Spokane (tribe)
The Spokane Tribe, located in northeastern Washington, speaks a Salishan language and identifies themselves as Spoqe'ind, meaning "round head." Historically, the tribe consisted of three bands and was characterized by a subsistence lifestyle that included permanent winter villages and specialized fishing techniques. Their cultural practices encompassed shamanism, vision quests, and significant ceremonies like the Blue Jay and Midwinter Ceremonies. The Spokane engaged in extensive trade, particularly with neighboring tribes, and participated in hunting and resource gathering long before European contact.
Interactions with white explorers began in the early 1800s, notably with Captains Lewis and Clark. However, the tribe faced significant challenges due to European diseases, combat with settlers, and the establishment of the Spokane Indian Reservation in 1881. Over time, the Spokane experienced deculturation, shifts in dietary practices, and the impact of infrastructure developments like the construction of dams that limited their traditional fishing practices. Today, the Spokane Indian Reservation spans approximately 159,000 acres and is governed by an elected tribal council, with contemporary issues including economic challenges, gaming legalization, and litigation over resource rights. The tribe maintains cultural continuity through various programs, such as a fish hatchery established in 1989, and around half of the enrolled members live on the reservation.
On this Page
Spokane (tribe)
- CATEGORY: Tribe
- CULTURE AREA: Plateau
- LANGUAGE GROUP: Salishan
- PRIMARY LOCATION: Northeastern Washington State
- POPULATION SIZE: 2,879 (225; Spokane Tribe of Indians)
The Spokane of northeastern Washington spoke a Salishan language shared, in different dialects, with the Coeur d’Alene, Flathead, and Kalispel. They called themselves Spoqe’ind (“round head”). The subsistence orientation of the three bands of Spokane was culturally reflected by permanent winter villages, specialized fishing technology, a sweathouse complex, shamanism, vision quest, tutelary spirits, the Blue Jay and Midwinter Ceremonies, leadership through consensus of opinion, modified bilateral descent, and extensive utilization of fish and vegetal products gathered during spring, summer, and fall for winter consumption.
Exploitation of resource areas was further facilitated by intergroup marriage through exogamy, polyglotism, and established trade relations. Even prior to the introduction of the horse, in the early 1800s, the Spokane ventured annually onto the Plains to trade and hunt for bison.
First mention of the Spokane by White travelers was by Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark in 1805 and David Thompson of the Northwest Fur Company, who surveyed the area from 1808 to 1811. Cultural change, however, had already commenced in the early 1700s with the diffusion of European American trade items. The devastating epidemics of 1846 and 1852–53 created severe population decline. Consequently, the rise of religious nativistic revitalization movements, particularly the Dreamer Cult, modified traditional belief systems. Protestant missionization commenced in 1839 with the establishment of the Tshimakain Mission.
Uncontrolled encroachment by White miners and other settlers ultimately led to warfare with the US Army and to the 1858 military defeat of the Spokane at the battle of Four Lakes by Colonel George Wright, who destroyed Spokane livestock, horses, farms, and crops. As a consequence, a January 18, 1881, executive order set aside 154,898 acres of public land for the establishment of the Spokane Indian Reservation. The Spokane experienced severe deculturation as a result of tribalization, confinement to a reservation, government schooling, a dramatic shift to non-Indigenous foods, and the introduction of religious and political factionalism.
A major event that disrupted Spokane access to fish as a primary food source was the 1911 construction of Little Falls Dam. The later construction of Grand Coulee Dam, under the August 30, 1935, New Deal authorization, effectively stopped the annual migration of all salmon to their spawning areas.
The Spokane reservation is organized around an elected tribal council with headquarters, a museum, a community center, and a store located at Wellpinit. Both Protestant and Catholic churches are on the reservation, but not the Indian Shaker Church or Pentecostal Church. Factions are based on religious affiliation and geographical areas. Dominant contemporary concerns are issues of legalizing gaming, high unemployment, and ongoing litigation over the loss of fishing sites and resource areas. Small per capita payments are generated by land leases and timber sales. In 1989, the Spokane Tribe of Indians established a successful fish hatchery staffed by enrolled members. The Spokane Indian Reservation comprises about 159,000 acres, which is largely forest.
Bibliography
Chalfant, Stuart A. Ethnohistorical Reports on Aboriginal Land Use and Occupancy. Garland, 1972.
"The History of the Spokane Tribe of Indians." Spokane Tribe of Indians, spokanetribe.com/history. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
Ross, John Alan. An Ethnoarchaeological Survey of the Spokane Indian Reservation. US Bureau of Indian Affairs and US Department of Forestry, Spokane Tribal Council, 1993.
Ross, John Alan. “The Spokan.” Indians of the Plateau. Edited by Deward E. Walker Jr., Smithsonian Institution, 1994.
Ruby, Robert H., et al. A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest. 3rd ed., University of Oklahoma Press, 2010.
"Spokane Tribe of Indians." Upper Columbia United Tribes, ucut.org/members-tribes/spokane-tribe-indians/. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.
“Tribal Resources.” Spokane Tribe of Indians, www.spokanetribe.com/resources. Accessed 20 Jan. 2025.