Indian Camps Near Spokane

Recently, my auntie Iva recounted the story of the old Moses home site on Little Baldy, near Hillyward, Washington, and as mentioned in a previous post and a video, she was born in a cabin in the family camp. She reported that my great grandparents Wilson and Lizzie Moses, along with a dozen other Indian families, made several camps in the Spokane area. 

As far as I know, the Little Baldy camp was never mentioned in any written historical record, but the Spokane Daily Chronicle confirmed the existence of other camps. 

On November 9, 1937, the Spokane Daily Chronicle featured a front page photograph of my great grandfather Wilson Moses and two of his children Messie and Pete. The article reported that the family were picking apples in Otis Orchards. 

The full article: 

"The old and new are contrasted here. While the white man’s automobile has been adopted by the Indians, he still maintains certain old customs, such as this primitive cradle. Pictured above are Indian apple pickers camped in the Spokane Valley near Otis Orchards and East Farms. Mrs. M. Haynes, Wellpinit, left, is shown in her tepee rocking her six-week old baby in a cradle formed by two ropes, the ends of which are tied to tepee poles. The long sweep of the cradle rocks the baby to sleep. In the center, Wilson Moses, Spokane Indian from Wellpinit, is seen overhauling the engine of his automobile, while his 8-year-old son, Peter, watches. A pleasing camera study is the winning smile of Miss Virginia Adams, Wellpinit, right, as she does the family laundry while other members of the family are working in the orchards. She is a graduate of Wellpinit High School."

On October 10, 1934, the Chronicle posted a photograph of the children of Louis Thomas, also at Otis Orchards. It was interesting to note that the photograph included an inset of my great uncle Levi Moses, who would later pass away as a young boy of nine. This is the only photograph of my great uncle Levi that I've ever seen.  

The full article: 

"To get a real close-up of how the present-day Indian lives when he and his family take to the open road in search of seasonal labor, one has but to drive out into the Spokane valley, particularly along Trent road near Otis Orchards. Here the Indians are busy in orchard work. Spokanes predominate, with a few Colvilles and Coeur d’Alenes sprinkled about. No white man has ever been able to improve on the Indians' tepee and several of this type are found in two camps. The photo shows of the children of Louis Thomas, Wellpinit, in front of the family’s temporary home near the Sweeney packing house, where Indian children almost outnumber the adults. The inset shows the crying face of Baby Levi Moses, who didn't like the looks of the camera pointed in his direction."

On June 7, 1939 the Chronicle confirmed another camp near Greenacres, this time featuring a photograph of my great grandfather Wilson Moses, my great uncle Willie Moses, and my paternal grandparents Gibson Eli and Minnie Moses.  

The full article: 

"Indians of the Spokane Tribe from Wellpinit have pitched white man’s tents along the upper reaches of the Spokane River, above Greenacres, and are ready for work in the Spokane Valley harvest. Wilson Moses, left, great-great-grandson of Chief Moses, was resting with Gibson Eli, center, and Willie Moses, when the Chronicle photographer visited the Moses camp. At the right, Minnie Moses, 16, is turning flapjacks in the camp kitchen as she attends her niece, Mary Louise Andrews. The Indians are now in the strawberry harvest. They plan to remain to harvest beans, tomatoes and other crops." 

These articles were located in the Google news archive. The photographs were not very clear, but for some reason, I have copies that look slightly better. 

My grandmother Minnie Moses at age 16. 

She was holding Mary Andrews, 

my auntie Iva's sister. 

Homestead

In 1944, my auntie Iva was born in a cabin on Little Baldy, a grassy hilltop located about a mile east of Hillyard, Washington. Today I had the wonderful opportunity to accompany my aunt, along with many of my cousins, to visit her birthplace. During our visit this afternoon, we were blessed to hear her speak about her memories of that place. 

Iva's parents, grandparents, and about a dozen other Indian families all lived together in a transitional community, situated somewhere between the traditional lifestyle of the past and the modern world. Some of the families lived in cabins made of discarded railroad ties, while most lived in canvas tents. The majority of the people worked in the orchards during the day, and then returned to the camp in the evening. They spoke Salish and practiced the spirituality of their ancestors. Essentially, it was an Indian camp that functioned well into the 1950s; although, I'm not sure if the community has acknowledged its importance within local history.

This afternoon, we took a video of Iva sharing her life story. We hope to gather other oral histories. If anyone remembers visiting this site, I encourage you to send me an email. I would love to add your story to our history.  

During our visit, our nephew pushed Iva in her wheelchair up the hill. 

Despite the difficulty, Iva was determined to visit the actual home site, even if she had to walk across the uneven ground. 

Cousins, nieces, and nephews all helped. 

Auntie Iva holding an old pot. 

A grove of trees at the base of the hill. 

On old well located on the property. 

Family members discovered old trinkets

left behind more than a generation ago.

Death camas is growing in a meadow

a few hundred yards below the cabin site. 

Yarrow grows on the hill

The cabin site looking east. 

Iva remembered this rock from her childhood. 

Iva also remembered that her mother and her aunts used to collect fruit from trees growing on the home site. This tree still has on old wooden step ladder leaned against the trunk. 

Arrowleaf balsamroot withers on the hillside. 

An old bed spring at the cabin. 

Broken glass from the home site. 

Wood from the old cabin.

