River Honoring celebrates Flathead River in Native culture

By Trip Burns

Lake County Leader

Elementary students from all across the Flathead Indian reservation gathered for the annual River Honoring this week to learn about conservation, wildlife, and to have some fun in the valley. 

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Natural Resources Department sponsored the two-day event.

The educational event featured specialists and professionals from the tribal fisheries, recreation, and forestry departments. They used demonstrations to teach students about life along the Flathead River. Along the Lower Flathead River on Moiese Valley Road, students were treated to activities among a dozen constructed tipis along the shore. There, they set to explore many stations that displayed demonstrations and lessons in wildlife and river’s ecosystem.

Chauncey Means, from the CSKT Natural Resources Department, used a model to demonstrate the intermingling of people and land in the river valley. He asked students to pour sand around industrial equipment on the board to educate them on the dangers of oil being spilled on land. “What else uses gasoline?” he asked, to which a student responded, “A truck!” And so sand was poured around a model dump truck to illustrate at once the identification of machines that use fossil fuels, and possible ways to clean up in the event of leakage or pollution to the land. 

The Tribal Division of Fire gave a demonstration of water, how it’s pumped, how it’s used to dampen the flames of a fire, and how much energy it takes to put out a fire. Students were taught that safety is the most important concern of putting out a fire. Each station represented a unique aspect of life in the valley. The river and its ecosystem were among the main topics of the event, and each station weaved its lessons into an overall theme: we as humans and residents of the Flathead Indian Reservation must take great care in preserving the environment and to use knowledge as a key tool in that care.

Pat Jamieson, from U.S. Fisheries and Wildlife Service and the National Bison Range, presented bones from a bison. The bones were bleached white from the sun and picked clean by animals. She told students that when her department found the bones, they had been stripped of meat and muscles from animals. “We didn’t even have to do anything to the bones,” she said. The students looked at one another, and some smiled in amazement. Jamieson held up the skull and talked about the behaviors of bison in the environment. “Bison can fight with each other during breeding season,” she said. “You might see it happen in July or August.” The bones were laid out in the circle formed by the seated students.

To lighten the mood, Scott Kiser, of the Mission Valley Back Country Horsemen, gave a humorous demonstration on proper waste disposal in the national parks. He taught the students the rules that you must follow in Yellowstone Park if you want to dispose of human waste – i.e. going to the bathroom to proper way. “You can’t just dig a hole,” he said. “They won’t let you do that.” Next he removed a bouquet of yellow flowers from a leather satchel. He held the flowers up and explained that it’s best for the environment to leave the flowers as they are, and to take a picture instead. “And why do we want to do that?” he asked the students. “Because taking a picture will last longer!”

At another station, students were taught about the fish found in the Flathead River. A large tarp was printed with pictures of bull trout, rainbow trout, Northern pikeminnows, and black bullheads. On the table beside the display, students could observe specimens preserved in jars – to get a sense of the size and shape of each fish. Nearby, a water tank held live fish, much to the delight of the young children.

At the annual River Honoring, teachers and students gathered together to celebrate the ecosystem of the Flathead River. A native American up the hill sang a song into a bullhorn and projected his voice out over the field. It was time for the students to move to another station and learn something new about where they live, and how to live with careful knowledge and consideration of their environment.