Smoke Signals August 1992
mm
Jt
Art mask by one of the students at
Nanitch Sahallie Youth Treatment
Center.
NANITCH SAHALLIE
Youth Treatment Center
Nanitch Sahallie Youth residential Treatment
Center's recovery process involves many aspects.
As part of the program, students must write a
fully researched report about their people and
heritage. The activity gives the client an
opportunity to learn about their tribes, while
enforcing the idea that being Native American
is something to be proud of The following story
is printed with permission.
Kalispel Indians
Kalispels are nomadic hunters, diggers, and fishers,
noted for their sturgeon-nosed canoes. They settled in
the secluded valley of the Pend Orielle River. The
climate there is mild, with hot summers and cold
winters. Kalispel Indians are related to Coeur d'Alenes,
Spokanes, Flatheads, Chewelahs, Pend Orielles,
Colvilles, and so on.
The earliest lodges were pit houses. The builders of
these dwellings began by digging a circular pit, three or
four feet deep and twelve to eighteen feet in diameter.
Over the pit they constructed a frame of light wooden
poles, which they covered with mats and grass and
banked on they outside with up to three feet of earth.
A hole was left in the center of the roof, through which
smoke from fires could escape. A village contained
between five and fifteen lodges, each of which housed
several couples and their children who were related
either by blood or marriage.
Kalispel villages had a population of 50 to 200.
However, a few large settlements existed. The largest
village, located near the present-day town of Union
Gap, Washington, was regularly occupied by about 2,000
people. The inhabitants of each permanent village
recognized a certain portion of land around their
settlement as their territory. However, they shared their
hunting and gathering grounds with people in other
villages, who in turn, allowed others to use their land.
We used deer hides and other animal skin to stretch,
tan, and make our clothes from. We also did elaborate
and had beautiful designs on our moccasins.
Page 8
Basket making was also a skill our women were
famous for. To hold roots, they made Wasco baskets
or "Sally Bags" soft, cylindrical bags made of taxus
(Indian hemp) and often decorated with human and
animal figures using bear grass or corn husk. They
wove large, flat, flexible storage wallets, known as
cornhusk bags.
My people were hunters of deer and other game
and they were also fisherman of trout and the women
were berry gatherers. My people speak Salish.
The standard currency was haiqua, the region's
trade language for dentalium. This shell was harvested
from ocean beds off the west coast from present-day
Vancouver Island.
Many of the customs, beliefs, and other practices
were passed on through writing and by passing on
knowledge of them orally through their ancient tales.
Most legends depict an age before humans existed,
when animals thought and acted as humans do now.
These animals also had extraordinary powers that
prepared earth for humankind. Many legends tell
about Speeljay (also known as Coyote), a mischievous
trickster whose plans and schemes sometimes greatly
benefited the world. Sometimes, however, Speeljay's
plans went astray and he became the victim of his own
scheming.
Human beings' long occupation of this region is
confirmed by the findings of archeologists-scholars
who study physical evidence of past human societies.
Archeologists have found evidence that people were
living here about 12,000 years ago. They have also '
identified many prehistoric seasonal living sites in .
caves, rock-shelters, and camps scattered throughout
the area.
The men were recognized as headmen or chiefs of
their village. These positions tended to be inherited,
and headsmen were generally respected by their
wisdom and generosity. Elderly women were also held
in high regard and exerted influence on village
decisions. Several respected men of each village were
chosen by consensus to be members of a council that
helped headsmen settle disputes and help maintain
informal control over the village activities and relations
with other villages. The headsman also had an
assistant who went through the village every evening,
repeated the headman's speeches in a loud voice, and
making announcements of important news. Another
man, the "Whipper", was charged with the
responsibility of disciplining the children who would
not be quiet at ceremonies. Usually a family member's
threat to summon the Whipper was all that was needed
to make misbehaving youngsters obedient. Other
leadership positions were held by men and women
who were noted for their special skills as riders,
hunters, fishers, root diggers, basketry weavers, ritual
leaders, shaman (medicine doctors), orators, or
warriors. Special status was also given to professional
gamblers, outstanding athletes, people who owned
many horses, and people who sponsored many feasts
and giveaways. Positions of leadership had a tendency
to overlap.
A headman might also be skilled at hunting and be
rich in horses. We've always, unlike others, regarded
both our father's family and our mother's family
members as blood relatives. But families were also
linked by marriage and felt special ties to one another.
These were formally recognized by feasts and a series
of ritual gift exchanges.
One of the most important of these was the
wedding trade, which often took place after the birth of
a couple's first child. The wife's family would invite
the husband's family to a feast. There the host would
offer their new in-laws pshatani goods-women's gifts
present their in-laws with shaptakay goods, men's gifts
such as blankets and tanned hides, carried in a raw-hide
container known as shaptakay. The wedding trade was
the first formal public recognition of marriage. Before
it was held however, a man and women lived together
with one of the two families, usually the woman's.
Following a treaty agreement made in 1855, the
Kalispel moved to our present reservation located in
Northeastern Washington, north of Spokane,
surrounded by the National Forest The western
boundary of the reservation follows the Pend Oreille
River. Some of our special events include the Barter
Fair, an Indian Pow-wow held the 3rd weekend in May
and the last weekend in September. Another one is the
Buffalo Bar-B-Que, an event that includes a barbecue
and a contest dancing. It is held the first weekend in
August.
Some of my benefits are I get money when I turn 21,
funding so I can go to school, and health benefits. If I
wanted to work for my tribe, I could get a place on the
council, like a Chairwoman. I am proud to be a
member of my tribe.
GED CLASSES RESUME
During the months of July and August Tribal GED
classes will continue on Monday and Wednesday mornings
from 9:00 am to 11:30 am at the Tribal Community
Center. Pre-testing, assessment, and preparation activities
are conducted by instructors from the West Valley
Academy. Classes are free to tribal members who have
completed an Adult Education application. You can
obtain an application by contacting the Tribal Education
Office, 1-800-422-0232. Non-tribal members can also
participate in the GED class for a small monthly fee. For
more information contact the education office.
STUDENTS: 1992-93 School
Year Almost Here
A notice to all HIGHER EDUCATION & ADULT
VOCATIONAL TRAINING students, the 1992-93
school year is almost at hand. Have you received the
following items:
Federal Student Aid Report
Financial Aid Award or Notification of Financial Aid
Offer
Verification forms from Financial Aid Office
' Please forward a copy of these documents to our
office as soon as possible. During the month of August
we will begin the process of determining student grant
awards for the 1992-93 school year.
If you have filed your FINANCIAL AID FORM , or
FEDERAL STUDENT AID APPLICATION form
more than three moths ago, and still have not yet
received any notification of SAR, or award, please
contact us as soon as possible. We will contact Financial
Aid Offices to see if the situation can be corrected.
Be forewarned, if you did receive the Federal
STUDENT AID REPORT, and did not sign it and
submit it to your college Financial Aid Office, no award
will be forthcoming! Don't sit on these forms, if you
have them in your possession, you need to turn these
into your Financial Aid Office at your respective college,
university, or community college.
For all continuing students, no financial assistance
will be provided bv the Tribe until vour 1992-93 budget
is completed bv the Financial Aid Office. Also, if vou
have not submitted vour Spring Term grades to
Education Department, no financial assistance will be
provide,
If you have any questions regarding Higher
Education or Adult Vocational Training Programs,
please call the Education Program.