Honoring tradition

MOIESE — For decades, the Lower Flathead River was threatened by unwanted development, until two groups stepped up in 1986 and helped organize River Honoring activities. Twenty-six years later, the event has transformed and is thriving in providing firsthand educational opportunities and fun times for over 1,000 area students.

“This is a constant reminder of the river’s importance in the tribes’ history,” said Germaine White of the CSKT Natural Resources Department.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, May 9 and 10, fourth and fifth-grade students from all across the reservation flocked to the Woodcock campsite and spent two beautiful days taking advantage of educational opportunities, playing games and enjoying the rich history of the Salish and Kootenai Tribes.

“This is a conservation and education event,” White said. “We try to combine traditional cultural ways of knowing and understanding with science and technology. It’s experiential education. I can go to the classroom and meet with students and tell them that the river is important to us culturally and into the future, but we want them to experience it firsthand.”

Throughout the campsite, 21 stations were set up with volunteers from throughout the area, to teach kids in a number of ways. The stations covered numerous areas, including the Division of Fire, Fish and Game, Backcountry Horsemen and water and air qualities.

Pat Jamieson, with the National Bison Range, brought skeletons for the students to put together, teaching them about the animals and what she does.

“It went really well,” Jamieson said. “Kids enjoy playing with dead things.

“My job is in recreation and it’s nice to be a part of this great group and great effort,” Jamieson added. “Something might pique their interest.”

Across the campsite, Paul Phillips with the SKC Fitness Center was on hand to play double ball with the kids. Double ball is a traditional game that was played primarily by women and kids to build up endurance for foot travel, but Phillips found a way to teach valuable lessons to the students on top of that, giving a pregame speech that incorporated values into the fun activity.

“It’s really good to get the kids in games playing,” Phillips said. “We want them to aspire to have qualities such as respect and self-control and teach them the proper ways to treat each other.”

On top of the fun and learning, Phillips said it was important for kids to be active and be healthy.

Those activities were just a few that were added in the last two decades, when the format of the river honoring was changed to be more educational in 1992. At that time, the river honoring was more geared toward college students, with panels and lectures, but has shifted to incorporate a younger audience in order to reach them with the history, values and education at an earlier age.

Nevertheless, it’s not strictly an event for the kids. On the Monday preceding the students’ visits, roughly 300 people visited for a community event, which featured opening comments, honorees and a lively BBQ.

“It was fabulous, well attended and a lot of fun,” White said.

For three days, people of all ages had the chance to take in decades of the river’s history and the enjoyable experience the students had over the course of two days should make the days’ significance stick with them for decades to come.