Coeur d'Alene Tribe
Encyclopedia
The Coeur d'Alene are a Native American people who lived in villages along the Coeur d'Alene
, St. Joe, Clark Fork and Spokane River
s; as well as sites on the shores of Lake Coeur d'Alene
, Lake Pend Oreille
and Hayden Lake, in what is now northern Idaho
, eastern Washington and western Montana
.
In their language
, members call themselves Schitsu'umsh (or Skitswish), meaning The Discovered People or Those Who Are Found Here. French Canadian
fur trade
rs in the late 18th or early 19th century gave them their non-native name. The name Cœur d'Alène means Heart of an Awl, referring to the perceived shrewdness of the trading skills exhibited by the tribe.
The native language is Coeur d'Alene
, an Interior Salish
an language.
region of Idaho. Originally the tribe roamed an area of over 4 million acres (16,000 km²) of grass-covered hills, camas-prairie
, forested mountains, lakes, marshes and river habitat in northern Idaho, eastern Washington and western Montana. The territory extended from the southern end of Lake Pend Oreille in the north running along the Bitterroot Range
of Montana in the east to the Palouse and North Fork of the Clearwater River
s in the south to Steptoe Butte and up to just east of Spokane Falls in the west. At the center of this region was Lake Coeur d'Alene. The Coeur d’Alene lived in areas of abundance that included trout
, salmon
, and whitefish
. The tribe supplemented hunting and gathering activities by fishing the St. Joe River and the Spokane River
. They used gaff hooks, spears, nets, and traps and angled for fish.
The Coeur d'Alene lands were reduced to approximately 600,000 acres (2,400 km²) in 1873 when U.S. President Ulysses Grant established the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation by Executive Order. Successive government acts cut their property to 345,000 acres (1,400 km²) near Plummer
, south of the town of Coeur d’Alene.
, a fur trader with the North West Company
, drawn from his and David Thompson
's experiences trading in the area from 1810 to 1814:
Ross Cox, a clerk with the Pacific Fur Company
and then the North West Company, spent considerable time at Spokane House
between 1812 and 1817:
. Tribal gaming employs about 500 and generates about $20 million in profits annually, funding programs and creating economic development and diversity. The tribe operates the Benewah Automotive Center, the Benewah Market, and Ace Hardware located in Plummer, Idaho
.
The tribal farm covers about 6,000 acres (24 km²) and produces wheat
, barley
, pea
s, lentil
s, and canola
.
The tribe also has invested in two businesses, a manufacturing plant BERG Integrated Systems, and a bakery HearthBread Bakery, both in which the tribe owns a majority share.
Cities in which the tribe reside include DeSmet, Harrison
(a small part, population 1), Parkline
, Plummer
, St. Maries
(part, population 734), Tensed
, and Worley
.
The Coeur d’Alene Tribe has a health care facility which opened in 1998 named the Benewah Medical Center. The center was recognized as a national model for Indian Health Care and rural health care. The clinic provides comprehensive primary care services including dental, mental health services and community health outreach services to both the Native American population and general community.http://www.ihs.gov/FacilitiesServices/AreaOffices/Portland/portland-tribe-coeur-d-alene.asp
Tribal traditions include a respect and reverence for natural law, and for responsible environmental stewardship. The tribe is active in the protection, conservation and enhancement of fish and wildlife resources; as well as conservation issues that impact tribal resources. U.S. courts recently ruled that the tribe has jurisdiction over the lower third of Lake Coeur d’Alene, as well as 20 miles (32.2 km) of the St. Joe River. The State of Idaho is appealing that decision.
Coeur d'Alene River
The Coeur d'Alene River flows from the Silver Valley into Lake Coeur d'Alene in the U.S. state of Idaho. The stream continues out of Lake Coeur d'Alene as the Spokane River...
, St. Joe, Clark Fork and Spokane River
Spokane River
The Spokane River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately long, in northern Idaho and eastern Washington in the United States. It drains a low mountainous area east of the Columbia, passing through the city of Spokane, Washington.-Description:...
s; as well as sites on the shores of Lake Coeur d'Alene
Lake Coeur d'Alene
Lake Coeur d'Alene is a natural lake in the Idaho Panhandle, located in the vicinity of the city of the same name. It spans long, ranges from 1 to wide and has over of shoreline for boaters and vacationers to explore and enjoy.-Geology and geography:...
