How the River Became Home for Sqelix — Spokane Tribe

How the River Became Home for Sqelix — Spokane Tribe. . The story below is paraphrased from a legend told to Father Essick, as shared by David C. Wynecoop in Children of the Sun: A History of the Spokane Indians, ©1969, page 72., Long ago, there was a beautiful lake many days' travel east of Spokane with many islands resting on its surface. The country swarmed with game and the lake abounded with fish, veritably a hunters' paradise. Many well-populated villages lay along the shores of the lake. , One summer morning the entire population was startled by the rumbling and shaking of the earth, the waters of the lake began raising and pitching and tossed into mountainous waves which threatened to engulf the entire country. , The terror stricken inhabitants fled to the hills for safety. An eclipse obscured the sun and the speaking of the earth continued for two days. Then a rain of ashes began. So heavy was the ash fall that there was little difference between day and night. The fall of ashes continued for several weeks and the game abandoned the country. , The lake receded and dry land filled in its place. Desolation spread over the entire country. The Indians died by the thousands from starvation. The ones who escaped starvation followed the course of the receding waters until they arrived at what we now know as the Spokane Falls., [sidebar] , For millennia this waterway provided access to food, trade opportunities and transportation for Sqelix , the native people of this region. , Salmon was a mainstay, comprising 50% of their traditional diet. During Fall and spring, thousands of salmon would be caught, processed and dried at the Spokane Falls, Little Spokane Falls and other village Camp sites. , While salmon no longer return to spawn here, the Spokane Tribe continues to embrace this area as part of their ancestral homeland. Through various projects the Tribe participates in the management and protection of eastern Washington's natural resources out of respect for the ways of their ancestors and to maintain their connection to the river for future generations.