Schitsu'umsh Tribe
The Schitsu'umsh Tribe once lived on about 5 million acres along the Spokane and St. Joe rivers, near Lake Coeur d’Alene, Hayden Lake and the Palouse Prairie. The tribe’s name comes from French fur traders who called them “heart of an awl” because of their sharp trading skills. The Schitsu'umsh traded with tribes from the Pacific coast to the Great Plains. They shared a close bond with other tribes in the Northwest and Canada, often intermarrying and attending large trade gatherings. Their name for themselves is Schitsu'umsh, meaning “those who are found here” or “the discovered people.”
Before the smallpox epidemics of about 1831 and 1850, population estimates were as high as 5,000 people. Today the tribe has a current enrollment of 1,907 and sovereign authority on an area covering 345,000 acres of mountains, lakes, timber and farmland.
The present-day Coeur d’Alene Reservation consists of 69,000 acres located south of the town of Coeur d’Alene in Idaho’s panhandle. It is an arrow-shaped piece of land that includes the edge of the western Rockies, the southern portion of Lake Coeur d’Alene and parts of the Palouse Prairie.
Tribal enterprises include the Coeur d’ Alene Casino/Hotel operation north of Worley, Idaho. Tribal gaming employs about 500 and generates about $20 million in profits annually. The tribe also has its own tribal school, with a new $5 million facility that opened in 1997.
Right: The Coeur d'Alene people traveled below Spokane Falls to harvest salmon during the seasonal runs. Lake Coeur d'Alene itself had no salmon, but kokanee, a landlocked salmon species, was plentiful. Today the Coeur d'Alene are in control of the lower third of Lake Coeur d'Alene. They continue their traditional hunting, gathering and fishing techniques in addition to practicing modern conservation methods to return the lake and land to is pristine beauty.
