Spokane Tribe

United States

Indigenous Peoples of the United States

Indigenous People of Montana

Spokane Tribe

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Alternate names: Spokan

Spokane

Population
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Regions with significant populations
Ancestral Homelands: The Spokane Tribe is primarily associated with eastern Washington and northern Idaho. Descendants: Colville Reservation and the Spokane Reservation
Status
Federally recognized
Linguistic Group
not yet researched
Cultural Group
not yet researched
Other Related Ethnic Groups
Palouse and others

Tribal Headquarters

Spokane Tribe
6195 Ford-Wellpinit Road / P.O. BOX 100
Wellpinit, WA 99040
Ph. 509-458-6500
Website

History

The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions sent missionaries to the tribe in the mid 1800s. They established the Tshimakain Mission.

Smallpox and measles epidemics depopulated the tribes in the years 1782 and in 1847.

Emigration on the Oregon Trail caused conflict with the tribe as the trail went through their lands.

At the battle at Te-hots-Ne-Mah, in which U.S. troops under the command of Colonel Steptoe battled the Spokane, Palouse, Coeur d'Alene, Columbia River, Colville Calispel and Spokane tribes, the tribes were defeated.

The Lower Spokanes moved to the Spokane Reservation in 1877.

The Spokane Reservation was established in 1881, and when the army abandoned Fort Spokane, the tribe utilized the old fort as a school.

The tribe has divided into Upper, Middle, and Lower Spokane bands/groups. The Upper and Middle Spokanes moved to the Colville Flathead Reservation in 1887.

Brief Timeline

• 1782: Smallpox epidemic
• 1838-1848: The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions sent missionaries among the tribe. The Tshimakain Mission was established
• 1843- ----: Oregon Trail
• 1847: Measles epidemic
• 1858: Colonel Steptoe battled the Spokane, Palouse, Coeur d'Alene, Yakama and other tribes at Te-hots-Ne-Mah
• 1858: Battle of Four Lakes, Colonel Wright fought with the Coeur d'Alene, Columbia River, Colville, Kalispel and Spokane; the tribes were defeated
• 1881: Spokane Reservation is established
• 1896: U.S. Army abandoned Fort Spokane; the tribe established a boarding school there.
• 1906: Indian Agents allotted land to 651 Spokane tribal members
• 1951: 1st constitution and bylaws for the Spokane Tribe of Spokane Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington
• 1980: The Commissioner of Indian Affairs ratified a constitution and bylaws for the Spokane Tribe of the Spokane Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington

Additional References to the History of the Tribe

• Frederick Webb Hodge, in his Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, gave a more complete history of the Spokane tribe, with estimations of the population of the tribe at various time periods.
• Additional details are given in John Swanton's The Indian Tribes of North America.

Records

The majority of records of individuals were those created by the agencies. Some records may be available to tribal members through the tribal headquarters. They were (and are) the local office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and were charged with maintaining records of the activities of those under their responsibility. Among these records are:

• Allotment records
• Annuity rolls
• Census records
• Correspondence
• Health records
• Reports
• School census and records
• Vital records

Agencies

The following agencies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs had jurisdiction over the Spokane for the time periods indicated. BIA agencies were responsible to keep such records as census rolls, allotment (land) records, annuity rolls, school records, correspondence, and other records of individual Indians under their jurisdiction. For details, see the page for the respective agency.

• Colville Agency
• Spokane Agency

Census Records

The Bureau of Indian Affairs compiled annual Indian Census Rolls on many of the reservations from 1885 to 1940. They list the names of individuals, their age, and other details about each person enumerated. For more information about these records, see Wiki article American Indian Census Rolls.

• 1870 census of the Spokane Tribe, conducted by Colville Indian Agency Acting Indian Agent William Parkhurst Winans in August 1870, is held at Washington State University Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections.
• Indian census rolls, 1885-1940, films 574202, 574208-574211, 574213-574215; images, partially indexed. United States. Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Enrollment Records

In 1905, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs assigned Special Agent Thomas Downs to investigate the enrollment of the Indians of the Flathead Reservation. The National Archives has microfilmed the resulting documents as their Microcopy M1350, consisting of 3 rolls of microfilm. These records are available at the National Archives and their Regional Archives, and at other research institutions, including the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. The records include census rolls for 1903, 1905, and 1908, as well as applications for enrollment and Agent Downs' field notes. It includes members of all tribes then living on the Flathead Reservation, including the Flathead, Kootenai, Pend d'Oreille, Kalispel, and Spokane tribes.

Tribal Office Records

The Tribal Office is responsible for enrollment records, vital records, tribal police records, tribal court records, employment records and many others. They are an entirely different set of records from those kept by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Most of them remain in the Tribal Office. For details, contact that office at the address for the Tribal Headquarters listed above.

Vital Records

Prior to the Indian Reorganization Act, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, through their agencies, may have recorded some vital events. Some were recorded on health forms, such as the "Sanitary Record of Sick, Injured, Births, Deaths, etc." Others were recorded as supplements to the "Indian Census Rolls." Some were included in the unindexed reports and other correspondence of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.

Some vital records for the Spokanes include:

• Indian census rolls, 1885-1940 contain some vital records on supplemental rolls:
  

1924-1932 births and deaths - film 574214; index and images

1935, 1936, 1938, 1939 births, deaths, transfers, marriages, divorces - film 574215; index and images

Important Websites

• Spokane Tribe Official Website
• Constitution and By-Laws of the Spokane Tribe of the Spokane Reservation Washington.