earth.” As a consequence, the Salish people actually sought out the missionaries they were 

hearing about from other tribes. The Jesuit priest, Father DeSmet, who is well known among 

Columbia Basin tribes, helped the Salish establish the first mission in Montana in 1841 in the 

Bitterroot Valley. The Indians credit the priests with teaching tribal people farming, milling, 

carpentry and other skills, along with their religious practices. The priests and their teachings 

were generally welcomed by the Salish people.

After the priests had established their mission and schools in the communities of the 

Salish Indians, the U.S. government wanted a treaty to secure more land for the United States. 

Washington Governor Isaac Stevens met with the chiefs of the Salish, Pend d’Oreille and 

Kootenai to negotiate. The Lower Pend d’Oreille (Kalispel) did not participate. Stevens wanted 

to move all three tribes onto one reservation, but the tribes resisted. Eventually, the wishes of the 

tribes were overruled, and by 1891, the Salish, Kootenai and Pend d’Oreille were living together 

on the Flathead Reservation. Less than 20 years later, the Allotment Act was used to divide up 

the reservation land among tribal members and sell off the rest to white settlers. 
14

When Congress passed the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934, Indian tribes were told to 

drop their traditional chief-led government in favor of tribal councils. The Salish people 

complied.

Kootenai People: The Kootenai people are also called the Ktunaxa Nation or the Ksanka. 

As noted in the section on the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho, there are seven bands of Kootenai, five in 

Canada, one in Idaho and the one on the Flathead Reservation. All seven bands share the unique 

Kootenai language. The band on the Flathead Reservation is sometimes called the “Dayton 

Creek” or “Elmo” Kootenai.

The Kootenai in Montana consider themselves to be the original inhabitants of the state, 

tracing their history back to the beginning of time. Their traditions describe the interdependence 

of all things – animals, plants, people, spirits and the earth itself. The population of the 

combined bands is said to have been in excess of 10,000.

The Kootenai migrated seasonally across the Columbia River Basin, over the Rocky 

Mountains and into the Northern Plains in search of the plants and animals that sustained them. 

The seven bands were distinct in their choice of winter homes – the permanent villages to which 

they retired to live off dried and smoked foods until the spring. The Kootenai who currently live 

on the Flathead Reservation had their winter permanent villages on the western shores of 

Flathead Lake within the boundaries of the reservation.

Salish Kootenai Tribal Information

Treaty/Executive Orders and Agreements

1855 Treaty of Hellgate

Land Base

Pre-Treaty/Executive Order 21 million acres

Current Reservation 1.3 million acres

Tribes and Bands: Salish (Bitterroot and Pend d’Oreilles Bands), Kootenai (Ksanka Band)

Cultures: Salish, Kootenai and American

Religion: Traditional Salish and Kootenai religions, various Christian religions

Longhouse: One located in St. Ignatius

Languages: Salish, Kootenai, other various tribal dialects and English

Enrolled Tribal Population

Pre-Treaty/Executive Order 1,700

Current 6,900
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ANNUAL HOLIDAYS

FEASTS AND CELEBRATIONS

January

New Years

November

Thanksgiving

July

Arlee 4th of July Celebration

-First Weekend in July

Standing Arrow Powwow

-Third Weekend in July

December

Christmas

*All Tribal Holidays occur on the Monday succeeding Powwow or Celebration

Governance

Pre-Treaty Times: Democracies based in theocracy with hereditary chieftainships. Most 

decisions made through consensus and guided by tradition. Envoys were critical to intertribal 

relations and later for communications with European settlers.

Treaty Times: Tribes were forced into treaty agreements. Sub-chiefs and envoys met with U.S. 

officials. Signatures of head chiefs were actually forged on treaties. Interpreters confused the 

issue for Tribal representatives. Tribal suspicions were justified when the U.S. Government 

broke all treaties.

Today: CSKT is an Indian Repatriation Act (IRA) Tribe and the first to adopt the boiler-plate 

constitutions of 1934. Since 1935, CSKT has been governed by an elected Tribal Council. Ten 

representatives from 8 districts throughout the Reservation comprise the Tribal Council.

Election Years: Each member of the Tribal Council serves a 4-year term.

TRIBAL COUNCIL

Chair D. Fred Matt

Vice Chair Jami Hamel

Secretary Carole Lankford

Treasurer Lloyd D. Irvine

Economy

Tribe’s Pre-Treaty/Executive Order Economy

The Salish and Kootenai people thrived in a sustainable economy that served the needs of 

all households. In the Tribal economy, everyone had a role in providing for the 

community. The people relied on the natural world for their sustenance. No one ever 

took more than they could consume and they always gave back for what they took.
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Current Tribal Enterprises

The Best Western Kwataqnuk Resort and Casino

Salish and Kootenai Electronics

Salish and Kootenai Technologies

Flathead Lath and Stickers

New Projects

Proposed projects are pending Tribal Council approval. In 1999, CSKT assumed 

management of the Welfare to Work project and focused on the placement of Temporary 

Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) clients.

Total Tribal Employment

Government 1,000

Tribal Enterprise 200

Tribal Journal “The Char Koosta News”

P.O. Box 278

Pablo, MT 59855

Editor Ron Bick

Phone (406) 675-3000

Fax (406) 675-3001

Fish and Wildlife

Fish and Wildlife Program Address Division of Fish, Wildlife, Recreation, and 

Conservation

P.O. Box 278

Pablo, MT 59855

Fisheries Program Manager Les Evarts

(406) 675-2700 ex. 1281

Wildlife Program Manager Dale Becker

(406) 675-2700 ex. 1278

Basis for Fishing Rights

Hellgate Treaty of 1855

Considered a “Stevens Treaty Tribe”

Current Activities

Restoring and managing the diverse fisheries of the Flathead Indian Reservation with an 

emphasis on native west slope cutthroat and bull trout populations.

Specific activities include the following:
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• Conducting monitoring and research necessary to manage fisheries within the 

Reservation boundaries

• Participation as part of a Tribal-Federal Team negotiating for tribal water rights

• Implementation of mitigation plans resulting from the FERC relicensing of a 

hydropower facility on the reservation (Kerr Dam)

• Implementation of BPA mitigation plans associated with Hungry Horse Dam

• Management and technical level participation in the development and implementation 

of mitigation plans for FERC relicensing of Avista Corporation’s Noxon Rapids and 

Cabinet Gorge dams

• Management and technical level participation in the development and implementation 

of mitigation plans for FERC relicensing of Montana Power Company’s Mill Town 

Dam

Historical Activities

Tribal Harvest Management
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Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation

Tribal Headquarters Address P.O. Box 150

Nespelem, WA 99155

Phone Number (509) 634-2200

Fax Number (509) 634-4116

The people known today as the “Colville Tribe” are actually made up of many tribes –

most with their own distinct dialects. These tribes include the Wenatchi, Chelan, Entiat, 

Methow, Okanogan, Nespelem, Moses-Columbi, San Poil, Lakes, Palus and members of the 

Chief Joseph Band of Nez Perce. Historically, these tribes hunted, fished and gathered roots and 

berries from the western foothills of the Rocky Mountains to the eastern flank of the Cascades, 

and from the Arrow Lakes region in Canada through the dry lands of Washington. 

During the spring, summer and autumn, the tribes went on long journeys in search of 

food and other resources. But each tribe had its own permanent home village where they took 

shelter for the winter season. Many of the tribes took their names from these winter villages: 

Wenatchi, Entiat, etc. The people whose winter home was at Kettle Falls were called the 

Colvilles by white settlers. Many of these permanent villages, as well as hunting, fishing and 

food gathering grounds, are buried today under the reservoirs formed by Columbia River dams.

While the tribes traded with each other and shared celebrations and rituals, they 

maintained their distinct languages and forms of tribal government. Much of this changed when 

the tribes were brought together by the U.S. government to live on the Colville Reservation, 

which had been created through an executive order of the president in 1872. 

As with most Indian reserved lands, the boundaries of the reservation were drawn tighter 

as natural resources were discovered there, and more white settlers moved in. In the case of the 

Colville Reservation, that boundary shift occurred less than three months after the reservation 

was created. Half of the original 2,900,000 acres were taken away from the Indians and returned 

to public domain. Today, the Colville Reservation occupies 1,414,133 acres, the majority of 

which is held in tribal trust (935,440 acres).

Like many tribes of the Columbia Basin, the Colvilles centered much of their spiritual 

and cultural life around the annual return of the salmon. Salmon runs provided an abundant and 

relatively easy-to-harvest source of protein for the tribes, but far more important was their 

spiritual role in the tribes’ history and culture. In European terms, the tribes could be said to 

worship the salmon. But that concept misses the sense of interwoven (as opposed to 

hierarchical) life forces that is the real base of tribal faith. The annual return of the salmon up 

the Columbia and into local tributaries symbolized seasonal renewal, the presence of the Creator 

amongst them, the integration of the people and all other creatures. The tribes celebrated this 

renewal with huge gatherings, feasts, trading and “giveaways.” Native Americans from across 

the Northwest came together for these events.

The complete loss of the salmon as a result of construction of first Grand Coulee Dam 

and later Chief Joseph Dam, which blocked salmon migrations from the entire range of Colville 

land, has caused tremendous spiritual, as well as economic, suffering to these tribes.

In recent years, the Colvilles have focused on producing other species of fish to partially 

replace the salmon they lost. These so-called “resident” fish reside in the reservoirs and streams 
19

on the reservation and provide angling opportunities for tribal members, as well as for a growing 

sport-fishing and tourist industry.

In addition to fishing, the Colvilles have timber holdings, mineral rights, agriculture lands 

and other natural resources that make up the foundation of the tribe’s economy. The tribe also 

operates a sawmill, three grocery stores, a wood treatment plant, credit union, bingo games, the 

Roosevelt Recreation Enterprise and tribal logging operations.

Colville Tribal Information

Treaty/Executive Orders and Agreements

Executive Order established reservation, 1872

Agreement with the Colville Tribe, 1892

Agreement with the Colvilles, 1905

Land Base

Current Reservation 1,414,133 acres

Tribes and Bands: Descendants of the Salish and Sahaptin speaking people, Colville, Entiat, 

Methow, Nespelem, Nez Perce of Chief Joseph’s Band, Southern Okanogan, Lakes, San 

Poil, Palus, Chelan, Moses Columbia, Wenatchi

Language: Dialects of the Salish family (Entiat, Okanogan, Colville, Lakes, Methow, Wenatchi, 

San Poil, Nespelem, Chelan, Moses); dialects of Sahaptian family ( Palus, Nez Perce)

Enrolled Tribal Population

Current 8,400

Governance

TRIBAL COUNCIL MEMBERS

Chair Colleen F. Cawston

Vice Chair Joseph A. Pakootas

Secretary Margaret Hutchinson

Members Louella Anderson

Shirley Charley

Gene Joseph

Joanne Leith

Wilfred ‘Deb’ Louie

Mike Marchand

Donald R. ‘Dr’ Michel

Kevin Rosenbaum

John Stensgar

Richard Swan
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Fish and Wildlife

Natural Resources Committee

Chairperson Wilfred “Deb” Louie

Members Kevin Rosenbaum

Doc Mellon

Mike Marchane

Richard Bluestone

Colleen Cawston
21

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation

Tribal Headquarters Address P.O. Box 638

Pendleton, OR 97801

Phone Number (541) 276-3165

Fax Number (541) 276-3095

Web Site www.umatilla.nsn.us

The Umatilla Reservation in northeastern Oregon is home to members of many tribes, 

principally the Umatilla, the Walla Wallas and the Cayuse. The Umatilla and Walla Walla 

people are from the area where the Yakima, Walla Walla and Snake rivers meet the Columbia 

River. The Cayuse people traditionally lived in Oregon from the Deschutes River east to beyond 

the Blue Mountains. The Umatilla and Walla Walla speak versions of the Sahaptin language. 

