Hellgate Treaty

[1] The economy of the Salish, Pend d'Oreille, and Kutenai tribes was based on a seasonal round with annual journeys across the continental divide to hunt bison.

As white fur traders and trappers moved into the Rocky Mountains in what is now Montana, the Salish, Pend d'Oreilles, and Kutenais made informal alliances with them against enemy Blackfeet and other Plains tribes.

When the council began, leaders of the tribes wanted to discuss peace, and they urged Stevens to stop whites from trading ammunition to the Blackfeet.

In the meantime, the treaty guaranteed that "no portion of the Bitter Root Valley above the Loo-lo Fork, shall be opened to settlement until such examination is had and the decision of the President made known.

"[3] Believing this compromise would protect his people's claim to the Bitterroot, Victor signed the treaty along with the other chiefs on 16 July 1855.

"[8] Historians have argued that poor translation created misunderstandings on the part of tribal leaders about what the treaty would mean for their people.

Based on the terms of the accord, the Native Americans were to relinquish their territories to the United States government in exchange for payment installments that totaled US$120,000.

When the government finally did begin paying annuities—in the form of supplies like blankets, flannel, rice, and coffee—graft and incompetence drained away much of the money.

The Upper Pend d'Oreille and Lower Kutenai tribes moved to the Flathead Indian Reservation, but the Salish continued to live in the Bitterroot Valley, believing that the treaty had guaranteed their right to do so.

The diplomacy of Chief Charlo allowed the tribe to remain in the Bitterroot until 1891, when economic pressure finally forced them to move to the Flathead.