Rivers of History Tour

August 12, 2023
When:   August 26, Saturday, meet at 8am - returning around 8pm:  about 12 hours.
  • Meet:  Grocery Outlet  1617 W. 3rd in Spokane.  We will carpool.
  • Why Attend:   to know the Spokane River - Coeur d'Alene Lake story is to know the story of the West:  nature's abundance, exploitation, and belated conservation. 
  • Who Should Attend:   teachers and students of all ages interested in the story of our home waters.
  • Food & Drink:  Bring snacks and water. We will have a late lunch at the Snake Pit (est 1880) near the confluence of the Coeur d'Alene River's north and south forks.  Dinner will be at the Olympia Restaurant in CDA.
  • Walking?  Total: less than 1 mile, to and from teaching stations.
  • Film:  a film production crew will be filming

RSVP by August 24:  send RSVP to John Osborn MD, osborn1956@gmail.com  Limited to 20.

 

Background:

River History Tours

This tour starts at Spokane House and the confluence of the Little Spokane and Spokane Rivers, ending above Wallace, Idaho, on the history-rich Canyon ("Shit") Creek. Participants will better know the basin before first contact, impacts resulting from Manifest Destiny forces converging here, and recent efforts to recover and protect this watershed. Warren Seyler, a tribal elder and historian, will give the opening talk at the Spokane House.  

Our region's Tribes, especially the Spokane's and Coeur d'Alene's, are central to this story: protecting their ancestral homelands and restoring salmon runs. Fur traders and explorers, religious missionaries, railroad builders, miners, loggers, dam-builders, and real estate developers are also part of this story -- as are local activists who worked to close the timber and mining frontiers.

Readings:

Restoring Salmon to the Upper Columbia River.  Upper Columbia United Tribes.

The Spokane River.  Ed. by Paul Lindholdt.  UW Press, 2018.

Transitions Journal.  Ed. by John Osborn.  UI Library - 1988 - 2000.

Coeur d'Alene Tribe history

Spokane Tribe history