The Kalispel Indian Community of the Kalispel Reservation is a

federally recognized tribe A federally recognized tribe is a Native American tribe recognized by the United States Bureau of Indian Affairs as holding a government-to-government relationship with the US federal government. In the United States, the Native American tribe ...

of Lower Kalispel people, located in

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. They are an Indigenous people of the Northwest Plateau.

Reservation

The Kalispel Reservation, located in Usk in

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 w ...

. It was founded in 1914 and is large.

Government

The tribe's headquarters is in Cusick, Washington. 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, an Interior Salish language.

History

Kalispel people are thought to have come from

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. In the 18th century, the

Niitsitapi The Blackfoot Confederacy, ''Niitsitapi'', or ''Siksikaitsitapi'' (ᖹᐟᒧᐧᒣᑯ, meaning "the people" or " Blackfoot-speaking real people"), is a historic collective name for linguistically related groups that make up the Blackfoot or Bl ...

people pushed them from the

Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...

to Pend d'Oreille River and Lake Pend Oreille. The town of

Kalispell, Montana Kalispell (, Salish-Spokane-Kalispel language, Montana Salish: Ql̓ispé, Kutenai language: Kqayaqawakⱡuʔnam) is a city in Montana and the county seat of Flathead County, Montana, United States. The 2020 census put Kalispell's population at ...

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 trade in Canada, Canadian fur trading business headquartered in Montreal from 1779 to 1821. It competed with increasing success against the Hudson's Bay Company in the regions that later became Western Canada a ...

of Montréal in their territory. A

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

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

Indian reservation An American Indian reservation is an area of land land tenure, held and governed by a List of federally recognized tribes in the contiguous United States#Description, U.S. federal government-recognized Native American tribal nation, whose gov ...

Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...

, while the Lower Kalispel remained on their homelands in Washington."Kalispel Tribe."
''Northwest Portland Art Indian Health Board.'' Retrieved July 28, 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, located in Airway Heights, Washington. The resort features Masselow's Steakhouse, EPIC Sports Bar, East Pan Asian Cuisine, Qdoba, Neon Pizza,

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

, Marketplace, Thomas Hammer Coffee, and Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream, as well as several bars and lounges: Legends of Fire, The Lounge at Masselow's, Liquid, and Highball. Other attractions include Turf Club Sports Book, La Rive Spa, Windfall, Kids Quest, and Cyber Quest. The Tribe owns the franchise rights to the fast-casual chain Fatburger in Eastern Washington and western Montana and opened a restaurant in their casino in 2009.

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