The Kalispel Indian Community of the Kalispel Reservation is a

federally recognized tribe This is a list of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States of America. There are also federally recognized Alaska Native tribes. , 574 Indian tribes were legally recognized by the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) of the United ...

of Lower Kalispel people, located in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

. They are an

Indigenous people of the Northwest Plateau Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau, also referred to by the phrase Indigenous peoples of the Plateau, and historically called the Plateau Indians (though comprising many groups) are indigenous peoples of the Interior of British Columbia ...

Reservation

The Kalispel Reservation, located in

Usk Usk ( cy, Brynbuga) is a town and community in Monmouthshire, Wales, northeast of Newport. It is located on the River Usk, which is spanned by an arched stone bridge at the western entrance to the town. Usk Castle, above the town, overlooks th ...

Pend Oreille County, Washington Pend Oreille County ( ) is a county located in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Washington, along the Canada–US border. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,401. The county seat and largest city is Newport. The county was c ...

. It was founded in 1914 and is large.

Government

The tribe's headquarters is in

Cusick, Washington Cusick (Salish: čmq̓ʷoqnú )) is a town in Pend Oreille County, Washington, United States. The population was 207 at the 2010 census. Cusick is the headquarters of the federally recognized Kalispel Indian Community of the Kalispel Reservation. ...

. The tribe is governed by a democratically elected, five-member tribal council. The general council, composed of enrolled members over the age of 18, vote in a general election the first Friday of June every year. Council members are elected for three-year terms. Members must cast their ballots in person, as there is no absentee voting allowed. The elected council members then vote for the officer positions. When voting on government and business matters the Chairman does not vote unless there is a tie. The current administration is as follows: * Chairman: Glen Nenema * Vice-Chairman: Curt Holmes * Secretary: Betty Jo Piengkham * Council Member: Nicholas Pierre * Council Member: Sonny Bigsmoke Chairman Glen Nenema has been Chairman for over four decades and is the longest consecutively elected tribal chairman in the United States.

Language

Traditionally, Kalispel people spoke the

Kalispel language The Salish or Séliš language , also known as Kalispel–Pend d'oreille, Kalispel–Spokane–Flathead, or Montana Salish to distinguish it from other Salishan languages, is a Salishan language spoken (as of 2005) by about 64 elders of the Flat ...

, an

Interior Salish language The Interior Salish languages are one of the two main branches of the Salishan languages, Salishan language family, the other being Coast Salish languages, Coast Salish. It can be further divided into Northern and Southern subbranches. The first S ...

History

Kalispel people are thought to have come from

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. In the 18th century, the Niitsitapi people pushed them from the

Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...

Pend d'Oreille River The Pend Oreille River ( ) is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately long, in northern Idaho and northeastern Washington (state), Washington in the United States, as well as southeastern British Columbia in Canada. In its passage throu ...

and

Lake Pend Oreille Lake Pend Oreille ( ) in the northern Idaho Panhandle is the largest lake in the U.S. state of Idaho and the 38th-largest lake by area in the United States, with a surface area of . It is long, and deep in some regions, making it the fifth-dee ...

. The town of

Kalispell, Montana Kalispell (, Montana Salish: Ql̓ispé, Kutenai language: kqayaqawakⱡuʔnam) is a city in, and the county seat of, Flathead County, Montana, United States. The 2020 census put Kalispell's population at 24,558. In Montana's northwest region, ...

is named after the tribe. In 1809, David Thompson opened a trading post for the

North West Company The North West Company was a fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in what is present-day Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario. With great weal ...

of Montréal in their territory. A

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

mission was founded in the 1840s.Pritzker 258 The Upper Kalispel were forced onto an

Indian reservation An Indian reservation is an area of land held and governed by a federally recognized Native American tribal nation whose government is accountable to the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs and not to the state government in which it ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

, while the Lower Kalispel remained on their homelands in Washington."Kalispel Tribe."
''Northwest Portland Art Indian Health Board.'' Retrieved 28 July 2013. The tribe refused to sign a treaty proposed by the US government in 1872. In 1875, there were only 395 Lower Kalispel. Non-Natives claimed reservation lands under the Homestead Act, and economic opportunities for tribal members were minimal. In 1965, the average tribal member's income was $1,400, and there was only one telephone for the entire tribe.

Economic development

The tribe owns and operates the

Northern Quest Resort & Casino Northern Quest Resort & Casino is an Indian casino in Airway Heights, Washington, near Spokane, owned and operated by the Kalispel Tribe. It has a 250-room hotel, a spa, and 14 restaurants and lounges. The casino has of gaming space, with over ...

, located in

Airway Heights, Washington Airway Heights is a city in Spokane County, Washington, United States, just west of Spokane. The population was 10,757 at the 2020 census. The city's name was taken from its close proximity to the runways at Fairchild Air Force Base and Spokane ...

. The resort features Masselow's, Epic Sports Bar, Fai's Noodle House, Qdoba, Rivers Edge Buffet,

Fatburger Fatburger North America Inc. (doing business as Fatburger) is an American fast casual restaurant chain. Its tagline is ''The Last Great Hamburger Stand''. While it is a fast food restaurant, the food is cooked and made to order. Some Fatburger ...

, The Deli, Marketplace, Thomas Hammer Coffee, Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream, and Movie & Dinner Theatre as well as several bars and nightclubs: Legends of Fire, Fireside Lounge, Liquid, and the Turf, and La Rive Spa. The tribe owns the franchise rights to Fatburger in the Eastern Washington region, having opened a restaurant in Spokane's 5-Mile district."Fatburger".
''Kalispel Tribe of Indians.'' Retrieved 8 December 2013.

Notes

References

* Pritzker, Barry M. ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. .

External links

Kalispel Tribe of Indians
official website {{DEFAULTSORT:Kalispel Indian Community of the Kalispel Reservation Native American tribes in Washington (state) Geography of Pend Oreille County, Washington Federally recognized tribes in the United States Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau