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This is the history of the Coeur d'Alene tribe as told by my mentor. I did my best to record it as accurately as I could.

Coeur d’Alene History

The name the tribe gave themselves was Schee-Chu-Umpsh, which means “the people”. The name Coeur d’Alene was given to the tribal people by French fur traders, meaning “heart of the awl”. An awl is an instrument used to sew that has a hole on the end, kind of like the eye of a needle. The reason for this name is contributed to the fact that the French perceived the tribal members being shrewd traders, so much so that they had a hole in their heart.

Originally there were thirty-two strands of Coeur d’Alene Indians living along the banks of the Coeur d’Alene river in the Idaho and eastern Washington areas. The discovery of gold and silver in Shoshone County was a pivotal point in the history of the tribe, causing the government to relocate them. They have since been moved away from the river more inland and have become farmers. The largest the clan became was 10,000 people, however smallpox was responsible for reducing the numbers to half its size and it lessened even more with the introduction of influenza and the common cold. Today the tribe has 1,200 registered members.

In the 1800s a Catholic priest, Father Pier Desmet, traveled west with two Iroquois tribal members in order to convert them to Catholicism. The belief was held that if they reached the tribes before other settlers they would avoid battles and unnecessary blood-shed. Though this attempt did not stop the struggle over land it did successfully plant the seeds of Catholicism that are evident in the fact that the majority of the tribe are practicing Catholics. Before Father Pier Desmet found the Coeur d’Alenes Circling Raven, a tribal member, had a dream that men in black came to the camp. On his way across the country he picked up fifteen languages. When Father Pier Desmet arrived the chief’s daughter was sick and the Father’s prayer healed her. This miracle was the beginning of the Coeur d’Alene’s conversion to Catholicism.

As Catholicism became more prominent a mission school was established. At first the school was for primarily boys, but eventually opened up for girls as well. In this school students were punished for speaking the tribal language at all. There was little value placed on the tribal culture, which was exhibited in the time that Priest Carawana (sp?) ordered the group to round up cultural artifacts and burn them right by the school. Due to the view of tribal people in America much of the language and culture of the Coeur d’Alene’s was lost.

My mentor told us that many grandparents in the community do not have a favorable view of the school or education system of the whites. She noted that many people may be bitter but that these people were doing what they thought was right at the time.

Today the Tribal school is open to members and, if there is still space, any one else who desires to attend. This school is well known, in the area, for it’s high scores in math and it competes with public schools in reading scores.