Many tribes harvested the bounty, coming from as far away as Montana and Yakima during salmon runs. Tribes met each year at Kettle Falls on the Columbia River to fish and trade. Travel routes were worn into the ridgetops by centuries of yearly migration to the area.

Archaeologists estimate that Indians caught more than 1,000 salmon a day at Kettle Falls during peak runs. Salmon congregated below this wide, low falls on their way upstream to spawn. Fishermen stood on rocks and wooden platforms to spear and net the fish as they jumped up through the whitewater. People camping near the falls smoked and dried the fish, preserving it for winter use. Runners would carry the smoked fish back to the elders and young children who had remained behind in winter villages.

Some tribes stayed in the area year-round. The Kalispel wintered on the east banks of the Pend Oreille River. Kalispel means"camas people," and the tribe had territorial rights to some of the richest camas fields in the region. Camas bulbs provided much needed carbohydrates to the diet of the Indians. Cooked in earth ovens, they tasted like sweet, smoky figs. Remains of ovens found today at the Pioneer Park archaeological dig along the Pend Oreille River date back more than 4,000 years.

Local tribes allowed other groups to harvest camas in exchange for goods such as obsidian from Yellowstone or shell necklaces from the Pacific Coast. They also traded camas for hunting privileges. The Blackfeet might come to the Pend Oreille Valley to dig bulbs, allowing the Kalispel to hunt buffalo in western Montana, in return.

A rich spiritual tradition was interwoven with resource harvest. Many tribes welcomed the fish back to the river each year with a First Salmon Ceremony. Young people entering adulthood pursued vision quests in the mountains. The First Salmon Ceremony is still celebrated at an intertribal pow-wow at Kettle Falls each year, and modern young Indians spend days alone in the wilds of the mountains seeking to connect with their spiritual roots.

Changes to these seasonal routines came in 1809 with the arrival of the first non-Indian, fur trapper David Thompson, from Canada. The many trappers who followed were looking for beaver, marten, and other animal pelts to help satiate the European hunger for fur hats and coats. They traded with the Indians, introducing beads, tools, and alcohol to tribal culture.

Within a few decades, up to three-fourths of the Indians had died of illnesses to which they had no resistance, such as smallpox, tuberculosis, and measles. Missionaries had come to save Indian souls, and native religions were forced underground.

By 1826, American fur traders were living in Fort Colville, built near Kettle Falls. They brought in pigs and cattle, began farming around the fort, and limited Indian fishing access. By the late 1800s, the Indians were confined to reservations. Kettle Falls and the salmon runs disappeared under the rising waters of Roosevelt Reservoir in the 1930s, when Grand Coulee Dam was built.

Miners and homesteaders came around the turn of the century, each searching for riches in the mountains and valleys. Neither had much success. Gold and silver were found in the area around Republic but weren't plentiful elsewhere, and the growing season was short. The miners moved on to Alaska, and the homesteaders sold out to the government. By 1920, the population in northeast Washington was half of what it had been in 1910. Today, empty mines pock the hillsides, and rotting cabins stand in abandoned fields throughout the Colville National Forest.

Loggers and ranchers were more fortunate. They found good supplies of trees and grass on public land. Early land use was unregulated, but when the Colville National Forest was established in 1906, rangers began overseeing private resource harvest. After a hostile beginning, a working relationship evolved between the Forest Service and those who used the national forest lands.

The Civilian Conservation Corps changed the face of the Colville National Forest during the 1930's. CCC workers built roads, trails, camps, and buildings, many of which are still in use today. Camp Growden, known as "Little America" because it housed CCC enrollees from around the country, was built west of Kettle Falls. It was one of the largest CCC camps in the area. An octagonal concrete fountain and an earth-filled dam still stand at the site. The Sullivan Lake and Newport ranger stations are CCC buildings, as are many of the fire lookouts on the national forest.

Move on to Colville National Forest Index

Return to Top

RELATED GORP LINKS
GORP Washington Resources
GORPtravel Adventure Vacations