Spokane Tribe

Alternate names: Spokan The Spokane Tribe is primarily associated with eastern Washington and northern Idaho.

Brief Timeline

 * 1782: smallpox epidemic
 * 1838-1848: the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions sent missionaries among the tribe. The Tshimakain Mission was established
 * 1843- :Oregon Trail
 * 1847: measles epidemic
 * 1858: Colonel Steptoe battled the Spokane, Palouse, Coeur d'Alene, Yakama and other tribes at Te-hots-Ne-Mah
 * 1858: Battle of Four Lakes, Colonel Wright fought with the Coeur d'Alene, Columbia River, Colville, Kalispel and Spokane Indians; the Indians were defeated
 * 1881: Spokane Reservation is established
 * 1896: U.S. Army abanded Fort Spokane, the tribe established a boarding school there.
 * 1906: Indian Agents alloted land to 651 Spokan tribal members
 * 1951: 1st constitution and bylaws for the Spokane Tribe of Spokane Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington
 * 1980: The Commissioner of Indian Affairs ratified a constitution and bylaws for the Spokane Tribe of the Spokane Reservation in Wellpinit, Washington

Additional References to the History of the Tribe

 * Frederick Webb Hodge, in his Handbook of American Indians North of Mexico, gave a more complete history of the Spokane tribe, with estimations of the population of the tribe at various time periods.
 * Additional details are given in John Swanton's The Indian Tribes of North America.

Tribal Headquarters
Spokane Tribe of Indians P.O. BOX 100 Wellpinit, WA 99040 Ph. 509-458-6500

Records
Correspondence and Census

Vital Records


 * Colville Agency, M595, births and deaths 1924-1932, FHL Film: 574214 and 1935,1936,1938,1939, FHL Film: 574215

Important Web Sites

 * Spokane Tribe Official Web Site
 * Constitution and By-Laws of the Spokane Tribe of the Spokane Reservation Washington. Approved June 27, 1951.
 * Spokane Indians Wikipedia