Who Are the Colville?
The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation comprise 12 distinct tribes, with approximately 9,500 enrolled members. The tribes include Colville, Lakes (Sinixt), San Poil, Nespelem, Methow, Chelan, Entiat, Wenatchee, Moses Columbia, Okanogan, Nez Perce (Joseph Band), and Palus peoples. They speak several Interior Salish and Sahaptian languages, all endangered. The 1.4 million-acre reservation in north-central Washington was established in 1872, reduced in 1892. The confederation represents not voluntary union but forced consolidation of peoples dispossessed from ancestral territories. Despite this history, the tribes have built one of the largest and most successful tribal governments in the Northwest.
Forced Consolidation
The Colville Reservation was created as a "dumping ground" for bands displaced from elsewhere. Chief Joseph's Nez Perce, after their famous 1877 flight toward Canada, were eventually settled here—far from their Wallowa Valley homeland. The Lakes (Sinixt) were pushed from British Columbia. Other bands lost territories to settlers and miners. The original 3-million-acre reservation was halved in 1892 when the "North Half" was opened to non-Indian settlement. This painful history of consolidation means tribal members today identify with distinct heritage groups while participating in unified tribal governance. The diversity creates both richness and complexity.
Grand Coulee Dam
Grand Coulee Dam (1942), the largest concrete structure in North America, flooded Kettle Falls—a major fishing site for millennia. Salmon could no longer reach the upper Columbia; tribes that had fished for thousands of years lost their way of life overnight. The dam provided cheap electricity for World War II industries but devastated tribal communities without their consent. Unlike some dam-affected tribes, Colville received no compensation until the 1994 settlement—over 50 years later. The Colville fish hatcheries and restoration programs now work to maintain salmon in remaining accessible waters. The dam remains a symbol of what was taken.
Contemporary Colville
Modern Colville have built substantial economic and governmental capacity. The tribes operate forestry, gaming (Colville Casinos), and other enterprises. Tribal colleges and schools serve community members. The tribes successfully lobbied for Grand Coulee Dam compensation and participate in Columbia Basin fish restoration. Language programs work to preserve multiple endangered languages. The Sinixt (Lakes) nation's cross-border identity raises unique issues—Canadian officials declared them "extinct" in 1956 despite living members. How Colville balance 12 distinct tribal identities within confederated governance while addressing historical losses shapes this diverse nation's future.
References
- Ruby, R. H. & Brown, J. A. (1992). A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest
- Ulrich, R. (1999). Empty Nets: Indians, Dams, and the Columbia River
- Layman, W. D. (2002). Native River: The Columbia Remembered