River Honoring teaches new generation about land stewardship

The fourth graders from St. Ignatius elementary loved the 36th River Honoring, according to their teacher. The kids agreed, smiling, and giving high fives.

They had just been to a presentation by Chris Frissell, Salish Kootenai College Chair of Hydrology. Frissell used a model to show how water and sediment interact to form the shapes of streams.

“What happens to the stream if there are big rocks? What about a flood?” were just a couple of questions the kids asked.

The St. Ignatius students joined young people from Corvallis, Dayton, Dixon, Hot Springs, Nkwusm School in Arlee, Pablo, Ronan, and Mission Mountain for a total of 448 kids coursing through the learning stations on May 10. On May 11, 484 students from Arlee, Charlo, Polson, Ronan, Valley View, and a homeschool visited the lovely meadow bordered by the lower Flathead River on Moiese Valley Road.

There were two loops of tipis with 10 different instructors set up for the fourth and fifth graders who attended – Espinoza Loop and Pierre Loop named in honor of Chief Pablo “Chib” Espinoza and Pat Pierre. The students visited the Espinoza Loop in the morning and after sack lunches, headed to the Pierre Loop for the afternoon sessions. The signal to shift to another presentation was when the drum sounded.

This celebration is a way to honor the river and learn to protect cultural resources, according to Stephanie Gillin, information and education program manager for the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Natural Resources Department.

The annual River Honoring offers an outdoor learning space to reach students with a different way of learning than in conventional classrooms. If kids are interested in particular presentations, “it might help them choose a career,” she said.

An example would be Kaylie Durglo, now a CSKT wildlife biologist. Durglo said she always loved the wildlife presentation at River Honoring when she was a child. It helped her choose a career she loves.

“It takes a team to put on,” Gillin said of the event.

For instance, Miranda Burland of the Tribal Education Scholarship Office helped manage the event. The Tribal Wildlife Program and Bison Range personnel set up and took down the tipis, and many other Department of Natural Resource employees also helped, many as instructors.

Tribal Games led games of double ball. The Selis-Qlispe Culture Committee members offered a program as did the Division of Fire, Tribal Forestry, Water Resources, Tribal Fisheries, the Back Country Horsemen, Orienteering, Aquatic Invasive Species, Tribal Lands/MSU Extension, Tribal Fish & Game, Water Quality/Environmental Justice Program and others.

“The presenters enjoy it just as much as the kids,” Gillin said.

Before the yellow buses rolled in on Wednesday morning, the River Honoring began at 6 p.m. May 9 with an opening prayer and welcome by Salish elder Johnny Arlee and an honor song by Yamncut.

“I like that River Honoring begins with a prayer,” Gillin said.

Then, the 2023 River Honorees were announced and honored.

Sadly, Tony Incashola, Sr., was honored posthumously as the Elder Honoree. Incashola, who passed away in June of 2022, was the long-time head of the Salish Culture Committee.

“He gave us years of cultural guidance,” said Gillin.

The Natural Resources Department honoree was Willie Keenan; the Tribal Educator honoree was Steve “Stipi” Arca, and the Educator honoree was Scott Kaiser.

History of the River Honoring

According to information given to River Honoring attendees, the first River Honoring was held in the fall of 1986. It was supported by Salish Kootenai College and coordinated by a number of people, including Clarence Woodcock and Joe McDonald.

They constructed a sweat lodge for prayer, had a river float trip and a feast, and an open mic forum for those who wanted to tell stories.

The hope was that it would become an annual event, and the site chosen was the Woodcock campsite, a cultural and historic site on the lower Flathead River where it’s still held today.

After a River Honoring in 1992, the organizing committee decided to “redirect the education effort to focus on a younger target audience” and that was children in their early school years. The founders wanted to instill a good land use ethic in young people.

They also changed the time of year from fall to spring “to experience the full impact of the river corridor’s natural beauty.”