Salish-speaking
tribes settled throughout the Northwest, from Montana to the west coast
and into Canada. Some tribes along the coast flattened their foreheads,
hence the name. The Salish
of Montana never flattened their heads, yet speaking a similar language,
they too were called flatheads.
In the early 1700s, the Salish which had settled in the Bitterroot
valley obtained horses from the Shoshoni and became expert horsemen--and
a target for other raiding tribes. Eventually the Pend d'Orielle (another
Salishan tribe), the Kootenai and Blackfeet acquired horses. In
the early 1800's the Pend d'Oreilles, under Chief Alexander ventured
onto the plains with their horses to hunt buffalo.
Such hunting was a perilous undertaking as this region was shared
by other tribes, especially the Blackfeet.
Around 1830, the Pend d'Orielle began to move into and settle
the area of St. Ignatius in the mission valley. The
plains Kootenai originally inhabiting southern Alberta and north central
Montana were forced over the divide into northwestern Montana by the
plains tribes--largely Blackfeet and Souix--advancing ahead of white
settlers from the east. The
plains Kootenai merged with the Plateau Kootenai who were settled in
the mountains of the Columbia Plateau.
When the Pend d'Orielle moved south of Flathead Lake to the mission
valley, the Kootenai moved into the Flathead Lake country.
Although the Pend d'Orielle and the Bitterroot Salish (Flathead)
were related, the Kootenai were culturally and linguistically distinct.
Originally independent, mere geographic proximity forced an eventual
confederation of all three groups on the same reservation. When
the Flatheads came in contact with white traders and trappers, they
were eager to trade animal pelts for guns.
They also sought out Jesuit priests.
Earlier visits from Iroquois Catholics convinced the Salish that
the "blackrobes" possessed a special magic which could protect and strengthen
the tribe. Three delegations sent to solicit the
attention of the blackrobes failed, however, a fourth succeeded in reaching
St. Louis. The delegation
persuaded a Father DeSmet to visit the Flatheads in 1840. DeSmet
built St. Mary's Mission in the Bitterroot valley in 1841. Ten years later it was closed because
of raids by the Blackfeet and lack of religious interest by younger
Indians. The mission was sold to Major John Owen
who then built Fort Owen on the site.
In 1854, a Father Hoecken founded another mission in the broad
valley at St. Ignatius (pronounced "eneas" by the Indians).
By 1855, over 1000 Kootenai, Flathead, and Pend d'Orielle had
settled near the new mission. In
October of 1853, When Governor Stevens first visited Flathead Chief
Victor at Ft. Owen, the Chief
complained of the failure of the Blackfeet to keep peace promised by
their chiefs two years earlier.
He informed Stevens that 12 Flathead hunters had been killed
by the Blackfeet in that time. Victor believed Stevens could help his
people in the struggle with their Blackfeet enemies. It
was therefore a shock to Victor when Governor Stevens, upon calling a council on July 7th
1855, spoke of land cessions and the placement of the Indians on a reservation,
instead of a solution to the Blackfeet raids.
In only nine days, with the signing of the Hell Gate treaty,
the Flathead Indians found their place in history forever changed. A solution to the Blackfeet raids was
about to be realized, but
more importantly the Pend d'Orielle, Salish, and Kootenai were about
to embark on an alien path to the future. |