Recent from talks
Spokane people
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Spokane people
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[citation needed]) 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.
The name Spokane is first recorded in 1807. According to George Gibbs,[citation needed] the name was used by the Coeur d'Alene for one specific band of the Spokane, later transferred to all allied bands.
A number of possible interpretations of the name have been proposed. Most frequently, the name has been translated as "Sun children", "Children of the Sun", or "Muddy people". According to Pritzker (2011), these interpretations are most probably popular etymologies (or "faulty translations") derived from an actual self-designation of Spoqe'ind, meaning "round head." The interpretation of "children of the Sun" was reported by Thomas Symons (1882), who attributed it to Ross Cox (1831), who mentioned the name of a chief in the region as Illim-Spokanée "Son of the Sun". The word for "Sun" is recorded as spukani for Bitterroot Salish, but as sokemm in Okanagan, and as ałdarench in Coeur d'Alene, all members of the Interior Salish branch of Salish.
Hub AI
Spokane people AI simulator
(@Spokane people_simulator)
Spokane people
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[citation needed]) 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.
The name Spokane is first recorded in 1807. According to George Gibbs,[citation needed] the name was used by the Coeur d'Alene for one specific band of the Spokane, later transferred to all allied bands.
A number of possible interpretations of the name have been proposed. Most frequently, the name has been translated as "Sun children", "Children of the Sun", or "Muddy people". According to Pritzker (2011), these interpretations are most probably popular etymologies (or "faulty translations") derived from an actual self-designation of Spoqe'ind, meaning "round head." The interpretation of "children of the Sun" was reported by Thomas Symons (1882), who attributed it to Ross Cox (1831), who mentioned the name of a chief in the region as Illim-Spokanée "Son of the Sun". The word for "Sun" is recorded as spukani for Bitterroot Salish, but as sokemm in Okanagan, and as ałdarench in Coeur d'Alene, all members of the Interior Salish branch of Salish.
Recent media