Native preservation

Photo project compiling a historic record of reservation communities

Ever heard of the cricket invasion in the late 1930s?

Neither had Mary Jane Charlo when she saw the photos submitted for an exhibit delving into the history of seven communities on the Flathead Indian Reservation.

Written accounts reveal that this cyclical blight of crickets destroyed crops from Montana to Wyoming. But the photos show its epic proportions and the desperate attempts to fight back in reservation communities.

"There's a picture of a man with a thing that looks like a vacuum, spraying some sort of chemicals," Charlo, project coordinator, said. "He's not wearing any mask, gloves or protective clothing."

Other photos show roads dotted with black crickets and people trying to erect metal barriers to stop the infestation that eventually impacted communities from Charlo to Niarada to Hot Springs.

These images illustrate a project goal of documenting community histories while fostering enthusiasm for preserving such historic photographs for posterity.

"It's educational - that's the main purpose," Charlo said. "It's going to be a traveling exhibit."

Teresa Wall-McDonald, a policy analyst for the Salish/Kootenai tribes who wrote the funding grant, said the project aims to engage the community members in a dialogue about historic events and tie them more closely to The People's Center in Pablo.

"We want to generate community support and interest," Wall-McDonald said.

A collaboration of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes with the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the National Park Service provided the support for the exhibit.

After 12 months of traveling across the reservation, the collection of historic photos and narratives takes up permanent residence in the tribe's People's Center, a museum and reservation gathering place.

According to Charlo, project coordinator, the people viewing the exhibit will learn about the history of the 1.3 million-acre reservation created by the 1855 Hellgate Treaty, as well as changes that came with native land allotments in 1889 and the 1910 Homestead Act.

"We'll also have a table with information on the importance of endowments," she said.

Charlo said this project aims to document history of all the people who lived on the reservation, including that of homesteaders. While many aspects of that history remain controversial, she said this project has no ideological ax to grind.

"Politics are completely off limits," she said.

According to Charlo, the project seeks to build more positive relationships between tribal and nontribal reservation residents through sharing their histories.

The photo-gathering specifically targets Arlee, Charlo, Elmo, Hot Springs, Pablo, Polson and Ronan. But the exhibit may include any photographs from the region that help tell the story of the early days.

To get the project rolling, Charlo has begun scheduling meetings in the communities. She recently attended one in Hot Springs in which she solicited ideas from citizens about significant historical events.

"They said that irrigation was very important to them along with, of course, the hot springs and the Symes Hotel," she said.

She said she hopes to unearth photos of early downtowns as she makes contacts in the target communities. Charlo said many communities like Arlee contain relics of past glory days.

"Most people see Arlee as just three blocks," Charlo said. "But the town once had a pool hall, movie theater, hotel and DeMur Mercantile."

She said many of the old buildings remain in Arlee but have taken on new functions. For example, the Brown Building and park was once a school.

Part of the old DeMur mercantile also remains, including an ancient old safe.

"Each town had a big mercantile," Charlo said. "That's where you went to buy what you needed for the ranch."

With a press release that went to local media, the project coordinator included a replica of a photo of a Pend d'Oreille hunting party near the Little Thompson River area described as in the tribal aboriginal territory prior to the Homestead Act.

The photo, shared from the collection of Clarence Hunter, represents a stellar example of what she seeks for the exhibit. It came with identifications for all seven people, the location, event and era of the photograph.

While many people have large boxes of old photos, Charlo said very few photos come with such documentation. As an example, Charlo said she received a large album from Salish Kootenai Forestry.

"Out of the whole album, only six had the names listed," she said.

Along with asking for individual photos, Charlo has tapped organizations with large photo collections, including the People's Center in Pablo, the Char-Koosta News, Salish Kootenai College and the Polson Flathead Historical Museum in Polson.

"Polson is pretty well-documented," she said. "They have tons of photographs."

To select the final 120 to 150 photos for the exhibit, Charlo works with the Salish and Kootenai culture committees of the tribes and the People's Center, as well as other tribal members with preservation expertise.

Anyone interested in sharing their reservation photographs should contact Charlo at (406) 675-2700. Photographs are returned after digital scanning.

Charlo said she understands the value that people place on these irreplaceable treasures. She appreciates it when someone decides to share them for the exhibit.

"It takes a lot of trust," she said.

Reporter Candace Chase may be reached at 758-4436 or by e-mail at cchase@dailyinterlake.com.