Coeur d'Alene people

The Coeur d'Alene Tribe ( ; also Skitswish; ) are a Native American tribe and one of five federally recognized tribes in the state of Idaho. The Coeur d'Alene have sovereign control of their Coeur d'Alene Reservation, which includes a significant portion of Lake Coeur d'Alene and its submerged lands.

In Idaho v. United States (2001), the United States Supreme Court ruled against the state's claim of the submerged lands of the lower third of Lake Coeur d'Alene and related waters of the St. Joe River. It said that the Coeur d'Alene were the traditional owners and that the Executive Branch and Congress had clearly included this area in their reservation, with compensation for ceded territory. This area was designated in 1983 by the Environmental Protection Agency as Bunker Hill Mine and Smelting Complex, the nation's second-largest Superfund site for cleanup.

Concerned at the slow pace of progress, in 1991 the tribe filed suit against mining companies for damages and cleanup costs, joined in 1996 by the United States and in 2011 by the state of Idaho. Settlements were reached with major defendants in 2008 and 2011, providing funds to be used in removal of hazardous wastes and restoration of habitat and natural resources.

Historically the Coeur d'Alene occupied a territory of 3.5 million acres in present-day northern Idaho, eastern Washington and western Montana. They lived in villages along the Coeur d'Alene, St. Joe, Clark Fork, and Spokane rivers, as well as sites on the shores of Lake Coeur d'Alene, Lake Pend Oreille, and Hayden Lake. Their native language is Snchitsu'umshtsn, an Interior Salishan language. They are one of the Salish language peoples, which tribes occupy areas of the inland plateau and the coastal areas of the Pacific Northwest.

Name

The French name Cœur d'Alêne translates to "heart of an awl". The name is first recorded by the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1805) and was later popularly said to have been given by French traders to one of the chiefs of the tribe noted for his stinginess.

The alternative name Skitswish is recorded by Alexander Henry the younger in 1810 (as Skeetshue) and by George Gibbs in Pacific Railroad Report vol. 1 (1853). This is an exonym used by the Sahaptin.

The self-designation Schi̲tsu'umsh is reported from Coeur d'Alene phrasebooks since the 1970s.

A modern speaker of Coeur d'Alene was reported as interpreting this name as "the discovered people".

The federally recognized tribe was named the Coeur D'Alene Tribe of the Coeur D'Alene Reservation, but they shortened it to Coeur D'Alene Tribe.

The earliest written description of the Coeur d'Alene people comes from the journals of Alexander Henry the younger, a fur trader with the North West Company. He and British explorer David Thompson traded and traveled in their lands from 1810 to 1814. He wrote about the Coeur d'Alene:

Ross Cox, a clerk with the Pacific Fur Company and then the North West Company, spent considerable time at the trading post of Spokane House between 1812 and 1817:

thumb|250px|Coeur d'Alene Mission of the Sacred Heart on Lake Coeur d'Alene in Idaho, United States, about 1855.

Many of the tribe were converted to Roman Catholicism in 1842 by Fr. Pierre-Jean De Smet, a Belgian Jesuit missionary from St. Louis, Missouri, who was active throughout the Northwest. The twin towns of De Smet and Tensed (originally Temsed), Idaho, are named for him. The United States acquired this territory in 1846 by treaty with Great Britain. European-American settlers and other immigrants began to move from the United States into parts of the territory in the 1840s. After the Indian defeat in the Skitswish War of May–September 1858, many more speculators were attracted after the discovery of silver in 1863 in the north Panhandle near the city of Coeur d'Alene. Mining and development revealed this to be an area of the second-largest silver deposits in the United States.

Joseph Garry, son of Chief Ignace, was the first Native American to be elected to the Idaho state legislature. He also served as chairman of the tribe for 10 years. In 1984 his niece, Jeanne Givens, was the first Native American woman to be elected to the Idaho state legislature, serving two terms.

The Coeur d'Alene Tribe operates a health care facility,[http://www.marimnhealth.org] which opened as the Benewah Medical Center in 1998 and was later renamed Marimn Health. The center was described by the Indian Health Service as a national model for Indian Health Care and rural health care. The clinic provides comprehensive primary care services including dental, mental health services, and community health outreach services to both the Native American population and general community.

