The Coeur dAlene

Culture

1. Who are the Coeur dAlene?

One Frenchman described the tribe as the greatest traders in the world. They are Native American people and
one of 85 federally recognized tribes in the state of Idaho.

2. Where do they live and how big is their territory?

Their territory was almost 5,000,000 acres. The territory consist of what is now north Idaho, eastern
Washington and western Montana.

3. How did they view buffalo hunting?

With the coming of horses, young Coeur d'Alene men journeyed east to hunt buffalo. These journeys,
however, were not necessary for survival. They were viewed as adventures, and even rites of passage,
for youth who would emerge into manhood and into leadership roles.

4. Who gave them the nickname Coeur dAlene?

The first white people to encounter the Coeur d'Alene's were French trappers and traders. It was one
of these Frenchmen who found the tribe to be vastly experienced and skilled at trading, thus the name
"Coeur d'Alene,"meaning "heart of the awl." The nickname stuck.

5. What does Coeur dAlene mean?

"Coeur d'Alene,"meaning "heart of the awl."

Council

6. How does the council interact with the U.S. Government?

Elected tribal leaders must deal with issues on every possible level. That is the responsibility handed
to them and assumed by them when they are elected by the tribal membership. The chairman or a
council member may deal directly with the President of the United States, or with the leaders of
congress, or with the members of the president's cabinet.

Departments

7. What is the ultimate goal of the tribes elected leaders?

Elected leaders and the staff have set forth the goal of restoring the tribe's self-sufficiency.

8. How will they achieve this?

That will come with economic development, high employment, and the providing of educational
opportunities.

9. Choose of the 16 departments and summarize (not copy and paste) its function.
Information Technology department: They are responsible for maintaining all computer systems
within the tribal government as well as implementing network security and tribal communications.
Their mission is to provide innovative and technical solutions in computing, media and
communication services to enable the tribe to effectively meet their goals as a learning community
and to preserve tribal culture.

Environment

10. What is the Coeur dAlene Basin Restoration Project?

The Coeur dAlene Basin Restoration Project was a project that was to help restore the Coeur dAlene
Basin. The mining industry dumped 72 million tons of waste into the basin. This caused natural life
within the area to be wiped out. The damages to the area estimated to cost around 1 billion dollars.

11. What happened to the watershed?

Natural life in the Coeur dAlene River was wiped out. The river flowed with milky- white mine waste.

12. What did the Supreme Court decide in 2001?

The tribe's quest to resolve ownership was decided by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2001. The U.S.
Supreme Court recognized that the Tribe has always been the owner of the lower one-third of Coeur
dAlene Lake and other related waters.

Reservation

13. How did the ancient Coeur dAlene earn their livings?
Coeur d'Alene Indians earned their livings through what was provided in nature: lakes and streams
churning with trout and salmon; forests complete with elk, moose and deer, mountains and meadows
with huckleberries and camas roots, wetlands with waterfowl and water potatoes.

14. What is the reservations current economy based on?

The reservation economy is based mostly on its productive agriculture.

15. What are 2 other parts of their economy?

The reservation land also produces about 30,000 acres of Kentucky Blue Grass. Logging is another
important component of the economy and source of revenue for the tribe.

16. What is the shadowy St. Joe?

"The shadowy St. Joe" is one of North America's premier trout streams, flowing from the Idaho-
Montana line down to the south end of Lake Coeur d' Alene. The lower St. Joe is the highest navigable
stream in the world, and a waterway for the tugboats that push giant log booms to lumber mills along
the Spokane River far to the north.

Sovereignty

17. Look up and define sovereignty.

Sovereignty can be best defined as supreme power or authority.

18. What does the statement, The Sovereignty of Indian tribes is INHERENT, mean?
That means it existed since time immemorial, and is recognized as such in the Constitution of the
United States. States and tribes have equal legal and constitutional status in their dealings with the
federal government.

19. What is the most common government-to-government relationship between the U.S. government
and Indian nations?
Most commonly known of the government-to-government relationships between the United States
and Indian Nations is the power of Congress to make treaties.
20. What is unique about the tribes in Idaho?

21. Why do tribal members say they commitment to preservation and control of their heritage?
Tribal members often say they have a commitment to the preservation and control because of their
commitment to future generations, because of their connection with the land, and because of their
connections to their ancestors buried in it.
Warriors

22. Why are the following dates/events/places important to the Coeur dAlene tribe?

A. D-day, June 6, 1944: At the time, most of the smiling, shining faces of the Coeur d' Alene
Tribe's young men were absent from the reservation because they were overseas fighting in war. Most
made it back. Four didn't. Their names -Carl Sol Louie, (a.k.a. Charles K. Louie), Elmer J. Falcon,
Moses W. Aripa, and Adolph Alexie- are forever etched into the World War II honor roll of men killed
in action or who died of wounds sustained in combat.
B. Belgium Border: Later that fall, on November 21, 1944, the brother of Felix S. Aripa - Moses,
or mu'is - was killed in action at the Belgium border as allied troops moved inland towards Germany.
C. Stalag 17: Gabriel Aripa, a nephew to Felix and Moses Aripa, was actually taken as a prisoner
of war and had to learn how to survive when he spent time in the big German POW camp known
famously from books, movies, and history as Stalag 17.
D. The Italian Alps: In World War II Marcus Nicodemus distinguished himself with his
leadership, as recognized by his superior in the U.S. Army's 10th Mountain Division As sergeant, he
was instrumental in leading his squad in special elite operations, such as the battle for Mt. Belvedere,
in the treacherous Italian Alps that were strategic to allied advancement through secret paths into
Germany.
E. The Pacific Theater: Two more Coeur d'Alene Indians made the ultimate sacrifice in WWII,
this time in the Pacific theater of the war. Private First Class Adolph Alphonse Alexie was killed in
action in the South Pacific. He was on Okinawa Island on April 6, 1945 and was buried in the 96th
Infantry Division Temporary Cemetery there. Elmer Falcon died of wounds he received in combat on
the island of Layte in the Philippines. Falcon was the first husband of Margaret (Joseph) Stensgar, the
mother of current Coeur d'Alene Tribal chairman Ernest L. Stensgar.