The Cayuse have their own language, called “Waiilatpuan.”

In the world view of these people, water was created first, then land and all life. All life, 

including people, promised to care for the land, and the land promised to care for all life. Water 

is the key to this balance. All life requires water. Umatilla tribal elders describe a time when 

there were no distinct tribes, when people were named by what family they belonged to or where 

they lived.

The calendar of the Umatilla people is similar to that of other Northwest tribes, beginning 

with the “First Foods” ceremonies in the spring when new plant life emerges and salmon return. 

Summer found the people at traditional gathering sites collecting roots and berries and hunting 

and fishing. But the salmon were the center of life for all the Umatilla tribes. Some of the 

people spent the whole year at traditional fishing sites. Others spent several seasons there. The 

Cayuse tended to fish in tributaries. The Umatilla and Walla Walla fished the mainstems, as well 

as tributaries. Life was fairly easy as long as the salmon were abundant.

Because of their location, the Umatilla, Walla Walla and Cayuse people were often gobetweens for the plains people to the east and the coastal people to the west. Umatilla 

communities were trading posts for travelling Indian bands. Many feasts and religious 

celebrations were held among all these people. 

The Cayuse, in particular, took to horses. Cayuse ponies were bred for speed and their 

ability to traverse the Blue Mountains. (Cayuse, Palouse and Nez Perce Indians all raised horses. 

Appaloosa and Cayuse ponies were bred by them.) Because the horses required land to graze, 

the Indians spread them out across vast expanses of the Northwest. In this way, the coming of 

the horse to Northwest Indians changed tribal cultures. They expanded trade and cultural 

exchange. In some instances, horses also inflicted harm on the ecosystems.

But until the advent of explorers, fur traders and settlers, life in the land of the Umatillas 

was generally in balance. Newcomers to the region needed the help of the Indians to survive. In 

exchange they offered metal tools, etc., that were welcome additions to the tribal culture and 

economy.
22

Missionaries arrived in the Pacific Northwest not long after the traders and first settlers. 

They set up missions near Fort Walla Walla, on the Umatilla River and elsewhere in the area. In 

1847, Dr. Marcus Whitman, founder of the mission at Walla Walla, and his family were killed by 

a Cayuse war party. Soon after, the mission on the Umatilla was burned. A three-year war 

ensued between white settlers and the Indians, primarily the Cayuse. Finally, five Cayuse were 

hung for the Whitman family murders, and the war came to an end.

With the end of the war, immigration into the Oregon Territory – the homeland of the 

Indian people – increased. Land was being turned over to settlers with no concern for the 

centuries old tribal reliance on that land. The tribes again went to war to defend their homeland. 

In response, the U.S. government tried to halt settlement until the tribes could be overwhelmed, 

and the Indian people moved onto reservations.

In 1855 and 1856, treaties were negotiated with many of the Northwest tribes, including 

the Walla Walla, Cayuse and Umatilla tribes. Originally, the Cayuse, Umatilla and Walla Walla 

were going to be sent to the Yakama Reservation in Washington, but eventually they were given 

a separate reservation in the homelands of the Cayuse. They were forced to cede 6.4 million 

acres of their land to the U.S. government for resale to white settlers. But they reserved for 

themselves 510,000 acres and the right to hunt, fish and gather food at all their usual and 

accustomed sites. 

Some years later when the reservation was surveyed, it was reduced to 245,000 acres. 

Later still, under the Allotment Act, nearly 100,000 more acres of the Indian’s land was sold to 

settlers. Another 87,000 acres were purchased by land and timber speculators and sheep 

ranchers. Today, the Umatilla Reservation covers 172,000 acres.

Settlers took more than the land. Irrigation withdrawals from the Umatilla and other 

streams rendered extinct the salmon runs on which the tribes were physically, economically and 

spiritually dependent. Farming, ranching and other land uses destroyed the ecosystems from 

which the people had long hunted and gathered their foods. 

In 1949, the Umatilla tribes voted to form the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian 

Reservation as a means of taking more control of their economic and political future. The board 

of trustees of the Umatilla Indian Reservation began immediately to identify and develop 

mechanisms to improve the economy of the tribes. Timber sales were the major source of 

revenue for economic development plans until 1953, when the United States paid the tribes $4.2 

million for the loss of fishing sites at Celilo, Oregon, where The Dalles Dam was constructed. 

Since the 1970s, the Umatilla tribes’ principal goals have included reacquiring their 

homelands and restoring their ecosystems. Both are seen as important steps on the way back to 

self-sufficiency. Today the tribal economy, still based largely on agriculture and natural 

resources, also includes a resort and gaming operation, a cultural institute, a golf course and 

other enterprises.
23

Umatilla Tribal Information

Treaty/Executive Orders and Agreements

Treaty with the Walla Walla, Cayuse and Umatilla Tribes, 1855

Land Base

Pre-Treaty/Total Ceded Area 6.4 million acres

1855 Reservation 500,000 acres

Current Reservation 180,441 acres

Tribes and Bands: Cayuse, Walla Walla, Umatilla Tribes comprise the confederation

Cultures: Plateau culture

The culture of the CTUIR people revolved around the gathering of food. From late 

spring until fall Salmon were fished from the Columbia River and its tributaries. Other 

types of fish they fished for were eels, steelhead, sturgeon, suckers, and whitefish. 

Before the Salmon runs in the spring and fall, families migrated to the woodlands to

gather roots and berries, and to hunt for deer and elk. Along the way, the women were in 

charge of digging roots and gathering numerous varieties of plants, seeds, and nuts, 

which were used for food or medicines. 

Religion: Seven Drums (Washat), Catholic, Christian, Presbyterian denominations.

Longhouse: One located on the reservation.

Language: Sahaptin, Nez Perce (Dialect) and English.

Enrolled Tribal Population

Pre-Treaty/Executive Order 8,000

Current 2,174

ANNUAL HOLIDAYS

FEASTS AND CELEBRATIONS

April

Root Feast Ceremony and Fun Run

-Mission, OR

September

Elders Dinner and Gathering

May

Root Feast Pow-wow and Celebration

-Mission, OR

November

Veterans Day Dinner

June

Annual Fathers Day Fishing Derby

-Indian Lake

December

Christmas Pow-wow and Celebration

-Mission, OR

July

Wildhorse 4th of July Pow-wow

-Wildhorse Casino
24

Governance

Pre-Treaty Times: What is referred as a tribe today was actually just a large grouping of family 

bands which frequented a common area, spoke a common dialect and wintered in a common 

location. There was no single chief or political leader that held control over the entire band. 

Each family band had there own headman or spokesman who represented the band in council 

with other headmen.

Treaty Times: Chiefs, headmen, and warriors. During the signing of the 1855 treaty, there were 

Chiefs or headmen for each tribe (Chief of Walla Walla, Chief of Cayuse, Chief of Umatilla).

Today: The tribe is governed by the Constitution and by-laws adopted in November 1949. And 

the customs, traditions, codes and ordinances regulate resource use.

A nine-member Board of Trustees governs tribal affairs. The Board is elected by the General 

Council, which consists of all tribal members age 18 and older. The Board sets policy, makes 

the final decisions on tribal affairs, and takes a lead role in determining priority project issues. 

All of the board members, except the Chair, participate in various commissions and committees 

established to oversee specific tribal issues.

Election Years: Each member of the Board serves a 2-year term.

BOARD of TRUSTEES

Chair Gary Burke

Vice Chair Alan Crawford

Treasurer Les Minthorn

Secretary Rosemary Narcisse

Members At –Large N. Kathryn Brigham

Armand Minthorn

Jay Minthorn

William Quaempts

General Council Chair Alvina Huesties

Economy

Tribe’s Pre-Treaty/Executive Order Economy

Hunting

Fishing

Gathering roots and berries 

Intertribal trade

Livestock 

Fur trapping
25

Current Tribal Enterprises

Agriculture

Timber

Recreation/Campground

Trailer court

Grain elevator

Wildhorse Resort (which includes a casino, hotel, RV Park, and an 18-hole golf course)

Tamastslikt Cultural Institute

New Projects

Grocery Store

Solid Waste Transfer Station

Total Tribal Employment

Government 569

Tribal Enterprise 382

* With a total of 951 employed with the CTUIR, 47% are 

Umatilla tribal members, 18% are Indians enrolled with 

other tribes, and 35% are non-Indians.

Tribal Entrepreneurs/Private Sector

Agriculture

Livestock

Fishing

Wholesale & retail trade and timber

Tribal Journal “Confederated Umatilla Journal”

PO Box 638

Pendleton, OR 97801

Editor Will Phenny

Phone (541) 278-7602

Fax (541) 276-3095

Fish and Wildlife

Fish and Wildlife Program Address P.O. Box 638

Pendleton, OR 97801

Fisheries Program Manager Gary A. James

Phone (541) 276-4109

Fax (541) 276-4348

Wildlife Program Manager Carl Scheeler

Phone (541) 278-5298

Fax (541) 276-4348
26

Current Co-Management Areas

Umatilla, Walla Walla, Tucannon, John Day, Grande Ronde, Imnaha, Mainstem 

Columbia and Snake Rivers

Basis for Gathering, Hunting and Fishing Rights

Inherent sovereignty

Article 1 of 1855 treaty (reserving rights to fish, hunt and gather)

Sohappy v. Smith/U.S. v. Oregon decision of 1969

Current Activities

Fish Passage Projects

Umatilla Passage O&M

Umatilla Fish Passage Operations

Power/Repay for BOR CRP project

Walla Walla Fish Passage Operations

Walla Walla Juvenile and Adult Fish Passage Improvements

Fish and Wildlife Habitat Protection and Enhancement Projects

Umatilla Fish Habitat Enhancement

Walla Walla Fish Habitat Enhancement

North Fork John Day Fish Habitat Enhancement

Squaw Creek Watershed/Wildlife

Rainwater Wildlife Area

Conforth Ranch (Wanaket) Wildlife Area

Artificial Production Projects

Umatilla Hatchery Satellite Facility O&M

Umatilla Hatchery Supplement Planning, Design & Construction

NEOH - Walla Walla Hatchery Supplement Planning, Design & Construction

Grande Ronde Satellite Facility O&M/M&E

Research Projects

Umatilla Basin National Production Fish Production M&E

Pacific Lamprey Research & Restoration

Historical Activities

Restore/Enhance Anadromous Salmon in Umatilla

• Completed adult holding and spawning/juvenile acclimation facilities

• Completed ladder and screen fish passage projects

• Completed phase I and II Umatilla Basin Flow Project

• Umatilla Habitat Enhancement

• Umatilla Hatchery Master Planning

Initial Walla Walla Hatchery Master Planning
27

Fish & Wildlife Committee (FWC)

Chairman Jay Minthorne

Vice Chairman Ken Hall

Secretary N. Kathryn Brigham

Member Rob Quaempts

Raphael Bill

Tribal In-Lieu Site Task Force

Member Jay Minthorn

Raphael Bill

CRITFC- Commissioners:

 Jay Minthorn, Chair 

Rapheal Bill

N. Kathryn Brigham

Ken Hall

Robert Quaempts
28

Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation of 

Oregon

Tribal Headquarters Address 1233 Veteran Street

PO Box C

Warm Springs, OR 97761

Phone Number (541) 553-1161

Fax (541) 553-1924

Web Site osu.orst.edu/dept/wsext/ws.htm

The three tribes that live on the Warm Springs – the Warm Springs, Wasco and Northern 

Paiute – all have different native languages, different cultural and spiritual heritages, and 

inhabited different locales before being brought together by the Treaty of 1855.

