Kalispel Tribe of Indians
Coloring and Activities
Hello there! Welcome to my digsite, today we’ll be using stratigraphy to understand this site a bit better! This site appears to be an earthen oven, used for cooking camas, a plant that is very valued by the Kalispel Tribe.
Thanks to archaeology we can learn a ton about what the lives were like for the Kalispel people!
The Kalispel Tribe speaks a language called Salish, it even has it’s own alphabet.
l̓
əl̓
s
sas
a
ł
łuʔ
š
še
c
ci
m
mi
t
ti
c̓
c̓ a
m̓
əm̓
t̓
t̓ a
č
če
n
nu
u
u
c̓̌
c̓̌ u
n̓
ən̓
w
wa
e
e
o
o
w̓
əw̓s
h
ha
p
pi
x̣
x̣ a
p̓
p̓ a
xw
xwi
x̣ w
x̣ way
y
yi
y̓
y̓ u
Letter
Sound
a
i
is
k
kut
q
qi
k
w
k up
q̓
q̓ u
k̓ w
k̓ wap
qw
qwa
ʔ
ʔət
l
li
q̓ w
q̓ way
ʕ
ʕay
w
Unlike English, there are no silent letter in Salish, and the letters only have one pronunciation.
Salish is the language spoken by the Kalispel people, see if you can figure out some of the basics! Try tracing the Salish words.
ʔe
Hello
sł ł ʕast
Goodbye
swe łu a skwest What is your name? łu i skwest q̓ wyq̓ way
c̓ ʔ u̓lixw
is my name
sx̣ weʔlítx̣ weʔ
st̓ šałq
Mammals, like deer and elk, were hunted for their meat to be used as food, for their hides to be used as shelter and clothing, and their bones to be used as tools.
q̓ w yq̓ way
sx̣ wléščn
American Bison
Whitetail Buck
snqcups Lynx
c̓ išps Wolverine
smx̣ ey̓ čn Grizzly Bear
Archaeologist excavate earth ovens to find out what types of animals were hunted and cooked in the past Protein residue analysis of arrowheads reveals the animals that were hunted, from deer to bison to bighorn sheep
Plants are a very valuable resource, for food and medicine and tradition
st̓ šałq Huckleberry
sx̣ weʔlítx̣ weʔ Camas
čc̓ eyłp
ʔastqw
Western White Pine
Western Red Cedar
Camas is a nutritious onion-like root. The flower blooms in the spring, and the bulb is dug in the summer, then the bulb is dried or baked
Fish were once caught with bone hooks, spears, harpoons, nets, waterfall baskets, weirs, and even bow and arrows.
pisł Westslope Cutthroat Trout
ʕaáy̓ cčst Bulltrout
x̣ wyu
Mountain Whitefish
c̓ x̣ ałq Chinook Salmon
The Pend Oreille Valley is the home of the Kalispel people, and an abundance of wildlife, plants, and important resources.
pql̓ qeyn Bald Eagle
k wsix w Canadian Goose
wu Tundra Swan
One of my favorite things to discover is artifacts, such as stone tools! Find your way through this maze and I’ll tell you more!
Start
Finish
Stone tools can be alayzed to find out what they were used to hunt for.
How many hooks can you spot on this page?
See if you can find all the words that are hidden!
BEAR BISON CAMAS KALISPEL LYNX
MOOSE OSPREY SALMON TROUT
Draw the bear from the left square into the right, the grids will make it easier!
Careful digging or excavation of soil reveals important details about the past, such as what people ate, where they lived, and what they did hundreds and thousands of years of ago. Having the right tools is important.
A trowel is my most used tool, it’s excellent for moving dirt once a shovel is longer viable
A handbroom is an essential tool, great for clearing away dirt, just be careful to use a soft brush when handling artifacts
Shovels are a handy primary excavating tool, It can be used to clear out a lot more dirt than a trowel
Thanks for listening to me talk about the Kalispel people, come back anytime! But, before you go, see if you can connect the dots and figure out what these different drawing are!