, Lake Pend Oreille
Lake Pend Oreille
Lake Pend Oreille is a lake in the northern Idaho Panhandle, with a surface area of . It is 65 miles long, and 1,150 feet deep in some regions, making it the fifth deepest in the United States. It is fed by the Clark Fork River and the Pack River, and drains via the Pend Oreille River...
and Hayden Lake, in what is now northern Idaho
Idaho
Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state....
, eastern Washington and western Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
.
In their language
Coeur d'Alene language
Coeur d'Alene is a Salishan language spoken by only five of the 800 individuals in the Coeur d'Alene Tribe on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation in northern Idaho, United States. It is considered an endangered language.-References:...
, members call themselves Schitsu'umsh (or Skitswish), meaning The Discovered People or Those Who Are Found Here. French Canadian
French Canadian
French Canadian or Francophone Canadian, , generally refers to the descendents of French colonists who arrived in New France in the 17th and 18th centuries...
fur trade
Fur trade
The fur trade is a worldwide industry dealing in the acquisition and sale of animal fur. Since the establishment of world market for in the early modern period furs of boreal, polar and cold temperate mammalian animals have been the most valued...
rs in the late 18th or early 19th century gave them their non-native name. The name Cœur d'Alène means Heart of an Awl, referring to the perceived shrewdness of the trading skills exhibited by the tribe.
The native language is Coeur d'Alene
Coeur d'Alene language
Coeur d'Alene is a Salishan language spoken by only five of the 800 individuals in the Coeur d'Alene Tribe on the Coeur d'Alene Reservation in northern Idaho, United States. It is considered an endangered language.-References:...
, an Interior Salish
Interior Salish
The Interior Salish languages are one of the two main subgroups of the Salishan language family, the other being Coast Salish. It can be further subdivided into Northern and Southern Interior Salish...
an language.
Geography
For thousands of years the Coeur d'Alene lived in what would become the PanhandleIdaho Panhandle
The Idaho Panhandle is the northern region of the U.S. State of Idaho that encompasses the ten northernmost counties of Benewah, Bonner, Boundary, Clearwater, Idaho, Kootenai, Latah, Lewis, Nez Perce, Shoshone. Residents of the panhandle refer to the region as North Idaho...
region of Idaho. Originally the tribe roamed an area of over 4 million acres (16,000 km²) of grass-covered hills, camas-prairie
Camassia
Camassia is a genus of six species native to western North America, from southern British Columbia to northern California, and east to Utah, Wyoming and Montana...
, forested mountains, lakes, marshes and river habitat in northern Idaho, eastern Washington and western Montana. The territory extended from the southern end of Lake Pend Oreille in the north running along the Bitterroot Range
Bitterroot Range
The Bitterroot Range runs along the border of Montana and Idaho in the northwestern United States. The range spans an area of 62,736 square kilometers and is named after the bitterroot , a small pink flower that is the state flower of Montana.- History :In 1805, the Corps of Discovery,...
of Montana in the east to the Palouse and North Fork of the Clearwater River
Clearwater River (Idaho)
The Clearwater River is a river in north central Idaho, which flows westward from the Bitterroot Mountains along the Idaho-Montana border, and joins the Snake River at Lewiston. In October 1805, the Lewis and Clark Expedition descended the Clearwater River in dugout canoes, putting in at "Canoe...
s in the south to Steptoe Butte and up to just east of Spokane Falls in the west. At the center of this region was Lake Coeur d'Alene. The Coeur d’Alene lived in areas of abundance that included trout
Trout
Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...
, salmon
Salmon
Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...
, and whitefish
Coregonus
Coregonus is a diverse genus of fish in the salmon family . The type species is the common whitefish . The Coregonus species are known as whitefishes...
. The tribe supplemented hunting and gathering activities by fishing the St. Joe River and the Spokane River
Spokane River
The Spokane River is a tributary of the Columbia River, approximately long, in northern Idaho and eastern Washington in the United States. It drains a low mountainous area east of the Columbia, passing through the city of Spokane, Washington.-Description:...
. They used gaff hooks, spears, nets, and traps and angled for fish.
The Coeur d'Alene lands were reduced to approximately 600,000 acres (2,400 km²) in 1873 when U.S. President Ulysses Grant established the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation by Executive Order. Successive government acts cut their property to 345,000 acres (1,400 km²) near Plummer
Plummer, Idaho
Plummer is a city in Benewah County, Idaho, United States. The population was 990 at the 2000 census. It is the largest city within the Coeur d'Alene Reservation.-Geography:Plummer is located at ....