The Warm Springs Tribe was, and continues to be, Columbia River salmon fishers. The 

Tribe seasonally moved inland in search of roots, berries, herbs, game and other resources in the 

valleys and plateaus between the Cascade and Blue Mountains. Four bands of the Warm Springs 

– the Tenino from upstream of The Dalles, the Wyam from the mouth of the Deschutes River, 

the John Day from the John Day River area and the Tygh from the Tygh Valley – are represented 

on the Warm Springs Reservation.

Members of the Wasco Tribe were also salmon fishers and traders on the Columbia River 

at Celilo Falls and further downstream. The Wasco people resided near the Columbia River year 

round. 

The Northern Paiutes were more nomadic, traveling across the high desert to seek out 

animals and plants on which to subsist. Their traditional homelands were in Southeast Oregon 

and northwestern Nevada. Their Paiute language is related to languages of the Hopi Indians of 

the Southwest and the Aztecs of Mexico. Historically, the Paiute bands were named for their 

primary foods – Wadadika for seed-eaters, Hunibuidika for root-eaters and Wadihichidika for 

juniper and deer-eaters. The traditional land of the Wadihichidika, along the Deschutes and 

Crooked rivers in central Oregon, is the current site of the reservation. 

For all three tribes, water was so essential that it became central to their spiritual beliefs 

and practices. The tribes also shared a world view in which all things had value and were 

imbued with spirituality. For the river people, the animal spirits could be taken on as personal 

guardians. Among the Paiute, generally only the shaman bore the spirits of other creatures.

As white explorers, traders and settlers came into the Oregon Territory, the ways of the 

Indian people were changed dramatically. The first white people brought diseases to which the 

tribes had no resistance. Most calculations indicate that about two-thirds of the Indians in some 

communities died of these new diseases within the first 50 years of white exploration of the 

Northwest. Settlers then occupied tribal homelands, destroying ecosystems on which the tribes 

depended. 

After some skirmishes between Indian and white people, the U.S. government sent 

General Joel Palmer to secure treaties with the Columbia River people so settlers could safely 

occupy their homelands. The Wasco and Warm Springs Indians ceded 10 million acres of their 

homelands and reserved 640,000 acres for their own use. Other considerations were offered by 
29

the United States government, however most were not delivered. A critical element of this, as 

well as other Northwest treaties, was the reservation by the tribes of their right to fish, hunt and 

gather their traditional foods at their historic sites. In the meantime, several Paiute bands of 

Indians went to war against the U.S. government and lost. In 1879, 38 survivors of this war were 

brought to the Warm Springs Reservation to live as prisoners of war. Their descendents 

represent the Paiute population on the Warm Springs Reservation today. 

The Warm Springs Reservation is considered a model of successful economic 

development among Indian tribes. In 1957, the tribe was paid $4 million for the loss of fish and 

water resources when The Dalles Dam was built, flooding out the most important fishing site in 

the region – Celilo Falls. The Tribe commissioned Oregon State College (now Oregon State 

University) to assess its resources, which led to the development of what is now a thriving tribal 

economy. Kah-Nee-Ta Resort, Warm Springs Forest Products and Warm Springs Power 

Enterprise are examples of economic initiatives brought about by the Oregon state College study. 

They developed their own wood products industry to process their own timber. They 

operate a fish hatchery designed to increase salmon runs on the Columbia. In 1993, they opened 

a tribal museum. The tribes also obtain revenues from Portland General Electric for operation of 

the Pelton Dam on reservation land. The tribal membership recently voted to become partners in 

a joint-ownership arrangement in relicensing the Pelton-Round Butte dam projects with Portland 

General Electric.

The tribes have been reacquiring lost land and today, tribal land holdings exceed 650,000 

acres. The reservation’s northern boundary was expanded in the early 1990’s when 61,000 acres 

know as the “McQuinn Strip” were returned to the Tribe.

Warm Springs Tribal Information

Treaty/Executive Orders and Agreements

Treaty with the Middle Tribes of Oregon, 1855

Land Base

Pre-Treaty/Executive Order 10 million acres

Current 650,000 acres

Tribes and Bands: Wasco bands, Dalles, Ki-gal-twal-la, Dog River, Warm Springs (or Walla 

Walla) bands, Upper Deschutes (Tygh), Lower Deschutes (Wyam), Tenino, John Day, 

Northern Paiutes (Adopted into the CTWS in the 1800’s)

Cultures: Sahaptin, Chinookan and Northern Paiute

Religion: Washat (Seven Drums), Shaker, and various Christian denominations

Longhouses: 3 - Simnasho, Warm Springs & He He

Language: Chinookan (Wasco bands), Sahaptin (Warm Springs), Shoshoean dialect (Paiutes)

Enrolled Tribal Population

Current 3,916
30

ANNUAL HOLIDAYS

FEASTS AND CELEBRATIONS

January

New Year’s Day Feast

-Agency or Simnasho Longhouse

Circle of Culture, Community Art Show

-Museum at Warm Springs

July

4

th of July

-Community Area, Warm Springs

February

Lincoln’s Powwow and Feast

-Simnasho Longhouse

August

Huckleberry Feast

-He He Longhouse, Warm Springs

March

Kah-Nee-Ta Mini Marathon

-Kah-Nee-Ta Resort

Children’s Treasures Show

-Museum at Warm Springs

September

Lake Billy Chinook Day

-The Cove State Palisades Park

April

Salmon and Root Feast

-He He Longhouse Warm Springs

October

Kah-Nee-Ta Fun Run

May

Veterans Gathering

-He He Longhouse, Warm Springs

November

Veterans Day Powwow

-Agency Longhouse

Thanksgiving Powwow

-Agency Longhouse

June

Pi-Ume-Sha Treaty Days Powwow

-Community Area, Warm Springs

December

Simnasho Traditional Powwow

-Simnasho Longhouse

New Years Powwow

-Agency Longhouse

Governance

Pre-Treaty Times: Chief, headmen, and warriors

Today: Constitution adopted in 1938. The Warm Springs Tribal Council is the central governing 

authority of the Confederated Tribes. This 11-member body includes 8 elected members, who 

serve 3-year terms, and 3 traditional chiefs who serve for life.

The tribal confederation is comprised of the Wasco and Warm Springs tribes who signed 

the 1855 treaty, and the Paiute Indians who joined them on the reservation 24 years later.

There are 3 districts on the reservation, with a Chief from each district:

1. Simnasho – 3 elected representatives

2. Agency – 3 elected representatives

3. Seekseekqua – 2 elected representatives

Election years: Each Tribal Council member serves a 3-year term.
31

Tribal Council

Chair Olney ‘J.P.’ Patt, Jr.

Vice Chair Garland Brunoe

Secretary-Treasurer Charles V. Jackson

Chief Judge Lola Sohappy

Chief Operations Officer William Fuentes

Tribal Council – District Representatives

Agency District Wasco Chief Nelson Wallulatum

Garland Brunoe

Bernice Mitchell

Zane Jackson

Simnasho District Warm Springs Chief Delvis Heath

Olney Patt Jr.

Ronald Suppah

Raymond Tsumpti

Seekseequa District Joe Moses

Brenda Scott

Joe Moses

Carolyn Wewa

*Chiefs serve a lifetime term while elected offices serve 3-year terms

Economy

Tribe’s Pre-Treaty/Executive Order Economy

Fishing

Trading

Current Tribal Enterprises

Indian Head Casino

Kah-Nee-Ta Resort

The Museum at Warm Springs

Warm Springs Power Enterprise

Warm Springs Forest Product Industries

Warm Springs Composite Products

Warm Springs Credit

3 Warriors Market

Total Tribal Employment

Government 749

Tribal Enterprise 503
32

Tribal entrepreneurs/private sector

Ranching

Farming

Fishing

Construction

Wood Cutting

Restaurant Owners (Deschutes Crossing/Indian Trail)

Tribal Journal “Spilyay Tymoo”

P.O. Box 870

Warm Springs, OR 97761

Editor Mike Vanmete - Acting Editor

Phone (541) 553-3584

Fax (541) 553-3539

Tribal Radio Station KWSO

Station Manager Mary Sando-Emhoolah

Program Director Liz Wolfe

Phone (541) 553-1968

Fax (541) 553-3348

Fish & Wildlife

Fish and Wildlife Program Address PO Box 1299

Warm Springs, OR 97761

Program Phone and Fax Numbers (541) 553-3257

(541) 553-1268 fax

Current Tribal Fisheries

Columbia River - Zone 6

Willamette Falls

Sherars Falls - Deschutes River

Various ceded area streams

Basis for Gathering, Hunting and Fishing Rights

Inherent sovereignty

Article 1 of Treaty of 1855 (reserving fishing, hunting and gathering rights)

Sohappy v. Smith/U.S. v. Oregon decision of 1969

Fish & Wildlife Committee-On Reservation

Chair Elmer Scott, Jr.

Vice Chair Tony Suppah

Member Leslie Bill

Member Donald Winishut, Sr.
33

Fish & Wildlife Committee-Off Reservation

Chair Harold Blackwolf, Sr.

Vice Chair Olney Patt, Jr.

Member Claude Smith, Sr.

Member Terry Courtney, Jr.

CRITFC- Commissioners

Harold Blackwolf, Sr., Chair

Terry Courtney, Jr.

Olney Patt, Jr.

Claude Smith, Sr.

Stanley Simtustus

Elmer Scott, Jr.

Tony Suppah

Leslie Bill
34

Kalispel Tribe of Indians

Tribal Headquarters Address 1981 N. Leclerc Rd.

