Pioneer Park Interpretive Trail
Follow this trail through wooded bluffs above the Pend Orielle River to learn about the language and culture of the Kalispel people. Traditional tribal stories combined with archaeological finds to weave a picture of life here in the distant past.
Tour the Pioneer Park Interpretive Trail on the Colville National Forest!
(Lemlmtš u kʷ ck̓ʷtčict)
Follow this trail (n̓qlixʷáqs) through wooded bluffs above the Pend Oreille River (n̓tx̣ʷetkʷ) to learn about the language and culture of the Kalispel people (Qlispélixʷ). Traditional tribal stories combine with archaeological finds help weave a picture of life here in the distant past.
The Kalispel tribe (Qlispélixʷ) and the Colville National Forest are partners in maintaining this trail as part of their commitment to protect and preserve this valuable heritage site.
Alice Blackbear Ignace (1922-2006) grew up in this valley as a fluent speaker of the Kalispel language. Her life travels were connected to the seasons and the foods provided by the land. Her life lessons were learned from her Grandmothers and her Aunties. In the 1990s Alice graciously shared some of this knowledge with US Forest Service archaeologists as they explored this ancient site. We are grateful for Alice’s assistance and support of this project and it is to her that we dedicate this interpretive trail.
The Words of the Elders
łu kw es xwísti ye l̓ es łq̓q̓ax,̣ m̓šeʔ es puʔsmístxw łu qe sčxwixwúyi -
As you walk along this trail, we must be mindful of our many visitors around us.
ye sxẉ eʔlí, ye speƛ#m, ye st̓ša, u ye xạ sxṣ .
The camas, the bitterroot, the huckleberry, and the bear root.
łihéʔ qlixwsʔíłn u xwʔit stm̓tem̓ u sn̓qwnín̓ tl̓ qe čšyépleʔ.
These foods, along w/ many others are gifts from the Creator.
qe xwíc̓łlt n̓e qe qes čštłułts.
They were given to us to take care of us.
kwem̓t šey̓, taqstám m̓ qe qes čšt̓íʔim.
So, we must in turn, take care of them.
ye qlixwsʔíłn, esyáʔ xwixweyúł, titisúlexw, u sqélixw, u epł kwtiłsck̓wúl̓ ye l̓ st̓úlixw.
These foods, along with every animal, insect, and person, have a special purpose here on earth.
taqstám qe qes púteʔstm łu es ink̓wnk̓wúʔm, m̓ qe qes n̓súxwneʔstm u nexw sn̓qwníʔin̓ tl̓ qe čšyépleʔ.
We must respect this and care for each of them, and understand that they are gifts from the creator.
k̓włk̓wénist m̓ xwistš, tma qe uł sxwčšt̓im.
Walk gently, we are the caretakers.
Near the end of the last Ice Age, a lobe of the continental glacier carved this Pend Oreille Valley (Qlispé l̓ʔots). When the ice retreated, it left behind barren wind-swept hills and rock-strewn river bottoms. The waters and the earth soon sprang back to life.
The people (sqélixʷ) fished for bull trout (ʕay̓čst) and whitefish (x̣ʷy̓u). They gathered camas (sx̣ʷeʔlí), water potato (sqaqaʔúceʔn), roots (sosox̣ʷép), and untold numbers of berries (sp̓ip̓iqáłq) from the area. The land provided Columbia mammoths (nem̓mláqs), caribou (styéłc̓eʔ), bison (q̓ʷyq̓ʷay), and bighorn sheep (łʔumnélsčn) for food.
Kalispel stories describe this traditional life, and archaeological investigations, such as the ones which took place in this park, date continuous human habitation here back thousands of years.
Life here in the not-so-distant past depended on a keen awareness of the natural world. Plants and animals provided nourishment, shelter, warmth, healing, and stories. This accumulated knowledge was passed from generation to generation, a wellspring of the traditions and beliefs of the Kalispel people.
Traditional Kalispel life was fixed to the seasons. People hunted and gathered the abundant resources available at the appropriate time of the year. This SEASONAL ROUND shaped the movements and activities of the Kalispel people.
SPRING "sqepe"
As the Pend Oreille Valley warmed with spring, the people caught trout at weirs and hunted for migrant waterfowl and shorebirds. Families traveled to the shrub-steppe to collect the first greens and dig the first roots. The valley turned green, then blue with blooming camas lilies.
SUMMER "sʔanlq"
This was the time to dig and roast camas bulbs in earth ovens, then move downstream to catch salmon at nearby fisheries. After drying their fish, many families headed for the high country, where they would camp for weeks to hunt game and gather huckleberries and medicinal plants.
AUTUMN "sč̓ʔey"
As the days grew shorter, people cached supplies of dried fish, meat, berries, and roots, along with cakes of baked camas. They wove new tule mats and layered them on the winter lodges for insulation. Hunting and firewood gathering continued until the full power of winter closed in.
WINTER "sʔistčʔ"
The tule mat lodges were warm, peaceful, and secure even in severe weather. Beds of aromatic fir and cedar boughs were covered with warm robes made of down or cattail “cotton.” Coyote stories and traditional dances enlivened the long dark evenings.
“In the old days, you know, Coyote (Snč̓lep) was always going around causing people trouble. He (Snč̓lep) would make mischief just to see what would happen! This is what he did around here once in Kalispel country (Qlispé st̓úlixʷs).
