Spokan (Spo ‘ kan), a Plateau tribe having three geographic divisions: upper, lower, and southern, or middle. The Spokan have also been known as Muddy People, as well as Sun People, probably after a faulty translation of their name. Their self-designation was Spoqe’ind, "round head."
Location Spokan Indians lived in the mid-eighteenth century along the Spokane River, in eastern Washington and northern Idaho. Today they live on reservations in Washington and Idaho as well as in regional cities and towns.
Population The early-nineteenth-century Spokan population was very roughly 2,000. In 1990, about 2,100 enrolled Spokan Indians lived on the Spokane Reservation as well as on the Coeur d’Alene, Flathead, and Colville Reservations and in regional cities and towns.
Language Spokan is a dialect of the Interior division of the Salishan language family.
Historical Information
History The Spokan Indians probably originated in British Columbia along with other Salish groups. After they acquired horses from Kalispel Indians, around the mid-eighteenth century, they began hunting buffalo on the Great Plains. This was especially true of the upper division. By the time they encountered the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1805, their population had already declined significantly as a result of smallpox epidemics.
Following the Lewis and Clark visit, the North West, Hudson’s Bay, and American Fur Companies quickly established themselves in the area. Missionaries arrived in the 1830s: They found the Spokan to be reluctant converts, and the influence of Christianity acted to create factionalism among the tribe. Interracial relations declined sharply in the late 1840s with the Whitman massacre and the closing of the Protestant mission (see "History" under Cayuse).
Severe smallpox epidemics in 1846 and in 1852 and 1853 helped spur the rise of the Prophet Dance and the Dreamer Cult.
After miners had effectively dispossessed the Spokan from their territory, they joined with Coeur d’Alenes, Yakimas, Palouses, and Paiutes in the shortlived 1858 Coeur d’Alene, or Spokan, war. Spokan Indians then remained on their land as best they could or settled on various reservations. Despite pleas from Chief Joseph, they remained neutral in the 1877 Nez Perce war. In that year, the lower division agreed to move to the Spokan Reservation (1881; 154,898 acres). Ten years later, the other two divisions, as well as some remaining lower Spokans, agreed to move to either the Flathead, Colville, or Coeur d’Alene Reservations. The local fort, Fort Spokan, became an Indian boarding school from 1898 to 1906. There were also conflicts over land with non-natives in and around the city of Spokane at this time.
In the early twentieth century, much tribal land was lost to the allotment process as well as "surplus" land sales to non-Indians. Dams built in 1908 (Little Falls) and 1935 (Grand Coulee) ruined the local fishery. Uranium mining began in the 1950s. The Spokan tribe successfully fought off termination proceedings begun in 1955. In 1966, the tribe received a land claims settlement of $6.7 million.
Religion Preadolescents acquired spirit helpers, through quests and in dreams and visions, to provide them with essential skills. Shamans’ particularly strong spirits allowed them to cure illness, foresee the future, and assist hunters. Spokan Indians celebrated the midwinter (spirit) and midsummer religious ceremonies as well as first fruits and harvest ceremonies.
The Dreamer Cult, a mid-nineteenth-century phenomenon, was a revivalistic cult that celebrated traditional Indian religious beliefs. Although it was explicitly antiwhite, the religious doctrine also contained elements of Christianity. Its adherents thus attempted to remain faithful to their Indian traditions while taking steps to adapt to non-Indian culture.
Government Each division was composed of a number of bands, which were in turn composed of groups of related families. Bands were led by a chief and an assistant chief, who were selected on the basis of leadership qualities. The office of band chief may once have been hereditary. Several bands might winter together in a village and at that time select an ad hoc village chief. Decisions were taken by consensus. In the historic period, as authority became more centralized, there was also a tribal chief.
Customs The Spokan were seminomadic for nine months a year; during the other three they lived in permanent winter villages. Men’s realm was tool making, war, hunting, fishing, and, later, horses. The dead were covered with skins and robes and buried after spending some time on a scaffold. A pole marked the grave site.
Dwellings The Spokan built typical Plateau-style, semiexcavated, cone-shaped wood frame houses covered with woven matting and/or grass. Longer, lodge-style structures of similar construction were used for communal activities. Villages also contained mat-covered sweat lodges. Temporary brush shelters served as summer houses. Later, skin tipis replaced the aboriginal structures.
Diet Fish, especially salmon, was the staple. Trout and whitefish were also important. These were mostly smoked, dried, and stored for the winter. Men hunted local big game and, later, buffalo on the Plains. A favorite hunting technique was for many men to surround the animal. Important plant foods included camas, bitterroot and other roots, bulbs, seeds, and berries.
Key Technology Men caught fish with nets, weirs, traps, and hook and line. Women made coiled baskets of birch bark and/or cedar root; they also wove wallets and bags of woven strips of skin, and they sewed tule mats and other items.
Trade Spokan Indians traded coiled baskets, woven wallets and caps, and tule mats, among other items, with local tribes, particularly the Coeur d’Alene.
Notable Arts Women wove geometric designs into their well-made baskets. They also decorated clothing with porcupine quillwork.
Transportation Spokan Indians used pole rafts for river travel. They acquired horses around the mid-eighteenth century.
Dress Clothing was made of bark and fur until the advent of widespread buffalo hunting, when styles took on Plains characteristics. Both men and women tattooed their bodies.
War and Weapons Spokans were generally friendly with their Interior Salish neighbors, especially the Kalispel. The Coeur d’Alene were occasional enemies until the mid-eighteenth century, when they became allies in wars against the Crow and Blackfeet. As part of these wars, the Spokan counted coups, took scalps, and held war dances.
Contemporary Information
Government/Reservations The Spokane Reservation (1881) is located in Lincoln and Stevens Counties, Washington. It contains 133,302 acres. The 1990 Indian population was 1,229. The reservation is governed by an elected tribal council.
Economy There is a tribal store on the Spokane Reservation. Income is also generated by land leases, a post mill, a lumber mill, farming, and a fish hatchery. The reservation suffers from chronic high unemployment. There is a casino on the Colville Reservation.
Legal Status The Spokane Tribe is a federally recognized tribal entity.
Daily Life Spokan Indians are essentially assimilated, although there are some language preservation programs operating through a cultural center on the reservation. Efforts to revitalize traditional religion are controversial owing to the concurrent introduction of religious elements from Great Plains cultures. Water rights, gaming, and control of resource areas remain ongoing issues. The reservation has both Catholic and Protestant churches as well as a community center. It hosts an annual festival over Labor Day weekend.
