All about the ancient tribes
The Spokane Tribe of Indians are of the Interior Salish Group, which has inhabited northeast Washington, northern Idaho and western Montana for many centuries. In earlier times, the Spokane Tribe lived on, protected, and respected over three million acres of land.
They live on a reservation that protects them from outsiders, and their customs and traditions are hunting and fishing, some also trade as well. They speak a language called Salish, men participate in the Salmon Ceremony, bury their dead entire body to keep them from being ghost, and pray and believe in a sun God.
Spokane means “children of the sun.” The Spokane Tribe’s reservation, bounded in the south by the Spokane River and in the west by the Columbia River, consists of 154,000 acres in eastern Washington on the Columbia River Plateau.
The reservation was created in 1881 by U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes through Executive Order.
The food of the Spokane tribe included salmon and trout and a variety of meats from the animals and birds they hunted. They supplemented their protein diet with roots, seeds, nuts and fruits.
Spokane’s first residents were Native American. From the Spokanes, we get our name, which means “Children of the Sun.” Spokane became an incorporated City on Nov. 29, 1881, encompassing 1.56 square miles.
“Spokan Indians “.
Traditional dress of Spokane Indians included breechcloths (a long rectangular piece of hide or cloth tucked over a belt, so the flaps fell down in the front and back) and leggings for men, while women wore skirts, or one-piece dresses, and leggings.
Spokane is the economic and cultural center of the Spokane metropolitan area, the Spokane –Coeur d’Alene combined statistical area, and the Inland Northwest. It is known as the birthplace of Father’s Day, and its official nickname is the “Lilac City”.
Pow Wows are the Native American people’s way of meeting together, to join in dancing, singing, visiting, renewing old friendships, and making new ones. This is a time method to renew Native American culture and preserve the rich heritage of American Indians.
Members of the tribe have relied on the river for nourishment, medicinal, and spiritual purposes. Spokane Falls was a place for tribal members to gather with family and friends. The Spokane River and the Spokane Falls are in the heart of the ancestral homelands of the tribe.
Spokane River, river rising in Coeur d’Alene Lake, Kootenai county, northern Idaho, U.S., and flowing west across the Washington border through Spokane for about 50 miles (80 km) to the Columbia River. The Spokane is 100 miles (160 km) long and has several dams, including Long Lake Dam (1915).