Blue View - The Coeur d’Alenes

We’ve been spending some time in the Idaho panhandle area and enjoying it immensely. I passed through here once many years ago, but other than that, neither of us has been here before. 

The GART (Great American Rail-Trail) passes through this part of Idaho via a 72 mile bike path called the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes. I assumed it was named this because it follows the Coeur d’Alene River for a good part of its path, then loops around the bottom of Lake Coeur d’Alene. In actuality, the path, as well as the lake and river, are named for the Coeur d’Alene Native American tribe. 

The GART passes through idaho on the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes

The start of the Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes

In my ignorance, i didn’t know there was a Coeur d’Alene tribe

In my ignorance, I didn’t know there was a Coeur d’Alene Native American tribe. And why would they have a French name? I asked Marcie, our family linguist, what the name translated to in English. She said she wasn’t sure, but she thought it meant “Heart of the Awl”. Awl? She looked it up and sure enough, “Alene” means awl. What was the significance of the name? Were they really good at sewing using leather strips and awls? Was this a French colloquialism meaning “hard hearted”?

As it turns out, a French trader gave  them the name. He came bearing beads and trinkets, hoping to trade them for beaver pelts as he had with other Native Americans. This group wasn’t interested in his beads and drove a much harder bargain. He named them the Coeur d’Alene, “Heart of an Awl”, because of the sharpness of their negotiating skills. 

In their ancient tribal language, members call themselves, “Schitsu’umsh,” meaning “The Discovered People” or “Those Who Are Found Here”. Their history after the arrival of the European/Americans is not unlike that of  many other Native American peoples. Originally, the Coeur d'Alene occupied a territory of 3.5 million acres in parts of present day Idaho, Montana and Washington. Initially, they welcomed the whites, and many were converted to Christianity by missionaries. But as the number of farmers, ranchers and miners moving in during the 1800’s increased, problems arose, which led to the Skitswish War of May–September 1858. The Coeur d’Alene won the initial battles, but the superior numbers and technology of the U.S. Army eventually defeated the tribe. 

Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

Shortly after, a major silver strike was made just east of present day Coeur d’Alene, bringing in many more miners. In 1873, their lands were reduced to 600,000 acres, plus a promise of monetary restitution when President Grant created the Coeur d’Alene Reservation. When this was ratified by Congress many years later, the reservation size was further reduced to 400,000 acres, and in a re-allotment act in 1905, it was reduced once again to its present size of 345,000 acres. I could find no reference online as to whether the promised compensation/restitution was ever paid.

The tribe struggled economically during the first half of the twentieth century, Since then, it has built a casino, hotel and golf course, and invested in several businesses. It also has about 6,000 acres of farmland in cultivation. All of these have combined to provide a reasonable prosperity for the tribe.

The Coeur d’Alene tribe has had ecological problems as well. The dozens of silver mines in the Silver Valley lie upstream of the reservation. Over the decades, the mining and smelting operations caused thousands of acres of land and water to be contaminated with heavy metals and toxins. It’s estimated that more than 100 million tons of mining waste was dumped into the river systems. 

In 1983, the EPA designated the area as a superfund site. By 1991, no progress had been made on the cleanup, so the tribe filed suit against several mining companies for damages and cleanup costs. After years of delays and continuances, settlements were finally reached with the mining companies in 2008 and 2011, providing money for the removal of hazardous wastes and the restoration of natural habitats. From what we’ve seen, they are now making progress.

The tribe also filed suit against the Union Pacific Railroad in 1991 for the cleanup of its abandoned rail branch that ran from the upper Silver Valley through reservation land to the town of Plummer. When it was in operation, this line transported silver, lead and zinc ore from the mines to the smelters and refineries. In 1995, the UPR agreed to clean up the old branch line and convert it to a paved bike path. This is now the 72 mile Trail of the Coeur d’Alenes.

The trail is beautiful. Marcie has some great photos for you and will talk more about it soon.

The statue of a Coeur d’Alene warrior at the Plummer Trailhead

As for me, I’m a little less ignorant than I was when I started learning about the Coeur d’Alene people. If I keep learning new things at this rate, I’ll be ready for Jeopardy in, oh, 400-500 years.

See you next week.