Students from the University of Montana embarked on an educational journey to Nʔaycčstm, known as the ‘place of large bull trout,’ engaging in a mini history lesson guided by Confederated
For all of his life, Alan âChaunceyâ Beaverhead stood at the heart of tribal culture and tribal life on the Flathead Reservation. Raised with his brother Gene by their great-grandparents, Pete and Josephine Beaverhead, they were the most recent children to be raised to complete fluency in the Salish language. They were steeped in the culture and community of the QlÌispeÌ (upper Kalispel or Pend dâOreille) people who for thousands of years have been the guardians and caretakers of the Mission Mountains, Mission Valley, Flathead Lake and surrounding areas. For centuries, they have been centered around SnyelÌmn MqÌÊ·moqÌÊ·s (Place-Where-You-Surround-Something Mountains â Mission Range). Many QlÌispeÌ families have been based in the area from the branches of NmÌlaÌ SewÉ«lkÊ·s (Ravenâs Waters â Crow Creek) to KÌÊ·É«ncÌmeÌp (Waters of the Narrow Opening â Post Creek), where the Beaverhead home was located, a