P.O. Box 100
Wellpinit, WA 99040
509-458-6500
The Spokane Tribe of Indians is a federally recognized tribe. The tribal reservation granted to this tribe is located on the State of Washington. The Tribal Headquarters is to be found in Wellpinit, Washington. The location of the headquarters is not less than fifty miles on the northern western portion of the Spokane, Washington as well as that of the Spokane Indian Reservation. The tribe has settled in the area after begin driven away from their original homelands. However, Spokane proved to be a worthy settlement. The tribe originally owned over three million acres of land. The tribal members were known to be fishers in the Spokane River, the Columbia River and some parts of the Grand Spokane Falls which were utilized for the use of the tribal families and tourists. The Tribe is sub divided into three namely the Upper, the Lower and that of the Middle Spokane Indians. The traditional dwellings of the tribe depended on the season of the year. Sometimes the tribe settled in the caves during the winter season while sometimes, the tribe had to settle in campsites. It was in January of 1881 when President Rutherford B. Hayes was the first to declare the Spokane Indian Reservation as the new home of the Indians. The tribal home was smaller than what used to be a huge reservation of the Spokane Indians. It was during the time when the three bands of the Indians had to split to individually find new homes that would suit their needs. These homes were eventually known as the Coeur d'Alene Indian Reservation, the Flathead Indian Reservation and the Colville Indian Reservation. The tribal members who chose to stay in the Spokane Reservation now enjoy 157, 376 acres of land area. The land area is divided into 108,874 acres of forest land, 8,552 acres of agricultural land, 10,328 acres of lakes and 25 camp sites which has been maintained by the tribal council. The tribal membership, as of the January 2006 data is 2,441 people. The Spokane Tribe is primarily governed by the Tribal Business Council. The Council is composed of a Tribal Chairman, a Vice Chairman, a Tribal Secretary and two Council members. The General Membership is the masses of the tribal people of which the Tribal Council reports to. There are general council meetings held to discuss the tribal issues. A spring and a fall general council meetings are only two of the tribal council meetings. The tribal enterprises live by the tribe's vision statement which states that their vision is to achieve true sovereignty by attaining self-sufficiency. Self sufficiency can be attained through the business enterprises as well as by living by the values and teachings of the tribal elders. The strong leadership, accountability, experience and positive reinforcement are some of the primary beliefs of the tribal council when to come to business handling.
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