Make Julyamsh Shared Occasion

While Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and the Corps of Discovery were waiting for mountain snow to melt two centuries ago, they joined the Nez Perce in athletic events to keep fit. The explorers held their own in foot races. But they couldn’t match their hosts for horsemanship.

The competition drew the two sides together during Lewis and Clark’s incredible journey to the Pacific and back. So did Nez Perce hospitality and friendliness. In fact, the outcome of the expedition might have been different, perhaps tragic, if American Indians, from the Mandans in North Dakota to the Shoshoni and Nez Perce in the Inland Northwest, hadn’t helped out.

Now, as the 200th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition nears, a Northwest tribe again is extending a hand of friendship. The second annual Julyamsh powwow of the Coeur d’Alene Indian Tribe will provide a venue for two cultures to mesh when it opens Friday evening at the Coeur d’Alene Greyhound Park at Post Falls. Certainly, it will wash away the bad taste left behind by the recent Aryan Nations hate march in Coeur d’Alene.

Julyamsh, which in only its second year has become one of the nation’s top three powwows, is a reminder of the culture and traditions that thrived in this country before the rest of us arrived. Of that first Thanksgiving when Pilgrims and Native Americans broke bread. Of the sad history of Indian relations afterward. Of the agreement in which Chief Seltice deeded pioneer Frederick Post the land that became Post Falls. Of the bright future this region has if Indians and non-Indians work together.

The city of Post Falls has much to gain from the powwow. Not only will the event draw as many as 800 dancers from Florida to Alaska and 60,000 visitors, but it will serve as a refresher course on local history. For millennia, Northwest tribes gathered at the falls on the Spokane River to dance, drum, compete, race, sing and celebrate. The greyhound park is a stone’s throw from Treaty Rock, where Chief Seltice and Post sealed their deal.

Post Falls city officials and community leaders should seek ways to join in Julyamsh and welcome the Coeur d’Alenes back to town - year round. A tribal presence in Post Falls would make a strong statement about race relations in North Idaho. It would be good business, too. Thriving tribal businesses have boosted the economy of Plummer and western Benewah County.

Julyamsh could be the start of something even bigger.