The Colville tribe were nomads who lived in eastern Washington, and were named after Fort Colville where they traded. They were affected by Europeans and forced onto reservations, including the Colville Indian Reservation. Today, the reservation is less than half its original size and the tribe operates wood product manufacturing and a fish hatchery.
The ancestors of the Colville tribe, whose names are not recorded, were nomads, following food sources as the seasons changed. These Native Americans, who lived largely in eastern Washington, consisted of a number of bands or tribes who summered and wintered in villages or camps. US government officials gave the name “Colville” to American Indians who traded at Fort Colville, Washington, whether or not the people were actually of the same tribe. Today, many members of the Colville Tribe live on the Colville Indian Reservation, which is administered by the Confederate Tribes of the Colville Reservation.
Like many other Native American tribes, the Colville tribe was affected by Europeans before these American Indians came into physical contact with foreigners. This came in the form of horses, which were imported from Europe in the 15th century by European explorers. When horses reached these Washington Indians in the mid 15th century, horses allowed Native Americans to travel to a larger territory.
During the 1800s, Europeans, European-Canadians, and European-Americans began establishing trading posts in Eastern Washington to trade goods with the Native Americans in the area. The first post was established along the Columbia River in 1807. In 1825, the Hudson’s Bay Company established Fort Colville, named after Englishman Lord Andrew Colville. The fort was located in Kettle Falls, a traditional trading ground for Washington tribes.
As the 1800s progressed, more people of European descent moved into traditional lands than the bands of Native Americans who lived in the area. As the trade continued and demand and competition for fur from animals such as otters, beavers, bears, and minks increased, traders began referring to the Native Americans in the area as “Colville” for convenience.
Many Native Americans were forced to sign treaties in the 1850s, confining their people to reservations. U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant (1822-1885), who was a key Union general during the Civil War, established the Colville Indian Reservation by executive order on April 9, 1872. An executive order is a law or a law enacted by the President of the United States that does not require Congressional approval. The original reservation included not only people who were from the “Colville tribe,” but other Native Americans including some of the Coeur d’Alene, which is French for “people of the weevil,” and the Methows, who traditionally lived along the Methow River in the north of Washington. It only took three months for the US government to begin reducing the lands on this reservation.
Today, many of the Colville tribe and other Native Americans in the area live in an area that is less than half the size of the original reservation. The Colville Indian Reservation consists of approximately 2,300 square miles (5957 square km). The Colville Tribe and other Native American tribes on the reservation include wood product manufacturing and operate a fish hatchery that supplies fish to the lakes and streams in north central Washington.
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