Economy

Tribal businesses include the Coeur d'Alene Casino, Hotel, and Circling Raven Golf Club in southwestern Kootenai County, about northwest of Worley and south of the city of Coeur d'Alene, via U.S. Route 95. Tribal gaming employs about 500 and generates about $20 million in profits annually, funding programs, contributing to economic development.

The tribe also operates the Benewah Automotive Center, the Benewah Market, the first three floors of the Coeur d'Alene Resort, and Ace Hardware, which are located a few miles south of Worley at Plummer, in northwestern Benewah County. The tribe has invested in two businesses, a manufacturing plant (BERG Integrated Systems), and a bakery (HearthBread Bakery), in both of which the tribe owns a majority share.

The tribal farm covers about . It produces wheat, barley, peas, lentils, and canola. It also harvests timber among its natural resources.

Culture

Tribal traditions include a respect and reverence for natural law, and for responsible environmental stewardship. The tribe is active in the protection, conservation and enhancement of fish and wildlife resources; as well as conservation issues that impact tribal land and water resources.

Traditionally the tribe had a flexible kinship system with both paternal and maternal lines recognized within the extended family. People may claim ancestors on either side, and address all cousins the same. This enabled them to have a flexible society, as they would live in differently sized groups during different seasons, in order to adapt to the environment.

Environmental suit, land claim and compensation

In 1991, the Coeur d'Alene Tribe began the Coeur d'Alene Basin Restoration Project. after emerging from Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

In 2011 the government, the Coeur d'Alene, and the state of Idaho (which joined the suit that year) reached settlement with the Hecla Mining Company to resolve one of the largest cases ever filed under CERCLA, the Superfund statute. Hecla Mining Company will pay $263.4 million plus interest to the United States and other parties to "resolve claims stemming from releases of wastes from its mining operations. Settlement funds will be dedicated to restoration and remediation of natural resources in the Coeur d'Alene Basin." The case was initiated by the US government to "quiet title" with the state, and the Tribe entered to assert its interest. The State of Idaho had appealed a lower court decision but that was upheld by the United States Supreme Court.

In media

Smoke Signals (1998) is an independent film that was set in the Coeur d'Alene Reservation. It was based on the short story, "This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona", collected in the book The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (1993) by Sherman Alexie (Spokane-Coeur d'Alene). Alexie wrote the screenplay and served as film producer. The film focuses on a personal quest journey of two young men from the Coeur d'Alene Reservation. It was an all-Native American production.

Notable people

Peter Moctelme (Chief, Coeur d'Alene Band 1907–1932)
Sherman Alexie (Spokane-Coeur d'Alene), author and filmmaker
Lawrence Aripa, one of three leaders who brought the 1991 tribal lawsuit against mining companies for environmental cleanup;
Mildred Bailey (1907–1951), popular jazz singer and recording artist of the 1930s and 1940s, performed with Paul Whiteman and Benny Goodman, became known as "Mrs. Swing".
Ignace Garry, last traditional chief of the Coeur d'Alene, serving with a group from 1935 to 1948, and as chief from 1949 until his death in 1965. Since then chairmen have been elected democratically. where she served as chair for several years; and served on Board of Directors of Americans for Indian Opportunity
Janet Campbell Hale, writer
Paulette Jordan, Democratic candidate for governor of Idaho in 2018 and former member of the Idaho House of Representatives from 2014 to 2018; at her reelection in 2016, she was the only Democrat in state office north of Boise.
Richard Mullen, historian, one of three leaders who brought the 1991 tribal lawsuit against the mining companies for environmental cleanup;
Al Rinker, musician and younger brother of Mildred Bailey, grew up on the reservation. Member of the popular trio "The Rhythm Boys" with Bing Crosby and Harry Barris through 1931.
Charles Rinker, lyricist and younger brother of Mildred Bailey, grew up on the reservation. Active in Los Angeles.

References

External links

, official website
Idaho Natives Project
Coeur d’Alene Casino
Idaho v. US
Lifelong Learning Online Project
Coeur educational video
Coeur d’Alene Tribal School
Coeur d'Alene Essay by Rodney Frey, University of Washington Digital Collection
Coeur d’Alene Tribe, Northwest Portland Indian Health Board

Language

Hnqwa̱'qwe'elm language
Reichard's Coeur d'Alene Texts