Kalispel Indian Community of the Kalispel Reservation

Reservation

The Kalispel Reservation, located in Usk in Pend Oreille County, Washington. It was founded in 1914 and is 4,557 acres (18.44 km²) large.

Government

The tribe's headquarters is in Cusick, Washington. The tribe is governed by a democratically elected, five-member tribal council. The current administration is as follows:

Language

Traditionally, Kalispel people spoke the Kalispel language, an Interior Salish language.

History

Kalispel people are thought to have come from British Columbia. In the 18th century, Blackfeet people pushed them from the Great Plains to Pend d'Oreille River and Lake Pend Oreille. The town of Kalispell, Montana is named after the tribe.

In 1809, the North West Company opened a trading post in their territory. A Roman Catholic mission was founded in the 1840s. The Upper Kalispel were forced onto an Indian reservation in Montana, while the Lower Kalispel remained on their homelands in Washington.

The tribe refused to sign a treaty proposed by the US government in 1872. In 1875, there were only 395 Lower Kalispel. Non-Natives claimed reservation lands under the Homestead Act, and economic opportunities for tribal members were minimal. In 1965, the average tribal member's income was $1,400, and there was only one telephone for the entire tribe.

Economic development

The tribe owns and operates the Northern Quest Resort and Casino, located in Airway Heights, Washington. The resort features Masselow's, Epic, Fai's Noodle House, Yogoshop, Rivers Edge Buffet, Fatburger, Villa Fresh Italian Kitchen, Marketplace, and Cravings restaurants, as well as several bars and nightclubs: Legends of Fire, Impulse, Fireside Lounge, Liquid, and the Turf, and La Rive Spa.

The tribe owns the franchise rights to Fatburger in the Eastern Washington region, having opened a restaurant in Spokane's 5-Mile district.