death_date tribe death_place birth_place religion children birth_date known_for spouse article_title name
july 21 , 2011 chairwoman of the kootenai tribal council spokane , washington bonners ferry , idaho roman catholic six children april 26 , 1936 idaho 's forgotten war , 1974 xavier m. 1969 aitken , m. 1954 ; david trice , amelia trice
 amelia `` amy '' cutsack trice
amelia trice

amelia `` amy '' cutsack trice -lrb- april 26 , 1936 -- july 21 , 2011 -rrb- was an native american leader from idaho .
born in bonners ferry , idaho , trice was the chairwoman of the kootenai tribal council .
in 1974 , while chairman , the kootenai tribe declared war on the united states of america .
in the 1930s , the kootenai indians lived in tipis near bonners ferry , idaho .
their allotment lands had been dissipated by the bureau of indian affairs .
a local physician managed to persuade the government to build eighteen houses .
these had running water , but no bathing facilities , which were provided in a community center .
by the 1970s nothing had changed .
the bureau of indian affairs asserted that the tribe had too small an enrollment to qualify for any assistance .
amy trice decided to do something about it .
declared on sept. 20 , 1974 , the kootenai war began when ... tribal members set up informational pickets and asked for 10-cent tolls on u.s. highway 95 on the north and south sides of bonners ferry ... `` the state police came with mace and sawed-off shotguns , '' trice said at the time .
`` the closest thing we had to a weapon in our tribal office was a fly swatter . ''
trice had an ace in the hole .
she said she was prepared to call the american indian movement for help , the same organization that had gotten into an armed standoff at wounded knee , s.d. , a year earlier .
within a few weeks , the tribe was able to get a concession and land grant from the federal government .
trice was also known for her efforts to preserve traditional kutenai culture and beliefs .
she was fond of playing stick game , and took up water aerobics in her 60s .
`` she was a founding member of upper columbia united tribes -lrb- ucut -rrb- , received the women of color alliance breaking barriers for women of color in idaho award and the chairman 's award from the confederated salish and kootenai tribes . ''