, south of the town of Coeur d’Alene.
History
The earliest written description of these people come from the journals of Alexander Henry (the younger)Alexander Henry (the younger)
Alexander Henry was a Canadian fur trader and explorer employed by the North West Company. He is well known for his extensive journals which he started in 1799. They contain an excellent record from the early 19th century of the fur trade. Alexander travelled and traded extensively from Lake...
, a fur trader with the North West Company
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 was to become Western Canada...
, drawn from his and David Thompson
David Thompson (explorer)
David Thompson was an English-Canadian fur trader, surveyor, and map-maker, known to some native peoples as "Koo-Koo-Sint" or "the Stargazer"...
's experiences trading in the area from 1810 to 1814:
- The Skeetshue [Skitsuish] or Pointed Hearts [Coeur d'Alene] Indians dwell further southward [than the Kullyspell or Pend d'Oreille tribes], about Skeetshue [Coeur d'Alene] Lake and [Spokane] River; they are a distinct nation, and have a different language [Salish] from the Flat Heads. They are very numerous, and have a vast number of horses, as their country is open and admits of breeding them in great abundance.
Ross Cox, a clerk with the Pacific Fur Company
Pacific Fur Company
The Pacific Fur Company was founded June 23, 1810, in New York City. Half of the stock of the company was held by the American Fur Company, owned exclusively by John Jacob Astor, and Astor provided all of the capital for the enterprise. The other half of the stock was ascribed to working partners...
and then the North West Company, spent considerable time at Spokane House
Spokane House
Spokane House was a fur trading post founded in 1810 by the British-Canadian North West Company under direction of David Thompson. The post was sited on a peninsula where the Spokane River and Little Spokane River meet. Today this site is in Spokane County in the U.S...
between 1812 and 1817:
- The Pointed Hearts, or as the [French] Canadians call them, les Coeurs d’ Alênes (Hearts of Awls), are a small tribe inhabiting the shores of a lake about fifty miles to the eastward of Spokan House. Their country is tolerably well stocked with beaver, deer, wild-fowl, &c.; and its vegetable productions are similar to those of Spokan. Some of this tribe occasionally visited our fort at the latter place with furs to barter, and we made a few excursions to their lands. We found them uniformly honest in their traffic; but they did not evince the same warmth of friendship for us as the Spokans, and expressed no desire for the establishment of a trading post among them. They are in many respects more savage than their neighbors, and I have seen some of them often eat deer and other meat, raw. They are also more unfeeling husbands, and frequently beat their wives cruelly.
- About twenty years before our arrival [hence in the early 1790s], the Spokans and Pointed Hearts were at war, caused by a kind of Trojan origin. A party of the former [Spokane Indians] had been on a hunting visit to the land of the latter [Coeur d’Alene Indians], and were hospitably received. One day, a young Spokan discovered the wife of a Pointed Heart alone, some distance from the village, and violated her. Although she might have born this in silence from one of her own tribe, she was not as equally forbearing with regard to a stranger, and immediately informed her husband of the outrage. He lost no time in seeking revenge, and shot the Spokan as he entered the village. The others fled to their own lands, and prepared for war. A succession of sanguinary conflicts followed, in the course of which the greatest warriors of both side were nearly destroyed. At the end of a year, however, hostilities ceased; since which period they have been at peace. The two nations now intermarry, and appear to be on the best terms of friendship.
Modern times
There are approximately 2,000 enrolled members in the tribe. Tribal businesses include the Coeur d'Alene Casino, Hotel, and Circling Raven Golf Course facilities north of Worley, IdahoWorley, Idaho
Worley is a city in southwestern Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. The population was 223 at the 2000 census. The city is within the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation.-Geography:...
. Tribal gaming employs about 500 and generates about $20 million in profits annually, funding programs and creating economic development and diversity. The tribe operates the Benewah Automotive Center, the Benewah Market, and Ace Hardware located in Plummer, Idaho
Plummer, Idaho
Plummer is a city in Benewah County, Idaho, United States. The population was 990 at the 2000 census. It is the largest city within the Coeur d'Alene Reservation.-Geography:Plummer is located at ....
.