New Wardance Hall

A new wardance arbor is going up in Wellpinit, so last Saturday, I stopped to see the progress for myself. It's kind of a minor historic event, especially since I remember the last two or three buildings before this one. Of course, most of us will remember the old red barn that hosted our wardances for many years, but I also remember an old white building with dancers painted on the side. Does anyone else remember that building? Does anyone have pictures of that old building? 

If I remember correctly, the old white building was converted into a modern dance hall for a few years. Eventually, it was demolished, and the space was cleared for vendors. 

Winter Solstice

For those of us who live in the northern hemisphere, the winter solstice marks the moment the sun reverses its descent into darkness and begins its return toward spring. From this moment, the days grow longer and the nights shorter. 

Ancient cultures imbued this event with deep significance, including early Christians who aligned the birth of Jesus to coincide with the solstice. Two thousand years ago, the solstice fell on December 25th, so that was the day chosen to observe the birth of God's son as the divine light that returns to the world. 

Indigenous cultures also observed the solstices. Language provides an insight into the cultural practices of our ancestors. 

Chris Parkin recently offered an Okanagan rendition of the winter solstice: sxʔim'łt'ət'q'asq't. This inspired me to find a Spokane version. 

According to Ross (2011), "Both the equinoxes and solstices, the longest and shortest of days, were recognized [by the Spokane] as a type of calendar (snsay'n'ʔasq'tn'), which delineated the four seasons of the year" (p. 737). He also wrote: 

The Spokan divided the year into lunar months, each of which commenced with a full moon and ended with the moon's waning. They also recognized the winter solstice (sk'ʷsus - "hunting drives" or hoy yaʔk'ʷaqs łuʔ sʔanłq) and summer solstice (sʔanłq or hoy yaʔk'ʷaqs łuʔ sʔistč), which commenced on a full moon (pp. 737-738).

These phrases seem to have both descriptive and symbolic meanings. For example, the phrase, "hoy yaʔk'ʷaqs łuʔ sʔanłq" (winter solstice) seems to say, "The summer has crossed the road." They seemed to recognize the opposite season crossing back.

An unpublished Spokane dictionary has a word for the longest day of the year: čʔosšnasq't, but not for the shortest. This is similar to Father Giorda's account when he wrote (1879): Usshinaskat (p. 85), which in modern orthography would be written as usšnasq't. 

Father Giorda's account of the shortest day was less obvious. He wrote: Chlguuzaskat. In modern writing this might be čłxʷcasq't or čxʷcasq't but I am not positive. Perhaps someone reading this post can say for sure.  

* Note: Elmendorf placed the beginning of seasons at the new moon. 

These photographs were taken 

in my yard on the winter solstice. 

References:

Giorda, J. (1879). A Dictionary of the Kalispel of Flat-Head Indian Language. St. Ignatius, Montana: Missionaries of the Society of Jesus.

Ross, J. A. (2011). The Spokan Indians. Spokane, WA: Michael J. Ross.

The Baptism of Slough-Keetcha

Stacy Nation-Knapper, a doctoral candidate in history at York University, recently published the baptismal record of Slough-Keetcha (Spokane Garry of the Spokane Tribe). Slough-Keetcha was baptized by David T. Jones on June 24, 1827 at the Red River School. 

The article can speak for itself, but as an aside, I found it interesting that my tribal group was identified as the "Spokane Tribe" as early as 1827. This is especially interesting considering Spokane was really the name of Slough-Keetcha's father, not the tribe. 

The full article is linked below:

http://www.champlainsociety.ca/kootenay-pelly-and-spokane-garry-indigenous-students-at-the-red-river-mission-school/

The Battle of Spokane Plains

A few weeks ago, I drove to Wellpinit with my friend and former student Lucas. We were just passing Fairchild Air Force Base when he said, "Have you ever seen that stone on the side of the road?" 

"Which one?" I asked. 

"It's that one where Army bragged about defeating the Indians," he said. I had noticed the stone on the side of the road, but never stopped. We didn't stop that day either. But then he mentioned it again a few days ago, so we finally stopped to look. 

The monument is in the shape of a four-sided basalt pyramid, maybe eight or nine feet tall. It bears a plaque that reads: "The Battle of Spokane Plains was fought near this spot on September 5, 1858 in which U.S. troops under command of Col. George Wright defeated the allied - Coeur d'Alene, Palouse, and Spokane Indians. Erected by - Washington State Historical Society." 

Bragging indeed - and strange to think that we passed this stone close to the anniversary of the battle - 155 years later. Actually, a century and a half doesn't seem like a long time, and yet as Indian people, our world has completely changed. 

A full view of the plaque. 

The monument with Fairchild in the background. 

Highway 2 is visible in the right-hand side of this picture.

Our shadows are cast into the grass.  

The sunset over the battle monument. 

Wellpinit 2013

Sunday was a beautiful day at the Wellpinit Powwow. I feel a loss of words to describe my gratitude for all the singers, dancers, family, and friends. These pictures are the best I can offer of my experience, even if they still leave many thoughts and feeling unspoken.  

A prairie chicken dancer. 

Harold. 

Steve Small Salmon with prairie chicken dancers. 

I love the interaction between Steve Small Salmon and this dancer. 

Charlene and Francis judging the dancers. 

Women's traditional dancers. 

My uncle Richard arrived just in time to be honored during the veteran's dance. 

Davier...

Iva and Tibe.

Lillian.