St. Ignatius, MT – The 1800s brought profound changes to the lives of the Bitterroot Salish and Qlisp’e (Kootenai) people, as settlers from diverse backgrounds flocked to the region.
In the early 1800s, the Northwest Trading Company provided employment opportunities that attracted a group of Mohawk Iroquois tribal members to the area.
Several members of the initial groups of settlers chose to put down roots and intermarry with the local tribes. Consequently, many present-day members of the Confederated Salish Kootenai Tribe, including some of our current employees, can trace their lineage back to these Mohawk settlers.
The introduction of Catholicism was another momentous change during this era for tribal members. Jesuit Priests, commonly referred to as Black-Robes, established a Mission not far from S&K’s current corporate office. This Mission complex included a church, a boarding school, dormitories, and a school for the training of priests.
The boarding school, a significant part of the Mission, permanently closed its doors in the 1970s. Today, the sole remaining structure is the church, which stands as a testament to this transformative period in the region’s history.
Picture provided by Troy Felsman: My great-grandmother Teresa, top row in the center in front of the door, dressed in white. Her mother, E-Nam-Pe, top left, is also dressed in white. Both served as translators for the Sisters of Providence, an Order of Nuns that served here at the Mission.
