Alice Ignace tells a story about the Kalispel

(I would like to share with you a conversation I had with Alice Ignace. We were on the Kalispel Indian Reservation in Usk, Wash. Alice, a full-blooded Kalispel and an elder of her tribe, had consented to answer some of my questions about her people. In her own words, with some editing due to space limitations, Alice tells about Indian games, food, and culture.)

Question: Alice, what were some of the games kids played?

Alice: Yeah, we would all get together and play an Indian game. It's like hockey; well I think it would be like hockey, only it's on the ground. My grandmother used to make me a ball, she would sew rawhide and stuff it with deer hair, as tight as she could. She'd stitch it all up and she'd let it dry and when it gets dry it would shrink, and you could hit it and it would go far. We would have goals and we'd play together, and choose sides, and run back and forth. Yeah, it was our game. The boys, they target practice and see who can shoot the best. In winter, they ski on the slough (pointing) down there. They skate. You can't skate anymore; the ice doesn't get thick enough.

Question: Do you remember the Powwows in Sandpoint?

Alice: Yes, you know where the beach is? They used to have it right there. They keep us all lined up there and they have a war dance and they had a parade in town. Every morning this truck comes by and gives everybody some food so they can have something to eat. It was nice, they had policemen and no drinking was allowed. They had stick games and all kinds of things going on. It was really something. That's where I learned how to play stick games. All kinds of tribes from Montana, from Canada, they come from all over to gather for powwow. They all had teepees, now you'd be lucky if you'd see one teepee. Everybody's got an RV or a tent. The teepee is dying.

Question: You talked about your grandparents being your teachers, what's the role of elders?

Alice: The role of elders? If any old people see young kids doing something wrong, even if you're not related to them, you'll correct them. That's how they were and you don't get mad because they are telling you not to do that. That's how the old people were with anybody's children. That's the role of the old people.

Question: What was the role of men and women?

Alice: Oh gosh. The role of women was to provide food, fix the food, and harvest the food. The men did the hunting, fishing. The women they dry the meat, dry the fish, make sure they have enough food for winter. My grandma would say, "That's not enough we've got to get some more." She knows how much to have. They would make sure they had several sacks of dry meat, even the bones and the ribs. They make dumplings from it and all kinds of soups. That's their role.

Question: Alice, could you tell me something about camas?

Alice: Oh camas, we have plenty down there below the tribal office. In the spring, if you came around you'd see it. One of the ladies used to get eight or ten sacks of camas. My grandmother used to dig every day. We'd have camas soup all the time and camas pudding. I used to help her up in the woods and we would get that moss like stuff, clean it, wash it, and we'd lay our camas with some of that moss on top. When (Camas) it's baked it shrinks and you slice it up or grind it up, put it in a pot, and boil it like gravy. Put a little sugar in it, you'd love to eat it. I'm going to get my camas probably the first part of August. I'm the only one that knows how to bake it. I have to teach to somebody so they'll know how to do it. I love doing it. The camas, oh yes. You can dry it. My mother used to get a string and thread all the camas up and it'll get dry, and then she would put it in a bag and put it away. She'll put it in the water and soak it over night and then she'll make the pudding. Dry it, now I freeze mine, (laugh) can't bother.