PO Box 39

Usk, WA 99180

Phone Number (509) 445-1147

Fax Number (509) 445-1705

Web Site www.kalispeltribe.com

Like many Indian tribes of the Northwest, the Kalispel take their name, or in this case, 

names from their principal foods, activities or central village. The Kalispels have gone by names 

meaning “camas people,” for the roots they rely on; “canoe” or “boat” people, because they were 

often out on Lake Pend d’Oreille; or “people of the confluence,” from a wintering village near 

the outlet of Lake Pend d’Oreille. 

The tribe had two major groups, but a common dialect – a Salish language. The upper 

part of the tribe is said to have come from east of the Rocky Mountains. They later joined the 

Lower Kalispel bands in the Pend d’Oreille River valley in northeastern Washington and 

northern Idaho. The Upper Kalispels lived east of the Lower Kalispels, mostly in Montana, on 

Thompson Lake and on the Flathead Lakes as far west as Lake Pend d’Oreille. They historically 

hunted east into the Great Plains, north into Canada, and south to the Salmon River Country in 

Idaho.

When white settlers began occupying the Kalispel’s traditional homelands, the Upper and 

Lower groups reacted differently. The Upper Kalispels accepted the missionaries and were 

among the tribes that signed the Stevens Treaties of 1855. They were moved, along with the 

Kootenais and the Flatheads, onto the Flathead Reservation in Montana. Some of the Lower 

Kalispel people also moved to the Flathead Reservation when their mission was moved there. 

But others of the Lower Kalispel, led by Chief Marcella, refused to leave what was left of 

their homelands. Their whole culture and lifestyle had evolved around that land and water base, 

and they were determined to cling to both the land and the culture. Throughout the 1880s, 

railroad companies and settlers took over more and more of the Kalispel homeland. The 

Northern Pacific Railroad, backed by its congressional charter, acquired vast tracts of Kalispel 

land and later resold some of it to white settlers. Traditional hunting and gathering sites were 

developed into farms, towns and railroads. The Kalispel asked for compensation for their land 

and a reservation to protect them from further encroachment. 

Eventually, each tribal member was allotted 40 acres of agricultural land or 80 acres of 

grazing land. In 1914, an executive order declared the allotted land – about 4,620 acres in all –

to be the Kalispel Reservation. It is located about 50 miles north of Spokane on the Pend 

d’Oreille River. 

Before the settlers and the railroads arrived, the Kalispel homelands amounted to more 

than 4 million acres. In 1963, the tribe won compensation for their lost lands under the Indian 

Claims Act. The tribe received about 68 cents per lost acre.
35

Today, a major focus of the tribe is restoration and management of reservation 

ecosystems. In 1989, the tribe acquired the 480-acre Flying Goose Ranch as partial mitigation 

for land losses and other consequences of the Albeni Falls Dam on the Kootenai River. That 

land is being managed to protect waterfowl and other wildlife species. The tribe’s approach to 

ecosystem management is consistent with traditional land use and culture. 

The tribe’s primary income comes from the tribal casino.

Kalispel Tribal Information

Treaty/Executive Orders and Agreements

1914, Executive Order to established reservation

1939, Kalispel chartered a new constitution under the Indian Reorganization Act and 

formed the Kalispel Indian Community

Land Base

Pre-Treaty/Executive Order 4 million acres

Current 4,600 acres

Tribes and Bands: Upper Kalispel and Lower Kalispel

Cultures: Kalispel, American

Religion: Medicine Dance, Sweatlodge and Catholic

Language: Salish

Enrolled Tribal Population

Pre-Treaty/Executive Order 1600

Current 280

ANNUAL HOLIDAYS

FEASTS AND CELEBRATIONS

April

Davis Bluff Fun Day

-April 8

Easter Mass

November

All Saints Day

August

Kalispel Pow-wow

-Aug 25, 26, 27

December

Christmas Eve Mass
36

Governance

Today: Five elected members make up the Tribal Council. The Council meets at least once per 

week, usually Tuesday. The Council is responsible for reviewing, negotiating, and approving 

contracts and agreements, on behalf of the Tribe.

Election Years: Each Tribal Council member serves a three year term

Committee Members - Terms are staggered so elections occur every year

Tribal Council

Chair Glen Nenema

Vice Chair Stanley Bluff

Secretary Curt Holmes

Members Tina Gives

Francis Cullooyah

Economy

Tribe’s Pre-Treaty/Executive Order Economy

Hunting

Fishing

Gathering roots and berries

Intertribal trade

Livestock

Fur trapping

Current Tribal Enterprises

Buffalo Herd

Kalispel Case Line (KCL)

Kalispel Wildlife Reserve

Tribal Casino

Kalispel Agricultural Enterprise (KAE)

Total Tribal Employment

Government 60

Tribal Enterprise 10

Tribal Journal “Smoke Signal”

P.O. Box 39

Usk, WA 99180

Editor Beannie Merson

Phone (509) 445-1147
37
38

Kootenai Tribe of Idaho

Tribal Headquarters Address P.O. Box 1269

Bonners Ferry, ID 83805

Phone Number (208) 267-3519

Fax Number (208) 267-2960

Web Site www.kootenai.org

The Kootenai language and culture are unique in the Pacific Northwest. (In fact, the 

uniqueness of the Kootenai language led the U.S. military to use Kootenai soldiers as code men 

during World War II.) Much of the Kootenai cultural history is still considered sacred and thus 

secret. Like many tribes, the Kootenai believe they were created for a specific place, to protect it 

and be nurtured by it. Other people were created for other places. Everything in those places has 

an important purpose, the people believe, and so should not be wasted.

The Kootenai count as their ancestral lands territory in British Columbia, Canada, to the 

north (where five bands of Kootenai remain), as well as in Montana to the east in the Rocky 

Mountains, where they hunted buffalo. The center of Kootenai life was along the Kootenai 

River and the lakes surrounding it. Sharing the land with the Nez Perce and Salish tribes, the 

Kootenai hunted caribou and other animals, fished for numerous species, and collected roots and 

berries. The Kootenai say that conflicts between themselves and other tribes erupted only after 

white settlers started to arrive. The settlers and traders caused scarcities in the buffalo and other 

foods. Only then did the tribes begin to turn on each other out of anger and frustration. 

Kootenai elders maintain their tribe never agreed to the 1855 Treaties with Governor 

Stevens. They did not agree to move to a reservation and give up their homelands. Instead in 

1889, they appealed to the U.S. government to be allowed to stay along the Kootenai River. 

Some Kootenai were allotted land along the river at that time. Others agreed to move onto the 

Flathead Reservation in Montana. 

Over the next decades, the boundaries of the Indian allotments were changed, shrinking 

the Kootenai land holdings considerably. Land was also taken outright from the tribe. In 1928, 

federal legislation was passed that allowed the Indian allotments to be sold. Some tribal 

members sold their land without realizing what they were signing.

When the Kootenai Tribe won its claim for compensation for its lost lands in 1960, tribal 

members were awarded $425,000. Out of that came lawyers fees and other expenses. The tribe 

wanted to use the rest to buy back some of their land, but they were not permitted to do so. 

Without a land base, the tribe found it impossible to become self-sufficient. But because they 

did not have a reservation, they were not eligible for the types of government assistance other 

tribes received. 

Desperately poor and in need of help, on September 20, 1974, the Kootenai Tribe of 

Idaho declared war on the United States. They put up roadblocks and began to charge a toll to 

cross through. They sold war bonds to finance their effort. At the time, there were 67 members 

of the tribe. They quickly won the support of the other six Kootenai bands that had been 

dispersed across the region and into Canada.
39

Finally, the U.S. government approached the tribe with an offering of land – 12.5 acres –

and other services. The tribe accepted the land, but did not sign a treaty because 12.5 acres was 

considered too little land for all they had lost. To date, the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho remains 

officially at war with the United States.

The tribe’s major economic base is the tribal casino at Bonners Ferry. The tribe also 

owns and operates a Best Western hotel and a hatchery to protect and rebuild white sturgeon 

populations in the Kootenai River.

Governance

Tribal Council

Chair Gary Aitken, Sr.

Vice Chair Dexie Abraham

Secretary Bernadine Boychief

Members Raymond Abraham

Velma Bahe

Jennifer Feltham

Fish & Wildlife

Fish and Wildlife Program Address PO Box 1269

Bonners Ferry, ID 83805

Program Phone and Fax Numbers (208) 267-3620

(208) 267-1131 fax

Fish and Wildlife Program Director Sue Ireland
40

Nez Perce Tribe

Tribal Headquarters Address P.O. Box 305

Lapwai, ID 83540

Phone Number (208) 843-2253

Fax Number (208) 843-7354

Web Site www.nezperce.org

The Nez Perce people got their name from the French fur traders and explorers. The 

name means “pierced noses.” Before the French arrived, the people called themselves the 

“Nimiipu.” Their traditional lands are in the Kamiah Valley along the Clearwater River in 

Idaho, but, like most Northwest tribes, they traveled great distances to hunt buffalo, elk, deer, 

moose, bear and mountain sheep, and to gather berries, roots and herbs. Because the tribal 

people were totally dependent on these food sources, they consider these distant lands as part of 

their ancestral territory. During winter months, extended families of Nez Perce would live 

together in “long houses.” 

The Nez Perce acquired an early reputation with white people for their hospitality to the 

Lewis and Clark expedition. Other trappers, traders, gold seekers and ranchers followed Lewis 

and Clark, however, and quickly transformed the culture and ecosystems necessary to the Nez 

Perce people. 

In 1855, in an effort to contain the Indian people, open land for white settlers and clear 

land for railroads, Governor Isaac Ingalls Stevens, governor of Washington and superintendent 

of Indian affairs for the whole territory, met with leaders of the Nez Perce, Cayuse, Walla Walla, 

Umatilla and Yakama tribes to negotiate treaties. (The governor met as well with other tribes 

during that same year and the next.) The Nez Perce were among the tribes that agreed to accept 

a reservation, as long as they could continue to hunt, fish and gather foods in their traditional 

lands. 

When gold was discovered on the reserved land, a new treaty was forced upon the Nez 

Perce Tribe. Most of their reserved lands were taken away from them. Even land that they 

retained ownership of was encroached upon by white settlers. 

The people of the Joseph band of Nez Perce experienced the greatest loss when their 

traditional homelands were taken away without their consent. Chief Joseph then led his people 

in a war against the U.S. government. After he lost the war, Chief Joseph and many of his 

people were removed completely from the Northwest. 

In 1887, the General Allotment Act, sometimes called the “Dawes Act,” enabled the U.S. 

government to divide up Indian land holdings among tribal members. Any land that was not 

allotted, was sold to white settlers. This broke up tribal ownership of the reservations and 

resulted in major losses of tribal lands to white settlers. Today, the Nez Perce Indian Reservation 

includes the Camas Prairie and the forests and canyons around and in it. It is bordered on the 

north and east by the Clearwater River, on the south by the Salmon River and on the west by the 

Snake River.
41

The tribe is supported by its forest products businesses, by agriculture – largely small 

grains and lentils – and by a few additional small businesses. The Tribal Executive Committee is 

actively pursuing other economic development opportunities.

