“How things would be so good if I was only able to walk on the shores of Lake Pend Oreille today and say this is mine. I still say this is mine, but I am only kidding myself. We have places we just can’t go anymore.”
Francis Cullooyah, Kalispel spiritual leader quoted in Sandpoint Magazine, Summer 1997.
The seasonal cycles of traditional Kalispel life did not mesh well with white settlers who sought to utilize the resources of the river valley for themselves. Regardless of whether settlers were in any real danger, whites felt threatened by the Indians who traveled throughout the region as they had for centuries. Furthermore, conflicts between whites and Indians often put the Kalispels in danger.
Many non-Indian residents blamed Kalispel chief Masselow (son of Victor and grandson of Loyola) for the problems and even arrested the Indian leader in July, 1894. These charges were so vague that the presiding judge dismissed them. John Brown’s daughter, who settled in Deer Valley with her family in 1889, remembered Chief Masselow for his kindness. When the Brown home burned, the Kalispel brought them blankets, cooking utensils, and moccasins.