A very long time ago, Coyote (Snč̓lep) was coming up the river and he was looking for a wife (nox̣ʷnx̣ʷ). He came to a Kalispel village and saw a young woman (smʔem) he thought would make a good bride. He asked the people (sqélixʷ) there if he might marry this girl. The people (sqélixʷ) of the village (snccil̓štn) said “No Coyote (Snč̓lep), you cannot marry this woman (smʔem) or any other here! Now beat it!” Dejected, Coyote (Snč̓lep) went on to the next village (snccil̓štn) where he again asked to marry one their women (smʔem). The people told him “No way!”
Coyote (Snč̓lep) got so mad at the Kalispel people (Qlispélixʷ) that he picked up some huge rocks and threw them into the river (n̓tx̣ʷetkʷ) with a big splash! The place where they landed plugged up the river (n̓tx̣ʷetkʷ) and made a big waterfall (es t̓ipmétkʷ). This waterfall (es t̓ipmétkʷ) was so big, the salmon (smłičn) could no longer swim up the river (n̓tx̣ʷetkʷ).
Today (yetłx̣ʷásq̓t), this is why there are no salmon (smłičn) in the Pend Oreille River (n̓tx̣ʷetkʷ). Since that time, the Kalispel people (Qlispélixʷ) have had to travel to Kettle Falls (sx̣ʷnetkʷ) on the Columbia River to gather salmon (smłičn).
“All the old couples that lived along the river had a canoe (ƛ̓ye)
...at one time we were called Canoe People.”
Alice Ignace, Kalispel elder
When the first fur traders arrived in this area just after 1800, they saw Salish sturgeon-nose canoes plying the waters between Flathead Lake (čłq̓etkʷ) and Kettle Falls (sx̣ʷnetkʷ). Kalispel builders perfected their boat designs with a variety of local materials.
They framed the skeleton from split western redcedar (astqʷ) and used mountain maple (sx̣ʷƛ̓úla) or birch (sicqn̓ełp) for struts. They lashed the shell together with slender strips of chokecherry (łx̣ʷło) or mountain ash (smx̣e sʔíłis) bark. For covering, they went out in late spring (sqepc) and peeled a single piece of bark from a western white pine (ƛ̓yalqʷ) and soaked it until pliable. For added protection, they sewed sheaths of birch bark (sicqn̓ełp) onto each end of the craft, then gummed the seams with ponderosa pine pitch (t̓ełtn), rendered with ashes (c̓ax̣ʷc̓x̣ʷt) and fat (sq̓ʷoct).
“A long time ago, our people gathered camas (sx̣ʷeʔlí) by the sack full – fifty-pound sacks (q̓ec̓). They would gather their camas and stack them all together and bake (qʷl̓epm) them with the other families in the village. The women would all get together and bake them in one big pit (snqʷl̓eptn). There was a great big mountain of camas. It was a community gathering.
The men dug a pit and lined the bottom with rocks (sšn̓šen̓š). They made a fire (solší) in the pit to heat the rocks. When the fire burned down, the women put layers of cedar bark (astqʷ č̓ilélxʷs), skunk cabbage (tímuʔ), and ferns (t̓x̣t̓x̣ełp). In between the skunk cabbage, the women placed their camas.
After the camas was placed in the pit, they covered it all over with dirt (malt). The camas would bake in this oven for 2-3 days. The women would check the camas periodically. If they saw that it needed more cooking, they would build another fire on top of the pit. When the camas was done, the women would dig it up. Each woman knew which sack were theirs. You could hear them saying ‘this is mine, that is yours,’ as they pulled them out of the pit.” I sure miss those days.”
Alice Ignace, Kalispel elder
Camas (sx̣ʷéʔlítx̣ʷeʔ) is a sky-blue lily that blooms in great abundance along the Pend Oreille River (n̓tx̣ʷetkʷ) each spring. But for the Kalispels (Qlispélixʷ), it is much more than a showy flower. Long ago, a group of their people were searching for food during hard times and came over the mountains near South Baldy (sq̓ʷlq̓ʷi). They saw a great blue lake below – it was camas growing along the river. The camas bulbs, when baked, became a major source of nutrition and subsistence for the Kalispel people, and one of the main reasons they came to live in the Pend Oreille Valley.
Wintertime for the Kalispel people meant survival. A long time ago, the people would come together at a common place to protect and care for one another through the long winter months to come.
Almost 2,000 years ago, native people wintered here in a pit house (n̓łx̣ʷúleʔxʷtn), which left the faint depression you can see beyond this sign. After carefully choosing a favorable site, the builders dug a circular pit about two feet deep for protection from cold winter winds. They arranged poles to form a conical structure over the pit. Then they layered tule mats (sy̓iy̓qs), strips of bark (čilelx��s), or animal hides (qett) over the frame, and covered those with soil.
The resulting shelter provided warmth and security, especially when buried by winter snows. In more recent times, Kalispel people wintered in shelters of different designs: teepees (qeymúłxʷ) and longhouses (scwełxʷ) sheathed with tule mats.
A long time ago (łu t sq̓sip), the people of this valley would all gather together in Winter villages (snʔistčn) scattered along the Pend Oreille River. The clear purpose was “community survival”. Throughout the year, foods (sʔiłn) were gathered to help families (snk̓ʷélixʷ) through this time. The village would all work together and make sure no one was left out. “Coyote Stories” (Sqʷl̓lumt) were also shared during these times that taught life lessons and ancestral teachings - all from the Land.
These lessons are still taught today. The Elders (p̓ip̓x̣ʷót) of the Kalispel Tribe still value these teachings and do the best to teach them to the new generations. As you travel to your homes (snl̓ciʔtn), do your best to stay connected to nature and all that it teaches. Walk softly on this Earth (mlq̓ʷmúlexʷ) and take care of, and it will in turn, take care of you.