1957-10-01 Char-Koosta News

              Stephen Peone
St. Ignatius, Mont.
CHAR-KOOSTA
PUBLISHED BY CONFEDERATED SALISH AND KOOTENAI TRIBES, FLATHEAD AGENCY, MONT.
Vol. 1 No. 12 Oct. 1957
The Last Chief
When we hear the passing of one of our older fullblood Indians, especially one with the name of Charlo, we think of the vanishing American, and become deeply concerned.
I am dedicating this issue of the Char-Koosta to our beloved and picturesque friend Chief Paul (Palcatnah) Charlo. Paul was an honorary Chief of the Flathead Indians. Martin Charlo was the last recognized Chief, after the introduction of the Reorganization Act, under which the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes now function.
The death of Paul Charlo removes the last lineal Chieftain whose anceslory dates back to the time of Lewis and Clark. History will take note of his passing and will honor the memory of him and his ancestors for never having shed the blood of a white man, even during the trying and troublesome days of th2 frontier.
It is true that Paul died with a feeling in his heart that he should have had a place in the administration of this reservation, but when the Reorganization Act was passed and ratified on the Flathead Reservation in 1935 and the Tribes adopted a constitution, by-laws and ch arter ten councilmen were elected, from eight districts, the governing body of the Tribes. Chiefs Martin Charlo and Paul Koostahtah were named, in the Constitution, as Chiefs and there were no reservations made for anyone to be named as their successors. They tried hard to preserve the Treaty rights of
Allard Drove Stage from Ravalli to Poison
By Joseph Allard
I became a part of the staging across this Reservation in the year of 1888. I did not do so very much outside of rounding up horses, help grease the coaches, wash the harnesses, and so on, until 1890. That year I drove an extra rig, called a special, which carried five people, three in the back seat and two in front. It had a top, and curtains for the sides m case of rain.
I never drove near the big coaches to keep out of dust. The fare for this ride was $4, while the big stages charged onlv $3.
Very often because of high winds, the boats on the lake would be delayed with the U. S. Mail and passengers. Very often there were persons who would want to catch the East bound train at 4 p. m. I made this run several times. Once I made this run in three hours and thirty minutes. I got a $20 tip for that drive.
1855. When these two chiefs died the honor and prestige died with them However, the Flathead (Full Blood) Indians took a different view of the situation and thought that a Chief should be elected by the people. Although, nothing was done to bring this about, Paul Charlo was recognized by the people and the Tribal  Council as  an  honorary  Chief.
"Palcatnah" as Paul Charlo was known was a very honest and sincere man. He tried to work with the Indian people like his forefathers did. Like his father he was a leader among his people, but we must realize that for anyone to accept the responsibility of an Indian Chief, today, one must work with fullbloods and mixed bloods as well. In this respect Palcatnah's work was difficult. However, he accomplished his purpose in a proud and pride-ful way.
Paul was the son of Martin Charlo, a grandson of Chief Charlo and a great grandson of Chief Victor. Chief Charlo's family was the last Indian family to leave the Bitterroot Valley. In 1891 Charlo made his trek to the Flathead Reservation, the land that was set aside for his people by the Treaty of 1855. Chief Charlo did not want to leave the beautiful Bitterroot Valley. He told Governor Issac Stevens, governor of what was then know as the Washington Territory, that there was not enough room for the Salish, the Pend d'Orielle's and the Kootenai's to live together on the Flathead and that the Fl a the ads were content to live ;n the Bitterroot Valley where they cou'd preserve a large hunting ground and would be assured of an ample supply of winter meat. After the signing of the Treaty of 1355 Charlo faced adds and conditions that were to great for him to overcome. Many of his people left their native country for the Flathead Reservation, but years went by before Chief Charlo left his home in the B'tterrot a.i^ f Towed his people to the Flathead, where he died about 1905. At the time of his death Chief Charlo was a heartbroken man, but not a bitter one.
The death of Paul Charlo marks the end of a generation of respected men. Men who fought for the rights of the Indian people. After being promised that this country was theirs as long as the grass grows and the water flows' they lived to see these promises broken and the creeping encroachment of the whites upon their land. Much of their natural resources was lost; Their reservation was opened to homesteading by the whites and irrigation service invaded their land and assumed control of the waters that belonged to the Indian people. In 1953, Paul Charlo, the last chief, defended his people before an Indian Affiars Com-
mittee in Washington, D. C. against the termination bill and tried to retain for them what was left of their original holdings.
When the leaves began to fall and the tamarack trees take on their yellow coat the Fullblood Indians say that the porcupine is singing his love song and like the Indian, he is lonesome, too. These innate beliefs are a way of life that is fading into oblivion. The passing of our last Chief and the coinciding renewal of termination pressures marks a turning point in the life of the Flathead people, and we wonder how long our way of life will last.
Church services were held for 'Palcatnah' in the Old Jocko Catholic Church at Arlee, Montana, where three generations of Charlo Chiefs have received their last rites. Paul Charlo's final resting place was at the foot of a mountain in a cemetery of the beautiful Jocko Valley, his land and the land of his people.
by Walter Mc Donald