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Interior Salish peoples

Indigenous peoples of Western Canada and the United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Interior Salish peoples
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Interior Salish peoples are Indigenous peoples of the Northwest Plateau, who are centered in south British Columbia in Canada and northwestern Washington, northern Idaho, and western Montana in the United States.[1] They speak Interior Salish languages, a branch of the Salishan language phylum.[2] Salish language–speaking peoples to the West are the Coast Salish peoples. To the south are Sahaptian language–speaking tribes, especially the Nez Perce.[1]

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Map of Salishan languages. Interior Salish territories are in olive green and yellow.

Historically, Interior Salish peoples had seasonal settlements to fish, hunt, and gather abundant wild plants.[3] In the winter, they lived in round, semi-subterranean pit houses with thatched roofs.[3] In summer, they built conical homes from tule reed (Schoenoplectus acutus) mats.[3] Villages were politically autonomous.[3]

Interior Salish peoples did not encounter Europeans until 1793, when Scottish-Canadian explorer Alexander Mackenzie entered Secwepemc territory.[3] Canadian explorer and fur trader Simon Fraser met several Interior Salish peoples when traveling down the Fraser River in 1808.[3] After contact, Interior Salish peoples adopted some cultural traits from Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin and Northern Plains to their south and west, but not linguistic traits.[1]

In the 1870s, Canada established several Indian reserves for Interior Salish peoples that were a fraction of their historical homelands in British Columbia. The Interior Salish First Nations have fought to reclaim their lands ever since.[3]

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Northern

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Members of a Nlaka’pamux community, 1914

There are three Northern Interior Salish languages: Shuswap, Lillooet, and Thompson.[4] Indigenous peoples speaking Northern Interior Salishan languages are located in southwestern BC:

  • Nlaka'pamux (nɬeʔképmx),[14] also known as the Thompson or Thompson (River) Salish
    • Upper Thompson
      • Nicola (cw̓éxmx)[15]
      • Spences Bridge (nk̓əmcínmx)[16]
      • Upper Fraser (sƛ̕exéyxʷ)[17]
      • Lytton (nɬeʔképmx)[14]
    • Lower Thompson
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Southern

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Sign welcoming visitors to the Colville Indian Reservation, Washington
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Nespelem woman, Washington, 1911

There are four languages belonging to the Southern branch of Interior Salish: Okanagan, Columbian, Kalispel, and Cour d'Alene.[4]

Peoples speaking the Okanagan language (a.k.a. Colville-Okanagan or Nsyilxcən):

Peoples speaking the Columbian language (a.k.a. Columbia-Moses, Moses-Columbia, Columbia-Wenatchi) are all located in northeastern WA:[21]

Peoples speaking the Kalispel language (a.k.a. Salish, Montana Salish, Salish-Spokane-Kalispel):

Just one people speaks the Cour d'Alene language:

  • Coeur d'Alene people (schi̱tsu'umsh)[30], also known as the Schitsu'umsh or Skitswish, eastern WA and northern ID[31]
    • Spokane River-Coeur d'Alene Lake division
    • Coeur d'Alene River division
    • Saint Joe River division
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Notes

  1. Some classifications describe the Methow as speaking Columbian, rather than Okanagan
  2. The terms "Pend d'Oreille" (various spellings) and "Kalispel" have historically been used in overlapping ways to refer to the same subgroups, distinct subgroups, or the whole nation (Lahren 1998, p. 296)
  3. Pre 19th-century (Malouf 1998, pp. 297-298)
  4. Post-19th century (Malouf 1998, pp. 297-298)

References

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