The Pend d'Oreille or Pend d'Oreilles ( ), also known as the Kalispel (), are

Indigenous peoples 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 Americas, Indigenous people ...

. Today many of them live in

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 ...

and eastern Washington of the United States. The Kalispel peoples referred to their primary tribal range as ''Kaniksu''. Their traditional territory comprised the drainage systems of the Flathead River, Clark Fork, and Pend Oreille rivers. It extended from roughly present-day Plains, Montana, westward along the

Clark Fork River The Clark Fork, or the Clark Fork of the Columbia River, is a river in the U.S. states of Montana and Idaho, approximately long. It is named after William Clark of the 1806 Lewis and Clark Expedition. The largest river by volume in Montana, it ...

, to Lake Pend Oreille and Priest Lake in Idaho, and the Pend Oreille River (''Ntxwe'', meaning "river") in eastern Washington and into

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 ...

(

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

). They lived in many bands — originally, probably eleven — in their historic lands. They are generally divided geographically and culturally in two groupings: * the "upstream people" or Upper Kalispel (or "Upper Pend d’Oreille") are commonly referred to as the Pend d'Oreille. They were also known as ''Kullyspelm'' or ''Ql̓ispé'' ("Camas People"). They are now enrolled in the

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

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation (Salish-Spokane-Kalispel language, Montana Salish: Séliš u Ql̓ispé, Kutenai language, Kutenai: k̓upawiȼq̓nuk) are a federally recognized tribe in the U.S. state ...

in Montana. and * the "downstream people" or Lower Kalispel (or "Lower Pend d’Oreille") are commonly referred to as the Kalispel. They were also known as ''Silkatkmlschi'' or ''Sɫq̓etkʷmsčin̓t'' ("People Living along the Shore of the Broad Water"), because they lived by

Flathead Lake Flathead Lake (, ) is a large natural lake in northwest Montana, United States. The lake is a remnant of the ancient, massive glacial dammed lake, Glacial Lake Missoula, Lake Missoula, of the era of the last interglacial. Flathead Lake is a nat ...

(Čɫq̓étkʷ - "Broad Water"). Today many are enrolled in the Kalispel Tribe of Indians in Washington. Some families are members of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe in Idaho. In addition, some Kalispel are enrolled in the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in eastern Washington. Prior to colonization by European-Americans, Chewelah was home to a band of the Lower Kalispel people. The band was known as the ''Slet̓éw̓si'', meaning "valley people". The ''Chewelah Band of Indians'' is currently part of the Spokane Tribe of Indians of Washington.

Name

The name ''Pend d’Oreille'' (), which means "hangs from ear", was attributed to them by French-speaking colonists and traders in reference to the large shell earrings worn by these people. The name ''Kalispel'' is an anglicization of their name in their own language (), which means " Camas people". Camas is a flower bulb that was a staple of their diet.Pritzker 257

Language

Their language, Kalispel-Pend d’Oreille, is a Southern Interior Salish language. It is also known as Flathead-Kalispel.

Reservations

The Pend d'Oreille people have two reservations: the

Flathead Indian Reservation The Flathead Indian Reservation, located in western Montana on the Flathead River, is home to the Bitterroot Salish (tribe), Bitterroot Salish, Kootenai (tribe), Kootenai, and Pend d'Oreilles (tribe), Pend d'Oreilles tribes – also known as the ...

in western Montana and the

Kalispel Indian Reservation The Kalispel Indian Community of the Kalispel Reservation is a federally recognized tribe of Lower Kalispel people, located in Washington. They are an Indigenous people of the Northwest Plateau. Reservation The Kalispel Reservation, located ...

in Washington. Also, a small number of Kalispel people live on the

Colville Indian Reservation The Colville Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation located in Washington (state), Washington state, U.S. It is inhabited and managed by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, which are List of federally recognized tribes in ...

in Washington. The main part of the Kalispel Reservation is northwest of

Newport, Washington Newport is a city in and the county seat of Pend Oreille County, Washington, Pend Oreille County, Washington (state), Washington, United States. The population was 2,114 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Newport was give ...

, in central Pend Oreille County. The main reservation is an strip of land along the Pend Oreille River, west of the Washington–

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

border. There is also a small parcel of land in the western part of the

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...

metropolitan area in the city of Airway Heights, with a land area of . This is the site o
Northern Quest Resort & Casino
which is operated by the tribe. The total land area of the

, located at in Pend Oreille County, is . The nearest outside community is Cusick, near the south end of the reservation.

History

The Pend d'Oreille people are believed to have migrated south from

. In 1809, 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 ...

established a

trading post A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory in European and colonial contexts, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded. Typically a trading post allows people from one geogr ...

in their territory, calling it Kullyspell House. Jesuits established 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 there in 1846. In 1855, the tribe split into the upper and lower divisions, with the upper moving to the Flathead Reservation in Montana. One of the two lower bands joined them in 1887.Pritzker 258 These people made their weapons and tools from

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

, and many other things were shaped with rocks. For housing, the Pend d’Oreille lived in

tipi A tipi or tepee ( ) is a conical lodge tent that is distinguished from other conical tents by the smoke flaps at the top of the structure, and historically made of animal hides or pelts or, in more recent generations, of canvas stretched on ...

s in the summer, as well as lodges in the winter time. These houses were all built out of large

cattail ''Typha'' is a genus of about 30 species of monocotyledonous flowering plants in the family Typhaceae. These plants have a variety of common names, in British English as bulrushStreeter D, Hart-Davies C, Hardcastle A, Cole F, Harper L. 2009. ...

s, which were in abundance where the people lived. These cattails were woven into mats called “tule mats”, which were attached to a tree branch frame to form a hut. Today a large community building on the Kalispel reservation bears the name “Tule Hut” in reference to this traditional housing. The tribe traded

bison A bison (: bison) is a large bovine in the genus ''Bison'' (from Greek, meaning 'wild ox') within the tribe Bovini. Two extant taxon, extant and numerous extinction, extinct species are recognised. Of the two surviving species, the American ...

hides for horses and other useful goods. They traditionally made clothing from rabbit pelts and deer hides. They embellished hides with

dye Juan de Guillebon, better known by his stage name DyE, is a French musician. He is known for the music video of the single "Fantasy Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction that involves supernatural or Magic (supernatural), magical ele ...

s, paints, beads, and porcupine quills. The Upper Pend d’Oreille of the Flathead Reservation became engaged in a dispute over off-reservation hunting between the tribes and the state of Montana, resulting in the Swan Valley Massacre of 1908. Long after they were dispossessed of their hereditary lands around Lake Pend Oreille, the Pend d'Oreille band of Kalispel continued to gather for an annual pow wow on its traditional grounds just east of what is now Sandpoint City Beach. The three-day event included ceremonies, dancing and traditional stick games. The pow wows in Sandpoint were discontinued in the early 1950s. Since 1975, the Kalispel Tribe has held an annual pow wow at its Usk, Washington, reservation in July or August. The events are open to the public and include a dance contest, traditional foods, stick games and others.

Notes

References

* Pritzker, Barry M. ''A Native American Encyclopedia: History, Culture, and Peoples''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000. .
Kalispel Reservation, Washington
United States Census Bureau

External links

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes
official website
Kalispel Tribe of Indians
official website {{Authority control Native American tribes in Montana Native American tribes in Washington (state) Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau Native American tribes in Idaho