The tribal farm covers about 6,000 acres (24 km²) and produces wheat
Wheat
Wheat is a cereal grain, originally from the Levant region of the Near East, but now cultivated worldwide. In 2007 world production of wheat was 607 million tons, making it the third most-produced cereal after maize and rice...
, barley
Barley
Barley is a major cereal grain, a member of the grass family. It serves as a major animal fodder, as a base malt for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods...
, pea
Pea
A pea is most commonly the small spherical seed or the seed-pod of the pod fruit Pisum sativum. Each pod contains several peas. Peapods are botanically a fruit, since they contain seeds developed from the ovary of a flower. However, peas are considered to be a vegetable in cooking...
s, lentil
Lentil
The lentil is an edible pulse. It is a bushy annual plant of the legume family, grown for its lens-shaped seeds...
s, and canola
Canola
Canola refers to a cultivar of either Rapeseed or Field Mustard . Its seeds are used to produce edible oil suitable for consumption by humans and livestock. The oil is also suitable for use as biodiesel.Originally, Canola was bred naturally from rapeseed in Canada by Keith Downey and Baldur R...
.
The tribe also has invested in two businesses, a manufacturing plant BERG Integrated Systems, and a bakery HearthBread Bakery, both in which the tribe owns a majority share.
Cities in which the tribe reside include DeSmet, Harrison
Harrison, Idaho
Harrison is a city in Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. The population was 267 at the 2000 census.-History:The community was named for President Benjamin HarrisonHarrison was incorporated in 1899 and was once the largest city on Lake Coeur d'Alene....
(a small part, population 1), Parkline
Parkline, Idaho
Parkline is an unincorporated census-designated place in Benewah County, Idaho, United States. The population was 80 at the 2010 census. Parkline was a city until it disincorporated in 2001.-Geography:Parkline is located at ....
, Plummer
Plummer, Idaho
Plummer is a city in Benewah County, Idaho, United States. The population was 990 at the 2000 census. It is the largest city within the Coeur d'Alene Reservation.-Geography:Plummer is located at ....
, St. Maries
St. Maries, Idaho
St. Maries is a city in Benewah County, Idaho, United States. The population was 2,652 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Benewah County. Pronounced St. Mary's.-Geography:St. Maries is located at ....
(part, population 734), Tensed
Tensed, Idaho
Tensed is a city in Benewah County, Idaho, United States. The population was 126 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Tensed is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
, and Worley
Worley, Idaho
Worley is a city in southwestern Kootenai County, Idaho, United States. The population was 223 at the 2000 census. The city is within the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation.-Geography:...
.
The Coeur d’Alene Tribe has a health care facility which opened in 1998 named the Benewah Medical Center. The center was recognized as a national model for Indian Health Care and rural health care. The clinic provides comprehensive primary care services including dental, mental health services and community health outreach services to both the Native American population and general community.http://www.ihs.gov/FacilitiesServices/AreaOffices/Portland/portland-tribe-coeur-d-alene.asp
Tribal traditions include a respect and reverence for natural law, and for responsible environmental stewardship. The tribe is active in the protection, conservation and enhancement of fish and wildlife resources; as well as conservation issues that impact tribal resources. U.S. courts recently ruled that the tribe has jurisdiction over the lower third of Lake Coeur d’Alene, as well as 20 miles (32.2 km) of the St. Joe River. The State of Idaho is appealing that decision.
See also
Neighboring tribes:- Confederated Tribes of the Colville ReservationColville Indian ReservationThe Colville Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Washington, inhabited and managed by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, which is recognized by the United States of America as an American Indian Tribe...
- Kootenai-Salish (Flatheads)Flathead Indian ReservationThe Flathead Indian Reservation, located in western Montana on the Flathead River, is home to the Bitterroot Salish, Kootenai, and Pend d'Oreilles Tribes - also known as theConfederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation...
- Nez Perce
- Spokane
External links
- The Official Site of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe
- Idaho Natives Project
- Coeur d’Alene Mission State Park
- Coeur d’Alene Casino
- Idaho v. US
- Lifelong Learning Online Project
- Encyclopedia of North American Indians
- Idaho State Judiciary site
- Catholic Encyclopedia article
- Hnqwa̱'qwe'elm language
- Coeur pedagogical video
- Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes
- Coeur d’Alene tribal School
- Plummer Wind Energy Project