Salish Tribe

Alternate Names and Spellings: Salish, Selis, Sqelix See also: Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes

Tribal Headquarters
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes 42487 Complex Blvd. / P. O. Box 278 Pablo, MT 59855 Phone: 406-676-2700 Website

History
The Salish acquired horses in the 1700s, which made them a target of raiding parties of Blackfeet and other enemies.

The tribe assisted the Lewis and Clark Expedition with food and horses. The expedition was a catalyst for the fur trade which brought goods to make life easier, as well as diseases, alcohol and guns.

In the early 1840s one of their leaders had a "vision" of the "Blackrobes" who would come with spiritual teaching. The tribe was desirous to search out the "Blackrobes" and in 1840-1841 sent a group in search of them. At St. Joseph's Mission on the Potawatomi Reservation in Council Bluffs, Iowa, the group located Father Pierre-Jean DeSmet, who left with them for the Bitterroot Valley, where he established the St. Mary's Mission. Later the Catholics also established schools.

The Salish, along with many of their Indian neighbors, were in attendance at the Hellgate Treaty in 1855. Over twenty-two million acres of land was ceded to the U.S.

In 1872 many were forced from Bitterroot Valley to the Jocko Reservation. The last group was removed in 1891 to the Flathead Reservation.

The year 1935 marks the formation of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation, Montana.

** Salish and Kootenai intermarried with each other and with their white neighbors. Many have French or Scotch names, inherited from early-day traders and trappers who married Indian women.

Brief Timeline
1804-6: Lewis and Clark Expedition 1840-1841: A group traveled to St. Joseph's Mission on the Potawatomi Reservation at Council Bluffs, Iowa to meet the "Blackrobes" requesting they come and bring spiritual teaching. Father Pierre-Jean DeSmet left for the Bitteroot Valley, where he established the St. Mary's Mission 1855: Hellgate Treaty: ceded over 22 million acres to the U.S. 1864: Catholics established a boys and girls boarding school on the reservation 1872: The Salish were forced from their homeland in the Bitteroot Valley to the Jocko Reservation (later the Flathead Reservation) 1890: Ursuline nuns began a kindergarten which later grew into a grade school and then a high school. 1891: Forced removal of last few tribal members from the Bitteroot Valley to the Flathead Reservation

1904: Flathead Allotment Act.

1910: As result of the Dawes Act, homesteaders became the majority landholders on the Flathead Reservation 1935: The Salish and Kootenai tribes of Montana joined to become The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes

Records
The majority of records of individuals were those created by the agencies. Some records may be available to tribal members through the tribal headquarters.They were (and are) the local office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and were charged with maintaining records of the activities of those under their responsibility. Among these records are:


 * Allotment records
 * Annuity rolls
 * Census records
 * Correspondence
 * Health records
 * Reports
 * School census and records
 * Vital records

Agencies
The following agencies of the Bureau of Indian Affairs had jurisdiction over the Salish for the time periods indicated. BIA agencies were responsible to keep such records as census rolls, allotment (land) records, annuity rolls, school records, correspondence, and other records of individual Indians under their jurisdiction. For details, see the page for the respective agency.

The agencies which had jurisdiction over the Bitterroot Salish in Montana were:


 * Flathead Agency, 1854-1935
 * Confederated Salish &amp; Kootenai Agency, 1935-present

Census
The Bureau of Indian Affairs compiled annual Indian Census Rolls on many of the reservations from 1885 to 1940. They list the names of individuals, their age, and other details about each person enumerated. For more information about these records, click here.

Treaties
During the latter part of the 18th Century and most of the 19th Century, treaties were negotiated between the federal government and individual Indian tribes. The treaties provide helpful information about the history of the tribe, but usually only include the names of those persons who signed the treaty. For more information about treaties, click here.

Tribal Office Records
The Tribal Office is responsible for enrollment records, vital records, tribal police records, tribal court records, employment records and many others. They are an entirely different set of records from those kept by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Most of them remain in the Tribal Office. For details, contact that office at the address for the Tribal Headquarters listed above.

General

 * Guide to Federal Records in the National Archives; Record Group 75, Records of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
 * Hodge, Frederick Webb. Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1906 Available online.
 * Klein, Barry T., ed. Reference Encyclopedia of the American Indian. Nyack, New York: Todd Publications, 2009. 10th ed. ; ; WorldCat 37475188;.
 * Malinowski, Sharon and Sheets, Anna, eds. The Gale Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. Detroit: Gale Publishing, 1998. 4 volumes. Includes: Lists of Federally Recognized Tribes for U.S., Alaska, and Canada – pp. 513-529 Alphabetical Listing of Tribes, with reference to volume and page in this series Map of “Historic Locations of U.S. Native Groups” Map of “Historic Locations of Canadian Native Groups” Map of “Historic Locations of Mexican, Hawaiian and Caribbean Native Groups” Maps of “State and Federally Recognized U.S. Indian Reservations. WorldCat 37475188;.


 * Vol. 1 -- Northeast, Southeast, Caribbean
 * Vol. 2 -- Great Basin, Southwest, Middle America
 * Vol. 3 -- Arctic, Subarctic, Great Plains, Plateau
 * Vol. 4 -- California, Pacific Northwest, Pacific Islands


 * Sturtevant, William C. Handbook of North American Indians. 20 vols., some not yet published. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution, 1978–.


 * Swanton John R. The Indian Tribes of North America. Smithsonian Institution, Bureau of American Ethnology, Bulletin #145 Available online.
 * Waldman, Carl. Encyclopedia of Native American Tribes. New York, New York: Facts on File, 2006. 3rd ed. WorldCat 14718193;.