The Nespelem people belong to one of 12 aboriginal

Native Americans in the United States

Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...

 Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation

Colville Indian Reservation

The Colville Indian Reservation is an Indian reservation in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Washington, inhabited and managed by the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation, which is recognized by the United States of America as an American Indian Tribe...

 in eastern Washington. They lived primarily near the banks of the Nespelem River

Nespelem River

The Nespelem River is a northern tributary of the Columbia River, in the U.S. state of Washington. It is completely contained within Okanogan County and the Colville Indian Reservation....

, an Upper Columbia River

Columbia River

The Columbia River is the largest river in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The river rises in the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia, Canada, flows northwest and then south into the U.S. state of Washington, then turns west to form most of the border between Washington and the state...

 tributary, in an area now known as Nespelem, Washington

Nespelem, Washington

Nespelem is a town in Okanogan County, Washington, United States. The population was 236 at the 2010 census. The town is located on the Colville Indian Reservation. The name Nespelem is derived from a local Indian term meaning "large flat meadow".-History:...

, located on the Colville Indian Reservation. Alternate spellings include Nespelim or Nespilim.

Ethnography

The Nespelem are considered Interior Salish

Interior Salish

The Interior Salish languages are one of the two main subgroups of the Salishan language family, the other being Coast Salish. It can be further subdivided into Northern and Southern Interior Salish...

, a designation that also includes the Okanagan

Okanagan people

The Okanagan people, also spelled Okanogan, are a First Nations and Native American people whose traditional territory spans the U.S.-Canada boundary in Washington state and British Columbia...

, Sinixt

Sinixt

The Sinixt are a First Nations People...

, Wenatchi

Wenatchi

The Wenatchi Tribe is a group of Native Americans who lived in the region near the confluence of the Columbia and Wenatchee Rivers in Eastern Washington State...

, Sanpoil

Sanpoil (tribe)

The Sanpoil is one of 12 aboriginal Confederated Tribes of the Colville Indian Reservation. The name Sanpoil comes from the Okanagan [snpʕwílx], "gray as far as one can see". It has been folk-etymologized as coming from the French sans poil, "without fur". The Yakama people know the tribe as...

, Spokan, Kalispel

Kalispel

Kalispel may refer to:* Pend d'Oreilles , a tribe of Native Americans* Kalispel-Pend d'Oreille, the language of the Pend d'Oreilles tribe* Kalispell, Montana, a city in the United States...

, Pend d'Oreilles

Pend d'Oreilles (tribe)

The Pend d'Oreilles, also known as the Kalispel, are a tribe of Native Americans who lived around Lake Pend Oreille, as well as the Pend Oreille River, and Priest Lake although some of them live spread throughout Montana and eastern Washington...

, Coeur d'Alene

Coeur d'Alene Tribe

The Coeur d'Alene are a Native American people who lived in villages along the Coeur d'Alene, St. Joe, Clark Fork and Spokane Rivers; as well as sites on the shores of Lake Coeur d'Alene, Lake Pend Oreille and Hayden Lake, in what is now northern Idaho, eastern Washington and western Montana.In...

, and Flathead

Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Nation

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes of the Flathead Reservation are the Bitterroot Salish, Kootenai and Pend d'Oreilles Tribes. The Flatheads lived between the Cascade Mountains and Rocky Mountains. The Salish initially lived entirely east of the Continental Divide but established their...

 peoples.

Ross classifies Nespelem as one of the Okanagan tribes, while Winans classifies them as part of the Sanpoil.

In 1905, the United States Indian Office counted 41 Nespelim; in 1910, the census counted 46; in 1913, after a survey, the Office of Indian Affairs counted 43.

Nespelem villages and tribes

• Haimisahun, a summer settlement of the Suspiluk, on the north bank of Columbia River about a half mile above the mouth of Nespelem River.
• Masmasalimk, home of the Smasmasalimkuwa, approximately a mile and a

half above Skik.

• Nekuktshiptin, home of the Snekuktshiptimuk, at the site of the present Condon's Ferry, on the north side of the river.
• Nspilem, home of the Snspiluk, on the lower Nespelem from the falls to the mouth of the river.
• Salkuahuwithl, home of the Salkuahuwithlau, across the river from the present town of Barry.
• Skik, home of the Skik, about a mile above Salkuahuwithl on the same side of the river.
• Skthlamchin, fishing grounds of the Salkuahuwithlau, across the river from the mouth of the Grand Coulee.

External links

• Curtis, Edward S. Nespilim Man (The North American Indian). Evanston, Ill: Northwestern University. Library, 1999.
• Curtis, Edward S. Nespilim Woman (The North American Indian). Evanston, Ill: Northwestern University. Library, 1999.
• Curtis, Edward S. Nespilim Girl (The North American Indian. Evanston, Ill: Northwestern University. Library, 1999.
• Spectators watching Nespelim Indian ceremonial dance on Colville Indian Reservation. 1911.