Nez Perce Tribal Information

Treaty/Executive Orders and Agreements

Treaty of June 11, 1855

The Treaty of 1863

Land Base

Pre-Treaty/Executive Order 13 million acres

Current Reservation 770,453 acres

Tribes and Bands: Before the European encounter there were known to have been 23 

Bands. Currently, there is only the Nez Perce

Religion: Seven Drums (Washat), Presbyterian, Catholic, United Methodist

Longhouse: One located on the reservation and are in the process of building another one

Language: Sahaptin

Enrolled Tribal Population

Pre-Treaty/Executive Order 7,000

Current 3,200

ANNUAL HOLIDAYS

FEASTS AND CELEBRATIONS

January

New Years Day

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Day

August

Nez Perce War Memorial (Big Whole)

Chief Lookinglass Powwow

-Kamiah

February

President’s Day

Annual Nez Perce Nation’s

All-Indian Men’s and Women’s Basketball

September

Labor Day

March

E-peh-tes Powwow, First Weekend

October

Nez Perce War Memorial (Bear Paw)

May

Mat a’lyma Powwow

-Kamiah

Mother’s Day Root Feast

National Indian Day

November

Veteran’s Day

Thanksgiving Day

Young Nations Powwooo

-Lapwai
42

Memorial Day

June

Nez Perce War Memorial (Whitebird)

Talmaks Camp Meeting

Chief Joeseph & Warriors Memorial Powwow

December

Christmas Day

July

Independence Day

Governance

Treaty Times: In 1855 there were Chiefs delegated for each band, as well as, headmen and 

warriors. It was not until 1963, that the Nez Perce people were forced to designate one tribal 

leader. The leader designated by the government soldiers, was Chief Lawyer (Aleiya). 

Today: Nez Perce Executive Committee Constitution and by-laws adopted in 1948.

As a sovereign government, tribal affairs are governed by a nine-member Tribal Executive 

Committee. The Council members are elected by the General Council, which consists of all 

tribal members age 18 and older. At one point, heavy influence by the churches enabled a 

Chaplain to direct the tribes government system. The tribe was forced to develop a 

parliamentary system.

Election years: Each member of the Committee serves a 3-year term.

Committee Members - Terms are staggered, elections are held every year

Tribal Executive Committee

Chair Samuel Penney

Vice Chair Wilfred A. Scott

Treasurer Anthony D. Johnson

Secretary Arthur Taylor, Jr.

Asst. Secretary/Treasure Carla J. HighEagle

Members At-Large Jacob Whiteplume

Justin Gould

Jennifer Oatman-Brisbois

Chaplain Julia A. Davis

Economy

Tribe’s Pre-treaty/Executive Order Economy

Hunting

Fishing

Gathering of roots and berries 

Trade (from the Great Plains, westward down the Columbia) 
43

Horse breeding (they were known to have owned 10,000 herds of Appaloosas)

Fur trapping

Current Tribal Enterprises

2 Tribal Casinos

Convenience Stores

Nez Perce Express I & II, which include a Gift Shop & Smoke Shop

Nez Perce Forest Products Enterprise

Nez Perce Limestone Enterprise

Total Tribal Employment

Government 672

Tribal Enterprise 150

Tribal Entrepreneurs/Private Sector

Farming (Lands held in trust status are least for farming)

Ranching

Fishing

Gathering

Retail Trade

Arts and Crafts

Commercial Services

Appaloosa Horse breeding

Tribal Journal “Tats Titoq’ uan”

PO Box 365

Lapwai, ID 83540

Editor Tony Smith

Phone (208) 843-7375

Fish & Wildlife

Fish and Wildlife Program Address PO Box 365

Lapwai, ID 83540

Program Phone Number (208) 843-7320

Current Tribal Fisheries

Rapid River

Clearwater River

Selway River

North Fork Salmon River

Columbia River
44

Basis for Gathering, Hunting and Fishing Rights

Inherent sovereignty

Article 3 of 1855 treaty (reserving rights to fish, hunt and gather)

Sohappy v. Smith/U.S. v. Oregon decision of 1969

Current Activities

Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery

Final Design – Nez Perce Tribal Hatchery

NE/OR outplanting facilities

Dworshak Model Development (rainbow/bass)

Genetic M & E Program for Salmon and steelhead

E & M of Salmon/Clearwater River Hatchery

Salmon Supplementation Studies in Idaho River

Craig Mountain management

Imnaha River Smolt

Grand Ronde Watershed supplementation

Listed stock Chinook salmon Gamete Preservation

Lower Eldorado Falls Fish Passage Improvement

Upper Clearwater – assessing summer/fall Chinook

Nez Perce Trout Ponds

Snake River Fall Chinook Acclimation – Big Canyon

Snake River Fall Chinook Acclimation – Cap. John Rapids

NE Oregon wildlife Project

Evaluation Sturgeon Population Snake River (lower Granite/Hells Canyon)

Nez Perce master contact

Genetic Inventory westslope trout

Listed Stock Adult Escapement monitoring

Pacific State Marine Fisheries

EMSL site Project

Subcontractor on Northern Pike minnow predation project and Bio-control

Feasibility study

Historical Activities

Anadromous Fish Program Goals

Johnson Creek Artificial propagation enhancement

Pacific NW Rivers Study Assessment

Wildlife PME Planning Dworshak Dam

Lower Clearwater Habitat study

Lower Clearwater Aquatic Mammal study

Nez Perce Tribe Fisheries/Watershed Restoration Projects

Current Watershed Restoration Projects

Clearwater Focus Watershed/Watershed Coordinator

Restore McComas Meadows/Meadow Creek Watershed

Protect and Restore Mill Creek Watershed
45

Lolo Creek Watershed Restoration

Protecting and Restoring the Waw’aatamnima

(Fishing)(Squaw) Creek to ‘Imnaamatnoon(Legendary Bear)(Papoose)

Creek Watersheds Analysis Area

Protect and Restore The North Lochsa Face Analysis Area Watersheds

Rehabilitate Newsome Creek Watershed

Restore and Protect Red River

Protect and Restore Slate Creek

Big Canyon Watershed Restoration

Restore Lapwai Creek

New Watershed Restoration Projects beginning 2002

Crooked River Ecosystem Assessment

Protect and Restore Crooked Fork Creek to Colt Killed Creek Analysis Area

Wallowa County Culvert Inventory

Protect and Restore Asotin Creek Watershed

Protect and Restore Little Salmon River

Impacts of Salmon Carcasses on Chinook Salmon and Watershed Restoration

Evaluate Stream Habitat using the Watershed Monitoring and Evaluation Plan

Restore Deer Creek Watershed

Natural Resources Sub-Committee

Chair Justin Gould

Vice Chair Jennifer Brisbois

Members Carla J. HighEagle

Arthur M. Taylor, Jr.

Jacob Whiteplume

CRITFC – Commissioners

Virgil Holt, Sr., Chair

Lee Bourgeau 

Herb Jackson

Jerry McCormack

Joe Oatman

Allen Sickapoo, Jr.
46

Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation

Tribal Headquarters Address P.O. Box 306

Fort Hall, ID 83203

Phone Number (208) 238-3700

Fax Number (208) 237-0797

The Shoshone and Bannock people trace their ancestry to tribes that once lived in the 

area now covered by the Mojave Desert of California. As the area became drier, the various 

tribes moved to other locations. The Shoshone (also called “Snake” Indians – the Snake River is 

named for them) moved north and east toward the Great Basin and the Plains, as far east as the 

Upper Missouri River. The Bannock people moved into northern Nevada and Utah, as well as 

the prairies and valleys of the Pacific Northwest. They became known as the Northern Paiute. 

The roots and berries, and fish and wildlife they foraged for and hunted required them to 

travel often, in small groups and for great distances. Unlike many other Northwest tribes, they 

did not establish permanent winter villages, but tended to create their winter campsites in new 

places each year. When the tribes acquired horses in the early 1700s, only some bands of the 

Northern Paiute decided to use horses. These bands became known as the Bannocks. The 

Shoshone also took on horses.

Horses changed both tribes enormously. With the addition of horses, they could travel 

farther, moving east into buffalo country. However, as the buffalo populations began to die out, 

stronger tribes to the east forced the Shoshone-Bannocks back into Idaho and other areas west of 

the Rocky Mountains. 

In 1834, Fort Hall was established as a trading post near the Snake River in an area that 

had been a traditional rendezvous and winter camp for Shoshone-Bannock bands. The Fort 

became a crossing point for settlers and gold miners moving into Idaho. More and more of the 

land used by the Shoshone-Bannock was taken over by settlers. 

In 1867, the Fort Hall Reservation was created by executive order. Soon after, the 

Bannocks were convinced to surrender all of their aboriginal homelands except for 1.8 million 

acres, on which they were promised the opportunity to live in peace. They were promised also a 

separate reservation from the Shoshone people. No separate reservation was ever created. 

In 1872, when the Fort Hall Reservation was surveyed, it was reduced from 1.8 million to 

1.2 million acres. The tribes were further restricted by not being allowed to hunt and fish in their 

traditional lands off the reservation. With growing numbers of people and a shrinking land base 

to feed them, the Bannocks went to war against the U.S. government. The war was triggered in 

particular by white occupation of the Camas Prairie, where the Bannock’s principal food source, 

Camas root, grew. When the war ended, both the Bannocks and the Shoshones were confined to 

the Fort Hall Reservation. 

The allotment process, which began in the 1880s, had much the same effect on the 

Shoshone-Bannock people as it had on other tribes. Land was allotted to each tribal member in 

160-acre sections, and any excess was turned back over to the government to be sold to white 

settlers. As a consequence, the reservation today covers about 544,000 acres.

The Shoshone-Bannock tribes operate a trading post grocery store, a clothing store and a 

gas station. They also run the Oregon Trail Restaurant. A steel fabrication business in Pocatello 
47

is operated by the tribe as well. Land leases and easements for tribal land also provide revenues 

for the Shoshone-Bannocks.

Shoshone-Bannock Tribal Information

Treaty/Executive Orders and Agreements

Executive Order of 1867

Land Base

Pre-Treaty/Executive Order Portneuf Country and the Kamas Plains

Current Reservation 544,000 acres

Tribes and Bands: Shoshone and the Bannock

Cultures: After relocating to a new aboriginal territory the Shoshone and Paiute speaking 

families established a life of fishing, hunting and gathering roots and berries. A life in 

which small bands ranged widely, then coalesced for visiting, feasting, game-playing, 

intermarriage and ceremony.

In the early 1700’s, the Northern Shoshone acquired horses and began hunting buffalo in 

the Great Plains, where they began coordinating with the Bannock bands. As they 

continued the hunting of the Buffalo, an increased coordination required a more 

structured line of authority. Traditional Chiefs began emerging to coordinate the buffalo 

hunts. Buffalo, became the central element in the Shoshone-Bannock culture.

Religion: Traditional ways – Sweat Lodge, Sun Dance and the Native American Church. 

