Spokane people
Sqeliz | |
|---|---|
Tribal logo (ca. 2006) | |
| Total population | |
| 2,900 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| United States ( Washington) | |
| Languages | |
| English, Spokane dialect of Kalispel-Pend d'Oreille language | |
| Religion | |
| Dreamer Faith, traditional tribal religion, Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Bitterroot Salish, Coeur d'Alene, Kutenai, Kalispel, and other Interior Salish tribes |
The Spokan or Spokane people are an Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau from East Washington and parts of Northern Idaho in the United States of America. They are enrolled in the Spokane Tribe of the Spokane Reservation, a federally recognized tribe headquartered in Wellpinit, Washington.
The Spokane Indian Reservation is located in northeastern Washington state, centered at Wellpinit (Sčecuwe). The reservation is located almost entirely in Stevens County, but also includes two small parcels of land (totaling about 1.52 acres [0.62 ha]) in Lincoln County, including part of the Spokane River. In total, the reservation is about 615 square kilometres (237 sq mi).
The city of Spokane, Washington (Sʎˈetkʷ) is named after the tribe. It developed along the Spokane River, within the historic ancestral land of the tribe, but not within the reservation (see map).
The Spokane language (Npoqínišcn) belongs to the Interior Salishan language family and is a dialect of Montana Salish. Therefore the Spokane are closely related by language and culture to the neighboring Bitterroot Salish (Tˈatˈʔayaqn) and Kalispel.
The Spokane were in loose alliance with other Plateau tribes and sometimes the Kutenai (Sqlˈse), Crow Nation (Stemčiʔ) and Cree-Assiniboine (Iron Confederacy) (Ncoʕʷaqs) joined in fights about against their common enemies, the Blackfoot Confederacy (Sčqˈʷišni) and later Lakota people (Hułnʔixʷtˈusm) on the east.
The precontact population of the Spokane people is estimated to be about 1,400 to 2,500 people. The populations of the tribe began to diminish after contact with Euro-American settlers and traders due to mortality from new infectious diseases endemic among the Europeans, and to which the Spokane had no acquired immunity. By 1829 a Hudson's Bay Company trader estimated there were about 700 Spokane people in the area. Since the early 20th century, their population has been steadily increasing: in 1985 tribal enrolled citizenship was reported as 1,961. In 2019, the tribe reported its population to be around 2,900 people.