Spokane people

Spokane
Sqeliz

Spokane tribal logo[1]
Total population
(2,708[2])
Regions with significant populations
United States United States (Washington (state) Washington)
Languages
English, Spokan or Spokane language
(dialect of Kalispel-Pend d'Oreille language)[3]
Religion
Dreamer Faith,[4] traditional tribal religion, Christianity
Related ethnic groups
Bitterroot Salish, Coeur D'Alene, Kootenai, Pend d'Oreilles, and other Interior Salish tribes

The Spokane (or Spokan) are a Native American people in the northeastern portion of the U.S. state of Washington. The Spokane Indian Reservation, at 47°55′42″N 118°02′45″W / 47.92833°N 118.04583°W / 47.92833; -118.04583, is located in eastern Washington, almost entirely in Stevens County, but includes two very small parcels of land (totaling 1.52 acres) and part of the Spokane River in northeastern Lincoln County.

The city of Spokane, Washington takes its name, which means "children of the sun" or "sun People", from them. Their language belongs to the Interior Salishan family. According to Lewis and Clark, in the early 19th century they lived in the vicinity of the Spokane River and numbered around 600. The 2000 census reported the resident population of the reservation at 2,004 persons, living on a land area of 615.168 km² (237.518 sq mi). They called themselves simply Sqeliz – “The People”. The Spokane Tribe comprises five bands: sntu/t/uliz, snzmeme/, scqesciOni, sl/otewsi, hu, sDmqeni.[5]

History

For thousands of years the Spokanes lived near the Spokane River, living by hunting and gathering. Spokane territory once sprawled out over three million acres (12,000 km²) of land. The language they spoke is classified as belonging to the Interior Salish group; it is closely related to Okanagan and others in the area.

The Spokanes constructed permanent villages for the winter by the river for fishing and huts in the mountains for gathering. Other Indian people began to influence the Spokanes introducing them to horses and plank houses. The first white men to contact the Spokane were explorers and fur traders. A trading post known as Spokane House was constructed near the confluence of Spokane and Little Spokane Rivers around 1810. The Spokanes suffered from introduced diseases, including smallpox. Land-grabbing by white settlers was exacerbated by a lack of legal controls to prevent injustice. By the 1860s, settlers were driving into the West pushing out the original inhabitants, such as the Spokanes. The Spokane Indians, among many other Indians, were given English names. The Spokanes made a number of agreements with the federal governments in the late 19th century. In 1877 the Lower Spokane relocated to the Spokane Reservation which was declared a reservation in 1881. In 1887 the Upper and Middle Spokane agreed to move to the Colville Flathead Reservation.

The territory the Garfield Heights live on now consists of 154 acres (623,216m²), of which they possess only ten percent of that territory; the rest is held by the government.

Uranium was discovered on the reservation and mined from an open pit 1956-1962 and 1969–1982, at the Midnite Mine.[6] The now inactive mine is on the list of Superfund cleanup sites with contaminates including metals, radionuclides and acidic drainage.

Notable tribal members

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ " Spokane Tribe " Spokane Tribal Seal. 2011 (retrieved 28 February)
  2. ↑ As of April 2011, " Spokane Tribe " (retrieved March 16, 2015)
  3. ↑ Pritzker, 280
  4. ↑ Pritzker, 281
  5. ↑ Plateau Peoples' Web Portal
  6. ↑ "Midnite Mine". EPA. Retrieved 2010-05-03.

References

External links

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