Currently included – Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Episcopalian and the Church of LDS.

Language: Shoshone and Bannock

Enrolled Tribal Population

Pre-Treaty/Executive Order >1000

Current 4,291

Governance

Pre-Treaty Times: Shoshone-and Paiute speakers ranged in small bands of two to five families 

in their respective territories. During the hunting and fishing season, one leader of each band 

would be delegated to lead for a short time.

After the introduction of the horse the Shoshone began hunting buffalo with the Bannocks and 

began the traditional chief who would coordinate the buffalo hunt. His length of tenure was as 

long as they continued to produce results.
48

Today: The tribal government of the Shoshone-Bannock tribes was initiated by the Fort Bridger 

Treaty and refined in the wake of the Indian Reorganization Act of 1934. The Fort Hall Business 

Council is a seven member governing body that legislates laws via resolutions and ordinances. 

The Council may enter into agreements, memoranda of understanding and compacts with the 

State of Idaho, federal agencies, and country and city governments. The Business Council also 

composes the enterprise board which oversees the various economic development projects on the 

Reservation.

Election Years: Each member of the Council serves a 2-year (staggered) term

Fort Hall Business Council

Chair Blain Edmo

Vice Chair Alonzo Coby

Treasurer Wesley Edmo

Secretary Adrianne Seaman

Sgt. At Arms Gary Watson

Member Lionel Boyer

Member Fredrick Auck

Economy

Current Tribal Enterprises

Tribal Agriculture Enterprise

Tribal Buffalo Enterprise

Bannock Peak Truck Stop and Convenience Store

Trading Post Complex

The Trading Post Clothes/Horse

The Trading Post Grocery Store

The Oregon Trail Restaurant

Trading Post Gas Station

Tribal Gaming Enterprise

Tribal Museum

Sundance Diversities, Inc.

Sho Ban Outdoor Advertising

Sho Ban News

Total Tribal Employment

Government 292

Tribal Enterprise 300
49

Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation

Tribal Headquarters Address Tribal Headquarters

P.O. Box 219

Owyhee, NV 89832

Phone Number (208) 759-3100

The Shoshone-Paiute people have occupied the land around the Owyhee River near the 

Idaho and Nevada borders for hundreds of years. Their homeland is a semi-arid valley 

surrounded by volcanic debris and rocky plateaus just north of the Great Basin. The land, when 

irrigated from the Owyhee River, is rich for agriculture. 

The first non-Indians to penetrate the Shoshone-Paiute homeland were Spaniards moving 

up from the south in the late 18th century. These were few in number and had relatively minor 

impacts on the native people. 

The fur trappers and gold speculators that followed, however, were much more 

detrimental to the Indian way of life. They caused severe damage to natural ecosystems on 

which the Indians, who were hunters and gatherers for the most part, were dependent. The 

Shoshone-Paiute tribes suffered major losses. White settlers coming upon them in the 1860s 

described them as impoverished and hungry, conditions that had never been prevalent before. 

As with other Northwest tribes, the U.S. government negotiated treaties with the 

Shoshone-Paiute tribes in the 1850s and 1860s to secure land for white settlers, and sequester 

tribal people on smaller parcels of land. In 1877, the Duck Valley Reservation was created by 

executive order as a permanent home for the Western Shoshone Indians. Bands of both Western 

Shoshone and Northern Paiute were moved from their homelands as far away as the NevadaUtah border to the Duck Valley Reservation. 

One of the bands of Paiute that joined the Duck Valley Reservation had been held captive 

on the Yakama Reservation because some of its members had participated in the Bannock War. 

The Bannock War was brought on by white settlements in the Camas Prairie – where the tribes’ 

important food, Camas roots, grew. Land was added to the reservation to accommodate the new 

band of Paiutes. 

Over the next several decades, additional bands of Shoshones and Paiute were relocated 

to the Duck Valley Reservation. Determined to be self-sufficient, they began farming and 

ranching there. The reservation currently spans 289,820 acres.

The major problem with farming or ranching in the Duck Valley is water. The area is 

desert-like. Without a year-round source of water, farming potential is limited. Together, the 

tribal people built an irrigation dam and a system of canals to enable them to farm the otherwise 

arid land. But, as more and more white settlers entered the valley to farm and ranch, the settlers 

appropriated more of the water that had been making its way to the reservation. The ShoshonePaiute Indians lost crops and livestock due to long droughts and insufficient water even when 

there was no drought. 

Plans for a dam that would create a reservoir to supply water for both the reservation and 

white farmers were considered but abandoned for years. Finally, between 1936 and 1937, the 
50

Wildhorse Reservoir was built. It provided enough water to irrigate 13,000 acres of Duck Valley 

land. In the 1960s, the reservoir was rebuilt and expanded. 

Unfortunately, once the reservoir had been enlarged, it became a desirable recreation site 

for both the local community and for attracting tourists. Instead of being used primarily as a 

water source for downstream Indian-owned farms and ranches, lobbyists have been trying to gain 

upstream water rights to maintain the reservoir for recreation. While the tribe obtains some of its 

income from campers and fishers, the agricultural use of the water is still essential to the tribe. 

This controversy has not been resolved.

The Shoshone-Paiute also were among the upper Snake River tribes that depended on 

salmon for subsistence, trade and spiritual practices. With the great decline of salmon 

populations, the Duck Valley Reservation has suffered considerable food, financial and cultural 

loss. Like all Columbia River tribes, the Duck Valley Reservation tribes are working hard to 

restore their homeland ecosystems.

Shoshone-Paiute Tribal Information

Treaty/Executive Orders and Agreements

1863-Ruby Valley Treaty 

1866-Northern Paiute from Oregon establish lodges at Duck Valley

1877-Executive Order establishes the Duck Valley Reservation

1886-Land added to the reservation for Paddy Cap Paiutes

1919-Land added to protect water rights

1936-The Shoshone-Paiute tribes develop and adopt a constitution and bylaws for Duck 

Valley Reservation

Land Base

Current 289,820 acres

Tribes and Bands: Shoshone and Paiute

Religion: Traditional Ways – Sweat Lodge, Sun Dance and the Native American Church.

Currently includes LDS, Presbyterian, Assembly of God and Full Indian Gospel.

Language: Dialects of the Shoshone family, dialects of the Paiute family

Enrolled Tribal Population

Current 1,818
51

ANNUAL HOLIDAYS

FEASTS AND CELEBRATIONS

July

4

th of July

November

Veteran’s Day

Thanksgiving Day

September

Labor Day

-Rodeo and Powwow

Governance

Treaty Times: The Western Shoshone and Northern Paiutes lived mostly in bands or extended 

family groups. Each band of family had a delegated leader or headsman.

Today: A seven-member tribal Business Council governs the tribal government. The tribe is a 

self-governance tribe, as prescribed under Public Law 103-413, Title II, which transfers control 

to the tribal government of funding and decision-making for federal programs, activities, 

functions and services.

Election years: Each member of the Board serves a 2-year term.

Committee members – The Council Chairman is elected at large every three years

Tribal Business Council

Chair Marvin Cota

Vice Chair Dennis Smith, Sr.

Treasurer/ Secretary Helen Hernandez

Members Terry Gibson

Reynaulda Taylor

Eleanor Little

Russell Thomas

Dennis Smith

Economy

Tribes Pre-Treaty/Executive Order Economy

Hunting

Gathering

Horse Breeding

Fishing

Current Tribal Enterprises

Agriculture

Natural Resource
52

Fishing and camping revenues

Gah Nee Enterprise

Total Tribal Employment

Government 240

Tribal Entrepreneurs/Private Sector

Ranching

Agriculture

Fish & Wildlife

Fish and Wildlife Program Address P.O. Box 219

Owyhee, NV 89832

Program Phone Number (208) 759-3246
53

Spokane Tribe of Indians

Tribal Headquarters Address P.O. Box 100

Wellpinit, WA 99040

Phone Number (509) 258-4581

Fax Number (509) 258-9243

Web Site www.spokanetribe.com

History suggests that the Spokane Indians were first called that by the explorer David 

Thompson. The name is generally interpreted to mean “people of the sun.” The Spokane are 

part of the Salish language group of Northwest Indians. They originally occupied approximately 

3 million acres of land in northeastern Washington, upper Idaho and western Montana. Like all 

Northwest tribes, they were hunter-gatherers, following a seasonal migration beginning in early 

spring with harvests of the fresh greens and herbs, followed by the spring runs of salmon and 

other wildlife. During the summer, they searched for berries, dug roots and gathered other food 

and medicine supplies. In the late summer and fall, they met with other tribes in great pow 

wows. By wintertime, they were ready to retire to villages where they carried out religious 

ceremonies, story telling and other activities, living off the food they’d smoked, dried and stored.

There were three distinct bands of Spokane people, with each band having its own chief. 

The chief of the upper band, located in the Spokane Valley, often made decisions for the three 

bands after consulting the other two chiefs.

The Spokane Indian Reservation was created by executive order in 1880. It encompasses 

157,370 acres bounded by the Columbia River on the west, the Spokane River on the south, 

Chamokane Creek on the east, and the 48th parallel latitude on the north. About 100,000 acres of 

the reservation is held in tribal trust. The rest is either in allotments, deeded fee lands or 

government lands.

At first, only the lower Spokane tribal members moved onto the reservation. The other 

bands wanted to be paid for the land they were giving up before they would move. Some found 

the land too inhospitable for hunting or were uncomfortable over the bands’ different religions 

(some were Catholic and some Presbyterian). 

In the meantime, the city of Spokane, based at Spokane Falls, an important Indian fishing 

site, was booming. Population there was increasing. The upper and middle bands of the 

Spokane tribe became concerned they’d lose all their land if they did not secure a site for a 

reservation. After negotiating an agreement with the U.S. government, the remaining Spokane 

tribal members moved onto the Coeur d’Alene, Flathead or Spokane reservations. They were 

paid $127,000 for their land.

In 1906, Spokane tribal members were compelled to reclaim their reservation land 

through the allotment process, which distributed the land to tribal members, but enabled nonIndian settlers to purchase undistributed parcels. Railroad companies, mining speculators and 

settlers were all anxious to acquire the Indians’ land. While the Washington Water Power 

Company was able to secure water rights to the Spokane River on the reservation, many of the 

land claims failed to materialize. Of the land that was sold to settlers and others, a significant 
54

percent was repurchased by the tribe in the 1930s. Tribal members currently own most of the 

original reservation. 

Tribal resources include uranium mines, timber holdings and a sawmill, agriculture and 

grazing, a tribal Kokanee hatchery, fees from recreational use of Lake Roosevelt (along with the 

Colville Tribe, the Spokane Indians lost a large portion of their land base when the reservoir 

filled behind Grand Coulee Dam), the Two Rivers Resort, two casinos, and a number of 

businesses operated independently by tribal members.

Governance

Tribal Business Council

Chair Alfred Peone

Vice Chair Greg Abrahamson

Treasurer/ Secretary Robert Brisbois

Members Warren Seyler

David Wynecoop, Jr.

