American Indian Culture and Research Journal

COEUR D’ALENE DEPENDENCE ON ITS WATER RESOURCES The Coeur d’Alene Tribe, known as Schee-chu-umsh in their own Interior Salish language, had an aboriginal territory of about 4 million acres, which included the centrally located Lake Coeur d’Alene, the Coeur d’Alene River, and the St. Joe River (Figure 4) The lakes and rivers within tribal territory were integral to the tribe’s cultural survival. Throughout their history, tribal members depended on their lakes and rivers for physical and spiritual well-being. Lake Coeur d’Alene,the Coeur d’Alene River, and the St. Joe River not only formed the heart of the tribe’s territory, but also acted as the crux of their cultural life. In other words, the tribe had a fundamental dependence on these water resources. The Coeur d’Alene Tribe depended on the water resources of the Coeur d’Alene River, St. Joe River, and Lake Coeur d’Alene in the location, establishment, and occupation of their villages. The three divisions of the tribe occupied at least thirty-three villages on the banks of or near these bodies of water upon which the tribe depended for survival. Eyewitness observers have provided detailed descriptions of Coeur d’Alene villages on the banks of the rivers and lake for over 150 years.