Swan Valley Indigenous history comes to Condon

For thousands of years, members of the Salish Tribe would cross the Mission Mountains into Lindbergh Lake - what they called Long Ridge Trail - and up Holland Creek to reach hunting grounds in the Bob Marshall and Rocky Mountain Front.

The story weaved with countless others as the chair of cultural and language studies at Salish Kootenai College Tim Ryan connected with the past practices of Indigenous groups that lived across western Montana during the annual talk at the Upper Swan Valley Historical Center on Aug. 18.

"We are predominantly in a western worldview environment, and with most indigenous peoples they are actively working to preserve, protect and perpetuate their culture," said Ryan, a member of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. "When I talk to my students, I want them to realize we all have a shared heritage, no matter what race you come from."

The land in the Swan Valley was primarily used by the Pend d'Oreille people, but other tribes like the Blackfeet, Kootenai and Salish traveled through the area. The Salish trace their creation to before the last Ice Age, which created Glacial Lake Missoula roughly 10,000 years ago.

Elders have told stories of the receding lake, which would discharge occasionally into eastern Washington. There's Salish Tribes across the northwest, with the Montana Salish being the furthest east, and often spent their wintering grounds in the Missoula Valley.

The Salish used to travel across the mountain ranges of western Montana, but were confined by white settlers to a reservation after they signed the Hellgate Treaty in 1855. Historical accounts of the negotiations said less than 10% of what was said actually translated.

Part of the treaty said the tribes could hunt and fish on their territorial lands outside of the reservation. In September 1908, eight Pend d'Oreille members crossed over Lindbergh Lake to reach hunting grounds in the Bob Marshall.

But a Montana game warden named Charles Peyton did not recognize the tribe's right to hunt in the Swan. After a few confrontations, Peyton and his deputy killed four tribal members before another member shot and killed Peyton.

Now called the Swan River Massacre, the tribes scaled back their use of lands outside of the reservation for fear of more violence from the white settlers.

Ryan brought a seasonal map for the Salish tribes. In Winter, the tribe settled into wintering grounds, while in the spring, summer and fall the tribe would travel to get resources from plants, animals and minerals.

Intermountain tribes usually split into smaller bands of about 50 to 100 people, or one to two families that use a watershed. Mountain ranges were not an impediment for travel, and often tribes would use the different elevations and biomes strategically to reach resources.

Many ancient trails crisscross western Montana and extend into the winding rivers of eastern Montana. Ryan worked to create a state-wide map of aboriginal trails, which he continues to research with past interviews with elders to find new routes.

Ryan also helped map the Lewis and Clark historic trail over three National Forests. He noticed many routes had been used by Indigenous tribes for centuries when he and some elders looked over the route.

"I chimed up, 'yeah right exactly, because those were our ancestors' trails,'" Ryan said. "And Mike Dugalo Sr. one of the elderly men, spoke up and said 'no Tim those weren't our trails either, those were animal trails' and that's a beautiful perspective on that Indigenous worldview"

Ryan reminded the crowd that there is shared heritage among all people, as all groups were once hunter gatherer societies. He said instead of thinking separately from the natural world, people should consider the historical past of humans who coexisted in nature.

"When we consider our ancestors and that they didn't separate science out from everyday, science was a part of it, they didn't define it, they did not categorize the different data sets in their heads." Ryan said. "They were geologists, biologists, wildlife biologists and it was on a daily level."

Tribes would trade with each other, and sometimes fight over resources. Ryan said tribes with similar dialects would often be peaceful with each other, especially when vast spaces meant plenty of resources.

Ryan said Indigenous people focused heavily on their young people, guiding their youth towards specific skills like storytelling and hunting.

"At an early age, they find their self confidence, they find their position within the tribe, they become a part of something bigger than themselves," That fosters a very good individual that has self confidence, that feels good about themselves and part of society."

Ryan said what America is missing today is the guidance for young people, which he said often feel lost and don't have a clear life plan. On the reservation, Ryan said the Tribe is hoping to mend this by combining childcare with traditional upbringing to instill self worth in their youth.

Part of some tribes' upbringing includes vision quests, which is a practice to gain a better understanding of the world around them by going alone into the high mountains and subjecting themselves to the conditions.

Ryan said it opens that person up to communication with the natural world, but the practice is considered dangerous now. Ryan said the new type of vision quest is just getting into the natural world and interacting with the trees, rocks and animals that can transfer energy.

Ryan said it is important to consider the tribes when talking about issues that affect people across the Northern Rockies. With more perspectives on the world around us, Ryan said, communities can build sustainable lifestyles that can continue for generations.