Spokane Tribal Information

Fish & Wildlife

Fish and Wildlife Program Address P.O. Box 100

Wellpinit, WA 99040

Spokane Tribal Hatchery Program Manager Tim Peone

Phone (509) 258-7297

Fax (509) 258-7497

Wildlife Program Manager Billie Joe Kieffer

Phone (509) 258-7055

Fax (509) 258-9600

Current Tribal Fisheries

Inland Waters of the Spokane Indian Reservation

Grand Coulee Dam Impoundment, also known as Franklin D. Roosevelt Lake and Upper 

Columbia River

Basis for Gathering, Hunting and Fishing Rights

Inherent sovereignty – unextinguished claim to aboriginal title to hunt and fish in ‘usual 

and accustomed places’
55

Current Activities

Spokane Tribe entirely maintains its fish and wildlife resources within its own land base 

and cooperatively manages tribal affiliated activities with other government authorities in 

lands overlapping and adjacent to the Spokane Indian Reservation. These activities 

include:

• Upper Columbia United Tribes Fisheries and Wildlife Program

• Development and Implementation of Upper Columbia River Blocked Area 

Management Plan

• Lake Roosevelt Kokanee Hatcheries/Lake Roosevelt Hatcheries Coordination Team 

for Spokane Tribal Hatchery, Sherman Creek Hatchery & Lake Roosevelt Net Pen 

Rearing Projects

• Lake Roosevelt Monitoring and Data Collection Program

• Blue Creek Wildlife Mitigation Program

• Little Falls Dam Settlement – Wildlife Lands Purchase and Little Falls Dam Fish 

Trap and Acclimation Facility Programs

• Upper Columbia Stock Assessment Program

• Timber, Fish and Wildlife Program

• Spokane Tribal Bison Program

• Policy and Technical participation in the numerous activities associated with 

Columbia River Basin fish, wildlife and hydro-operations. (These include, but are 

not limited to: Amendments to NPPC Current Columbia Basin Fish & Wildlife 

Program, Multi-Species framework, Artificial Production Review, CBFWA 

Caucuses/Committees and/or Forums

Historical Activities

Fishing and Hunting

The Spokane Indians are historically known as a fishing people predominantly relying on 

the once vast anadromous and resident fish resources throughout the Tribe’s territory. 

The Tribe’s principal fishing territory extended along the length of the Spokane River to 

its confluence to Columbia River and up to Kettle Falls. The Spokanes were also known 

to follow an annual cycle of movement structured around the arrival of salmon and the 

availability of game throughout the northwest region. Centuries of fishing salmon and 

steelhead came to a halt in 1939 when construction of Grand Coulee Dam permanently 

blocked anadromous fish from the upper Columbia. With the destruction of the salmon 

fishery came a focal change in the Tribes rich cultural heritage.

Fish and Wildlife Management

Compilation of hydropower related fisheries losses above Grand Coulee Dam

Lake Roosevelt Rainbow Trout Habitat Improvement Project

Lake Roosevelt Fisheries Restoration Feasibility Project

Lake Roosevelt Fisheries and Limnological Research

Various research, monitoring and Technical Documentation of Spokane tribal fish and 

wildlife resources
56

Fish & Wildlife Committee

Chair Alfred Peone

Vice Chair Keith Kieffer

Secretary Tim Peone

Members Jerry Abrahamson

Del Brown

Rodney Abrahamson

Bart Kieffer
57

Yakama Nation

Tribal Headquarters Address P.O. Box 151

401 Fort Road

Toppenish, WA 98948

Phone Number (509) 865-5121

Fax (509) 865-5528

The 14 tribes that now make up the Yakama Indian Nation trace their presence in the 

Pacific Northwest back thousands of years. Their homelands covered more than 12 million 

acres, all but 1.2 million of which they ceded over to the U.S. government in the Stevens Treaty 

of 1855. 

Traditionally known as the “Taptail” or “Wap-tail-min” people, the Yakama had a large 

permanent village at Union Gap, where the Yakima River narrows. (The word “Yakama” means 

“narrow-river people.”) Like many Northwest tribes, the Yakama spent their winters in 

permanent villages, but set out early in the spring to seek fresh greens, roots, berries, fish and 

other animals for their sustenance. The Yakima Valley in those days was a much more complex 

ecosystem, with more wetlands, groves of mature trees and stream meanders than today. The 

valley provided an abundance and variety of food and medicine sources for the people.

The spiritual view of the Yakama people is place-based. They believe in the sacredness 

of all things, but particularly so when things are in their correct places. All things have ordered 

roles to play within their ecosystems. Changing the content of a place – forcing a species into 

extinction, for example – changes the order and balance, and disrupts the harmony and 

sacredness of the place. People are only elements of this integrated wholeness, not owners or 

masters of it.

The migration of white settlers into the land long-occupied by the Yakama tribes brought 

dramatic disruptions of the balance that had existed in the area for thousands of years. The 

Yakama people resisted this disruption, defending their spiritual and cultural world view and 

means of survival. 

To settle conflicts between the Indians and white settlers, and secure land for the settlers 

and the railroads, the U.S. government sent General Joel Palmer and Governor Isaac Stevens of 

Washington to negotiate treaties with the tribes. The tribes at first opposed the treaties because 

they did not trust the U.S. government or its representatives, they did not want to give up their 

homelands, and they did not want to be moved to new homes they would be forced to share with 

other tribes.

Nonetheless, vastly overpowered, the tribes realized if they were going to survive at all, 

they had to agree to the treaties. In the case of the Yakamas, more than 11 million acres were 

given up as a means of preserving their rights to fish, hunt and gather food to feed future 

generations. But it took four years for the U.S. Congress to ratify the treaty, and in that time, 

tensions between Native Americans and white settlers grew. Immediately after the treaty was 

signed, but before it was ratified, Governor Stevens opened tribal lands to settlement. The 

Yakama, led by their Chief Kamiakin, went to war over the intrusion into their homelands. The 

war was fought for three years, ending in 1858 with the hanging of 15 Indian leaders. The 

Yakama people were forced onto their reservation.
58

Over the next decades, the Indian people tried to learn farming alongside the white 

settlers. Irrigation systems were constructed, wetlands and marshes were drained for agricultural 

land, and much of the reservation land was sold or leased to white settlers. Some Yakama 

Indians became ranchers. Some are engaged in timber operations on the tribes’ 309,000 acres of 

timberlands. Others have jobs in the towns or on the reservation. 

With the loss of salmon populations brought on both by the dams on the Columbia River, 

and irrigation dams and withdrawals within the Yakima River Basin itself, the Yakama Indian 

Nation has lost a major source of its physical, spiritual, cultural and economic wellbeing. Today, 

the tribes are working to restore those salmon runs and replenish their streams.

Yakama Tribal Information

Treaty/Executive Orders and Agreements

Treaty with the Yakama Nation, 1855 12 stat. 951, June 9, 1855-Treaty

Land Base

Pre-Treaty/Executive Order 11.5 million acres

Current Reservation 1.39 million acres

Total Ceded Area 12 million acres

Tribes and Bands: Yakama, Kah-milt-pah, Klickitat, Klinquit, Kow-was-say-ee, Li-ay-was, 

Oche-Chotes, Palouse, Pisquose, Se-ap-cat, Shyiks, Skinpah, Wenatchapam, Wish-ham

Cultures: Traditional Yakama/Sahaptin, Wenatshapam, Wishram

Religion: Seven Drums (Washat)-currently there are 7 located within the ceded area of 1855; 

Shaker Church; Medicine Dance Society; Denominations- Catholic, Pentecostal, Baptist, 

Methodist, Christian

Language: Numerous Sahaptin dialects: Chinookan, Wish-ham, Salish; English

Enrolled Tribal Population

Pre-Treaty/Executive Order 3,900

Current 9,092
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ANNUAL HOLIDAYS

FEASTS AND CELEBRATIONS

January

Toppenish Creek New Year’s Celebration

-Toppenish Creek Longhouse

July

July 4th–

4

th of July Toppenish Pow Wow & Rodeo

-Toppenish, WA

Annual Columbia River Pow Wow & Encampment

-Roosevelt Park

February

Washington Birthday Pow Wow

-Toppenish Longhouse

August

Huckleberry Feast

-Various Locations

March

Annual Elders Day Dinner & Golden Eagles 

Elders Pow Wow

-Toppenish 

Annual Speelyi-Mi Indian Arts & Crafts Fair

-YN Legends Casino

Annual Spring Fling, YN Golf Assn.

-Mt. Adams Golf Course

September

Labor Day

National Indian Day Celebration

National Indian Day Pow Wow

-White Swan

-Indian Day, observed 9/18

April

Root and Salmon Feasts

-Tribal Longhouses

Wyma Pow Wow

-Celilo

Rock Creek Longhouse Pow Wow

-Rock Creek

October

Annual White Swan Indian Summer Celebration

-White Swan

Annual Mid-Columbia River Pow Wow

-Celilo Indian Village

May

Annual Satus Longhouse Pow Wow

-Satus Longhouse 

Memorial Day – 5/25

November

Veterans Day Celebration & Pow Wow

-White Swan

Thanksgiving, observed

June

-Yakama Nation Treaty Day

• Anniversary Parade

• Miss Yakama Pageant

• Treaty Day Pow Wow

• Annual Yakama All-Indian Championship 

Rodeo

• Annual Treaty Day Golf Open

• Men and Women’s Slo-Pitch Softball 

Tournament

-Annual Yakama Indian Encampment, White 

Swan

December

-Annual Christmas Bazaar & Indian All-Indian 

Talent Show, Toppenish

-Wapato Longhouse Christmas Celebration & Pow 

Wow, Wapato Longhouse

-Christmas, observed 12/25
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Governance

Pre-Treaty Times: Councils of village headmen, chiefs and religious leaders. Kamaiakun, 

Skloom, Owhi, Te-Cole-Kun, La-Hoom, Me-ni-nock, Elit Palmer, Wish-och-Kmpits, Koo-LatToose, Shee-Ah-Cotte, Tuck-Quille, Ka-Loo-As, Scha-Noo-A, Sla-Kish

Today: Government affairs are run through a committee system, which reports directly to the 

Tribal Council Executive Board. The General Council, composed of all enrolled tribal members 

age 18 and older elects representatives to the tribal council to a four-term. The Council elects its 

own officers and its Chairman serves to represent the General Council on the Board. The 

Yakama Nation is not an IRA tribe.

The tribe has developed there own constitution and run under a system of tribal general Council 

direction and tribal Council resolutions

• February 18, 1944

• General Council Resolution No. 4 of July 9, 1947

• General Council Resolution of July 12, 1949

• General Council Resolution T-38-56 of December 6, 1955

• Tribal Council Resolution T-10-61 of July 13, 1960

Election years: Each elected official serves a 4-year term.

Tribal Council Executive Board

Chair Lonnie Selam, Sr. 

Vice Chair Jerry Meninick

Secretary Patricia Martin

Asst. Secretary Randy Settler

Sgt. At Arms Ray C. James

Members Leo Aleck

Russell Billy, Sr.

