the "downstream people" or Lower Kalispel are commonly referred to as the Kalispel. They were also known as Silkatkmlschi or Sɫq̓etkʷmsčin̓t, because they were based around Flathead Lake. Today they are enrolled in the Kalispel Tribe of Indians in Washington and some families are part of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe in Idaho.
Some Kalispel are enrolled in the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation in eastern Washington. Prior to colonization by European-Americans, Chewelah was home to a band of the Lower Kalispel people. The band was known as the Slet̓éw̓si, meaning "valley people". The Chewelah Band of Indians is currently part of the Spokane Tribe of Indians of Washington.
Name
The name Pend d’Oreille was attributed to them by French colonists and traders in reference to the large shell earrings worn by these people. The name Kalispel is an anglicization of their name in their own language Ql̓ispé (, which means "Camas People." Camas is a root that was a staple of their diet.
The Pend d'Oreille people are believed to have migrated south from British Columbia. In 1809, the North West Company established a trading post in their territory, calling it Kullyspell House. Jesuits established a Roman Catholic mission there in 1846. In 1855, the tribe split into the upper and lower divisions, with the upper moving to the Flathead Reservation in Montana. One of the two lower bands joined them in 1887. These people made their weapons and tools from flint, and many other things were shaped with rocks. For housing, the Pend d’Oreille lived in tipis in the summer, as well as lodges in the winter time. These houses were all built out of large cattails, which were in abundance where the people lived. These cattails were woven into mats called “tule mats”, which were attached to a tree branch frame to form a hut. Today a large community building on the Kalispel reservation bears the name “Tule Hut” in reference to this traditional housing. The tribe traded bison hides for horses and other useful goods. They traditionally made clothing from rabbit pelts and deer hides. They embellished hides with dyes, paints, beads, and porcupine quills. The Upper Pend d’Oreille of the Flathead Reservation became engaged in a dispute over off-reservation hunting between the tribes and the state of Montana, resulting in the Swan Valley Massacre of 1908. Long after they were dispossessed of their hereditary lands around Lake Pend Oreille, the Pend d'Oreille band of Kalispel continued to gather for an annual pow wow on its traditional grounds just east of what is now Sandpoint City Beach. The three-day event included ceremonies, dancing and traditional stick games. The pow wows in Sandpoint were discontinued in the early 1950s. Since 1975, the Kalispel Tribe has held an annual pow wow at its Usk, Washington, reservation in July or August. The events are open to the public and include a dance contest, traditional foods, stick games and others.
