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A New Way of Life
The first records of the Spokane Indians and horses, they acquire the horse and their lifestyle changed as they were able to travel to the Great Plains to hunt buffalo and become better hunter gathers. -
First Contact
The Spokane Indians meet two French-Canadian fur trappers, Le Blanc and Le Gasse. They were the first white men to make contact with the tribe. Le Blanc and Le Gasse were sent to stay the winter with the Indians -
Lewis and Clark Expidition
As Lewis and Clark were on thir expedition of the Louisana Purchase they met the Spokane tribe on their travels along the Columbia river to the Pacific Ocean. -
Spokane House
The first trading post known as Spokane House is built near the confluence of Spokane and Little Spokane Rivers, now whites and indians can trade their goods like furs and other raw materials. -
Fort Vancouver
The Hudson’s Bay Company established Fort Vancouver as a trading post for whites and Indians -
Spokane Indians are sent to School
Two of the sons of the leaders from the Spokane Indian tribe are sent to the Red River mission school by the Hudson's Bay Company. -
Indian Removal Act
The Indian Removal Act was passed by Congress to move all the Indian tribes in the south to federal territory west of the Mississippi River in exchange for their ancestral homelands. -
Samuel Jackson
A missionary called Samuel Jackson made contact with the Spokane tribe he was on of the first men to preach the gosspil to the Spokane Tribe -
Epidemic of Disease
Many of the Spokane tribe are wiped out by a devastating series of measles and smallpox epidemics because of the white setlers in the area and the ones passing by on the Orgen Trail -
Yakima Treaty
The Yakima treaty was signed on 9 July 1855 and ceded more than 10 million acres to the United States government in exchange for over 1 million acres of reservation lands, the Spokane tribes didn't fully agree with it. -
Yakima War
The Yakima War (1855-1858) erupted, fought by members of the Native Indian alliance that including the Spokane, Cayuse, Walla Walla, Umatilla, and Nez Perce tribes. The main bases of the war was the broken Yakima Treaty and the discovery of gold. -
Fraser Caynon Gold Rush
The Fraser Canyon gold Rush began in 1857, after gold was discovered on the Thompson River in British Columbia at its confluence with the Nicoamen River. White prospectors rushed to the area to prosepect it and this angered the Natie Americans in the area and this would lead to war. -
Coeur d'Alene War
The Coeur d'Alene War was fought in the Washington and Idaho areas. Some people think it is the second phase of the Yakima War. The alliance of Native Indian tribes attacked and defeated a force of 164 US troops under Major Edward Steptoe command. -
Horse Sluaghter Camp
Colonel Wright ordered the destruction of 700 Palouse horses at "Horse Slaughter Camp," hanged several Palouse Indians. This was considered the concluded the Coeur d'Alene and the Yakima Wars to many people. -
Yakima School
The first government school for Indians was established on the Yakima Reservation. The primary goal of the school was the acculturation of Indians into mainstream culture in hopes that they don't go down the path of poverty and get a job. -
Ancestoral Traditions
Originally, the Spokane Tribe of Indians lived along the Spokane River in three bands known as the
Upper, Middle and Lower Spokane Indians. These tribes exsisted any time before the 1881 Spokane Indian Reservation creation -
Ancient Culture
Spokane Tribal members hunted, fished and collected
roots and berries to feed their families throughout the year. These tradtions of being hunter- gathers still exist today. -
First Swamill
J. J. Downing and S. R. Scranton build a sawmill at Spokane Falls. It is on of the first American settlement on the reservation. This latter becomes downtown Spokane. -
First Post Office
The first post office in Spokane opens. The post office of the place called Spokane Falls and it is housed in one of the shacks clustered near the falls of the Spokane River. -
New Home
In January of 1881, President Rutherford B. Hayes, by executive order, formally declared the Spokane Indian Reservation the new home of the Spokane Indians even though it was noticably smaller than their old home. -
Elk vs. Wilkins
In the Elk vs. Wilkins the Supreme Court the United States government denied Native Americans the right of becoming United States citizens, and this rulling stayed until June 2, 1924 when they were granted citizenship. -
Dawes General Allotment Act
Dawes General Allotment Act passed by Congress led to the break up of the large Indian Reservations and the sale of Indian lands to white settlers. The Indians that once lived on this land were furious because a few years earlier in 1859 the United States government broke the treaties that it had with the Indians -
Spokane Fire
A fire starts and destroys most of downtown Spokane Falls. It begins in an area of flimsy wooden structures and quickly engulfs the substantial stone and brick buildings of the business district. Property losses are huge, and one death is reported. But soon after the fire is put out buildings starts to rebuild -
Spokane Stock Exchange
The Spokane Stock Exchange opens. It is one of about 200 regional exchanges and initially trades in mining shares issued as penny stocks. The railroad and commercial center is the "Inland Empire," it is corporate headquarters for most of the gold, silver, lead, and zinc mines of the region. -
Free Speech Fight
The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), or "Wobblies" as they were often known started a free speech fights that had garnered national attention. Grievances concerning the unethical practices of the employment agencies, the IWW initiated a free speech fight by purposely breaking a city ordinance on soapboxing. -
First Observation of Father's Day
Sonora Smart Dodd started the national movement on the Spokane Reservation that led to the proposal and eventual establishment of Father's Day as a national holiday in the United States. Dodd thought of the idea when she was litening to a mothers day sermon. -
American Indian Institute
A Winnebago Indian, Roe Cloud, opened the American Indian Institute, the fist college preparatory school established by a Native American for Native American. The college was formed to help young Native Americans get good jobs and succed in life -
United States Citizens
On June 2, 1924, Congress granted citizenship to all Native Americans born in the U.S., under the Indian Citizen Act. Yet even after the Indian Citizenship Act, some Native Americans weren't allowed to vote because the right to vote was governed by state law. Until 1957, some states barred Native Americans from voting. But in 1924 it was a step forward for the Indians. -
Midnite Mine
The Midnite Mine is an inactive uranium mine near the Spokane Indian Reservation. It was in full operatation from 1955 until 1981. This mine helped the reservation out alot in finacial matter, because it helped the reservation grow. The mine was listed as a disater site under American law on May 11, 2000. It was shut down because high levels of radioactivity and chemical waste that mixed with the water system. -
Worlds Fair
Spokane hosted the first environmentally themed World's Fair in Expo '74, becoming the then-smallest city to ever host a World's Fair. This event transformed Spokane's downtown, removing a century of railroad industry that built the city and reinventing the urban core.