Duane Clark

Jack Fiander

Clifford Moses, Sr.

Ross Sockzehigh

Harris Teo, Jr.

Arlen Washine

William Yallup, Sr.

Economy

Tribe’s Pre-Treaty/Executive Order Economy

Fishing
61

Gathering

Hunting

Inter-tribal commerce

Current Tribal Enterprises

Yakama Nation Land Enterprise

Recreational Vehicle Park

Real Yakama Fruit Stand

Production Orchards

Wapato Industrial Park

Yakama Nation Credit Enterprise

Yakama Forest Products

Yakama Nation Legends Casino

YAKAMART at Pahto Crossing (Retail)

Total Tribal Employment

Government 1,385

Tribal Entrepreneurs/Private Sector

Agriculture

Livestock

Fishing

Wholesale & retail trade

Forestry

Construction

Commercial services

Tribal Journal “Yakama Nation Review”

PO Box 310

Toppenish, WA 98948-0310

Editor Tina Aguilar

Fish and Wildlife

Fish and Wildlife Program Address Fisheries Program

P.O. Box 151

Toppenish, WA 98948

Fisheries Program Manager Lynn Hatcher

Phone (541) 553-3233

Fax (509) 865-6293

Watersheds Co-Managed With the State of Washington

Wind

Little White Salmon
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Klickitat

Yakima

Wenatchee

Methow

Entiat

Okanogan

Current Tribal Fisheries

Wind River

Klickitat River

Yakima River

Wenatchee River

Columbia River

Basis for Fishing Rights

Inherent sovereignty

Article 3 of 1855 treaty (reserving the rights to fish, hunt and gather)

Sohappy v. Smith/U.S. v. Oregon, decision of 1969

Current Activities

Passage Improvement evaluation

Yakama Hatchery Project (including numerous sub-projects)

Yakama Natural Production & Enhancement

Yakima/Klickitat Fishery Project

Hatchery Training and Education

Fish Passage video monitoring

Fisheries Technician Field activities

Yakima Phase II screens

Lower Valley Riparian/Wetlands

O&M Yakima River Basin fish Protection

M&E for Yakima/Klickitat

Chandler Juvenile facility M&E

Lower Yakima River predation studies

Predation study – Hatchery Fish on/wild smolts

Upper Yakima River Species Interaction study

Policy/technical involvement & Planning for YKFP

Monitoring supplementation for YKFP

Juvenile screens and smolt traps at Walla Walla

Yakima River/Marion Drain Fall Chinook acclimation/supplementation

Yakima River Coho restoration

Methow River Valley Irrigation District Conservation Project

Satus Creek Watershed Restoration project

Coho restoration mid-Columbia River Tributaries

Yakima River Cle Elum Hatchery O&M

Developments/refine of Natural Production objective

Upper Toppenish Creek Watershed analysis
63

Establish safe access tributaries Yakima subbasin

Klickitat basin-Hanford acclimation/artificial propagation

Hanford K basin master plan

ANAD supplementation/artificial production/acclimation

Marion Drain fall Chinook acclimation/supplementation

Historical Activities

Yakima River Spring Chinook study

Anadromous Fish Program goals

Construct security fence

Master Plan YH

Wapato Canal Pen rearing 

Engineer assistance

Yakima Species interaction

Yakima Spring Chinook Natural Production objective phase 1

CRITFC- Commissioners

Virgil Lewis, Chair

Leo Aleck

Ross Sockzehigh

Sam Jim

Cynthia Yellow Owl
64

Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission (CRITFC)

Contact: Donald Sampson, Executive Director

Tribal Address: 729 N.E. Oregon Street, Suite 200

Portland, OR 97232

Phone: (503) 238-0667

Fax: (503) 235-4228

Website: www.critfc.org

The Commission was formed in 1977 by resolutions of the Yakama, Warm Springs, Umatilla 

and Nez Perce tribes; Columbia Basin Indian tribes that signed treaties in 1855 securing to them 

certain reserved rights to take fish in the Columbia River and its tributaries. The Commission is 

composed of the Fish and Wildlife Committees of its member tribes, and supplies technical 

expertise and enforcement resources.

Upper Columbia United Tribes (UCUTs)

Contact: Alfred Peone, Spokane Tribal Chair

Tribal Address: MET Theatre Building

922 W. Sprague, Suite 106

Spokane, WA

Phone: (509) 258-4581

Fax: (509) 258-9243

The Upper Columbia United Tribes is an association of the Spokane, Coeur d'Alene, Kootenai, 

Kalispell and Colville tribes. The tribes created the association for two primary purposes, 1) to 

pursue opportunities for fisheries mitigation and enhancement through the Council's fish and 

wildlife program, and 2) to pursue other opportunities, such as social programs, of mutual 

interest. The Spokane Tribe coordinates the association's activities. The tribal chair is Bruce 

Wynne, and the executive director is David BrownEagle.
65

Canadian Tribes and Tribal 

Organizations
66

Canadian Columbia River Tribes (First Nations)

Hydroelectric development in the Columbia River Basin significantly altered water flows and 

affected fish and wildlife, and related spawning grounds and habitat, in territories that had been 

occupied by Indian tribes for thousands of years before the dams were built. This is as true in the 

Canadian portion of the Columbia River Basin as it is in the American portion.

While Indian tribes in the American portion of the basin have been recognized by the federal 

government through treaties and executive orders dating to the mid and late 1800s, relations 

between government and the First Nations in Canada and British Columbia have been markedly 

different. Certain tribes in eastern Canada were granted reservations by Great Britain under 

terms of a 1763 royal proclamation, but when the Dominion of Canada was formed in 1867 any 

unseeded Indian lands were claimed by the new-formed government as public land. In 1871, 

when British Columbia joined the Dominion, the new provincial Legislature interpreted the word 

“public” to mean provincial, not federal, and claimed possession of all land within the province 

that was not in private ownership. The Legislature also announced it would not recognize Indian 

title to land or negotiate treaties with First Nations in British Columbia. In 1876, the federal 

Indian Act prohibited Indians throughout Canada from voting or receiving government pensions, 

and in 1884 British Columbia outlawed Indian potlatches (the law was not repealed until 1951). 

Indians were not granted full Canadian citizenship until 1960.

Since then, provincial governments have signed treaties with First Nations in Ontario, Quebec, 

Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. British Columbia began a treaty-making process in 1993 with 

51 First Nations and recently completed its first treaty. It is with the Nisga’a First Nation, a tribe 

on the northwest coast. The treaty sets aside a reservation of about 770 square miles and 

provides a cash settlement of about $500 million. The treaty-making process is moving slowly, 

and the province is focusing attention first on coastal tribes.

The loss of anadromous fisheries is probably the greatest impact of hydroelectric development 

on First Nations in the Canadian portion of the basin. Fishing was -- and is -- an essential part of 

the lives of aboriginal people living there. At the time of first contact with Europeans, in the 

early 1800s, anadromous fish were abundant in the Canadian Columbia River. It is estimated 

that as many as 600,000 fish, including steelhead and four species of salmon, migrated annually 

to spawn in the Canadian Columbia and its tributaries. There is evidence that the aboriginal 

people also harvested at least four species of resident fish. As with tribes down river, the 

fisheries resource was a critical social and economic component of the lives of these people.

Three distinct First Nations are organized in the Canadian portion of the basin today, and a 

fourth group, which has no official office or officers, is spread among the other three. Because 

the international border is a political boundary, many Canadian First Nation people have 

relatives in the United States, and vice versa. These include, for example, people of Canadian 

Okanagan descent who live today on the Colville Reservation, and members of the 

Ktunaxa/Kinbasket tribe who live on the Salish and Kootenai Reservation in Montana.
67

Shuswap Band

Contact: Fred Fortier, Fisheries Commission Chair

Tribal Address: Shuswap Nation Tribal Council

355 Yellowhead Highway, Room 304

Kamloops, BC V2H 1H1

Phone: (250) 828-9789

Fax: (250) 374-6331

E-mail Address: ffortier@wkpowerlink.com

These people historically inhabited the area around the headwaters of the Columbia River and 

north to the Fraser River and its upper tributaries. The Shuswap Band has its office in 

Kamloops, which is on the Thompson River, a Fraser tributary.

Ktunaxa/Kinbasket Tribal Council

Contact: Chief Sophie Pierre

Tribal Address: No. 7468 Mission Road

Cranbrook, B.C. V1C 7E5

Phone: (250) 489-2464

Fax: (250) 489-5760

E-mail Address: khorvath@kktc.bc.ca

The Ktunaxa (pronounced, too-NAH-ha)/Kinbasket people historically inhabited the upper 

Kootenay River and areas to the south into present-day Montana (the Tobacco Plains). There 

were at least seven separate bands inhabiting distinct geographic areas who now are affiliated 

under the tribal council. The office is in Cranbrook.

Okanagan Nation Alliance

Contact: Byron Louis, Fisheries Commission Chair

Tribal Address: Okanagan Nation Alliance

3255C Shannon Lake Road

Westbank, B.C. V4T 1V4

Phone: (250) 707-0095

Fax: (250) 707-0166

E-mail: byron_louis@bc.sympatico.ca

The Okanagan Nation includes affiliated bands and tribes that historically lived along the 

Okanagan River in British Columbia. The Okanagan River flows from two headwaters lakes in 

the province south into the United States (where the spelling changes to Okanagon) to its 
68

confluence with the Columbia about 10 miles downstream from Chief Joseph Dam. The tribal 

office is in Westbank, B.C., just across the border.

Sinixt

The Sinixt (pronounced Sin-AY-xt) inhabited the area around the upper and lower Arrow lakes 

on the Columbia, north of present-day Castlegar and south of Revelstoke. The Sinixt, also 

known as the Lakes People, were more nomadic than other tribes in the upper Columbia River 

Basin. Over time, the Sinixt became assimilated into other tribes, notably the Colville and 

Ktunaxa. Today, some Canadians who claim Sinixt heritage are working to gain official 

recognition of the tribe, and they have been present in the province’s ongoing effort to negotiate 

treaties with First Nations. However, there is no Sinixt office, reserve or official leader.

Canadian Columbia River Intertribal Fisheries Commission

Contact: Bill Green, Executive Director

Tribal Address: Canadian Columbia River Intertribal Fisheries Commission

No. 7468 Mission Road

Cranbrook, B.C. V1C 7E5

Phone: (250) 417-3474

Fax: (250) 489-5760

E-mail: ccrifc@cyberlink.bc.ca

Organized much like its United States counterpart, the Canadian CRITFC has a slightly different 

name (fisheries, rather than fish), but its mission is similar. The Canadian CRITFC helps to 

organize its members for the purpose of fisheries research and involvement in political issues 

related to fisheries and First Nations at the provincial and federal levels. The commission 

includes the Ktunaxa/Kinbasket, Shuswap and Okanagan tribes. The Canadian CRITFC shares 

office space with the Ktunaxa/Kinbasket Tribal Council in Cranbrook.

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