2008 Woodie Awards
Campus was wintering site for for earth Indain tribe
Logan Knight
Issue date: 4/14/08 Section: Entertainment
When visiting the NIC campus, one should consider the ground on which one stands. At one time the ground was controlled by the military and Fort Sherman was build here. Before that the area was considered sacred ground by the Coeur d'Alene Indians.
Earliest writings about the tribe are found in the journals of Alexander Henry, a fur trader from the Northwest Company in 1810.
"Several bans would come here to winter," said Marian Ackerman, NIC anthropology instructor. The Indians lived in an area of about five million acres with permanent villages along the Spokane and St. Joe Rivers near Lake Coeur d'Alene and Hayden Lake and on parts of the Palouse.
According to Ackerman, during the spring and fall seasons the tribes would break apart and go to their area on the Palouse.
It was the French fur traders who named the tribe Coeur d'Alene, French for "heart of an awl." The name reflected the tribe's sharp trading talents, claiming them to be the finest traders in the world.
The tribe's trade route took them to the Great Plains and the Pacific Coast to exchange goods. As an understanding of their language grew, it was discovered the tribe called themselves 'Schee chu'umsch,' translated "those who are found here."
"The main school campus was sacred ground and main campsite for the Coeur d'Alene Indians," Ackerman said.
The tribe's reservation negotiated in 1873 and included all of Lake Coeur d'Alene. However, after a series of new treaty agreements, it was reduced down to a small arrowhead-shaped piece of land and includes only half of Lake Coeur d'Alene.
Long gone are the days of winter on the Spokane River for the tribe, but Indian studies and areas dedicated to the Coeur d'Alene Indians can be found.
"The college had dedicated the beach, Dike Road and a rose garden to the Coeur d'Alene Indians," Ackerman said
Earliest writings about the tribe are found in the journals of Alexander Henry, a fur trader from the Northwest Company in 1810.
"Several bans would come here to winter," said Marian Ackerman, NIC anthropology instructor. The Indians lived in an area of about five million acres with permanent villages along the Spokane and St. Joe Rivers near Lake Coeur d'Alene and Hayden Lake and on parts of the Palouse.
According to Ackerman, during the spring and fall seasons the tribes would break apart and go to their area on the Palouse.
It was the French fur traders who named the tribe Coeur d'Alene, French for "heart of an awl." The name reflected the tribe's sharp trading talents, claiming them to be the finest traders in the world.
The tribe's trade route took them to the Great Plains and the Pacific Coast to exchange goods. As an understanding of their language grew, it was discovered the tribe called themselves 'Schee chu'umsch,' translated "those who are found here."
"The main school campus was sacred ground and main campsite for the Coeur d'Alene Indians," Ackerman said.
The tribe's reservation negotiated in 1873 and included all of Lake Coeur d'Alene. However, after a series of new treaty agreements, it was reduced down to a small arrowhead-shaped piece of land and includes only half of Lake Coeur d'Alene.
Long gone are the days of winter on the Spokane River for the tribe, but Indian studies and areas dedicated to the Coeur d'Alene Indians can be found.
"The college had dedicated the beach, Dike Road and a rose garden to the Coeur d'Alene Indians," Ackerman said
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