Charlo (Native American leader) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Charlo
Sɫm̓xẹ Q̓woxq̣eys
Charlo, painted by E. S. Paxson
Bitterroot Salish leader
Preceded by	Victor or Xweɫxƛ̣ ̓cín (Many Horses or Plenty-of-Horses)
Personal details
Born	c. 1830
Died	January 10, 1910
Spouse	Margaret
Children	Martin, Ann Felix, and Victor
Parent	Chief Victor (Many Horses or Plenty-of-Horses)
Nickname	(Claw of the Little Grizzly or Small Grizzly-Bear Claw)

Charlo (also known as Charlot; his native name was Sɫm̓xẹ Q̓woxq̣eys, meaning "Claw of the Little Grizzly") lived from about 1830 to 1910. He was the main chief of the Bitterroot Salish people from 1870 until his death in 1910. Charlo believed in keeping peace with the American settlers in southwestern Montana. He also kept peace with the soldiers at nearby Fort Missoula.

After the buffalo herds were nearly wiped out, Charlo worked for twenty years. He tried to help his people stay independent in their homeland, the Bitterroot Valley. Eventually, the U.S. government forced Charlo's people to move. They had to go to the Flathead Indian Reservation. Charlo talked with retired general Henry B. Carrington. He worked to get good farms and help for the Bitterroot Salish. Charlo spent the rest of his life trying to make the U.S. government keep its promises. He also defended his people's rights to their reservation land. White settlers wanted to open the reservation for new farms.

Charlo's Early Life and Family

Charlo was born around 1830. This was before any white settlements were built in what is now Montana. His father was Victor, also known as Xweɫxƛ̣ ̓cín (Many Horses). Charlo grew up in the Bitterroot Valley. This valley was his people's ancient home. Every part of the land had a story linked to it.

The Bitterroot Salish people moved with the seasons. They traveled once or twice a year to the plains. There, they hunted buffalo. When Charlo was a child, his people were recovering. Diseases like smallpox had reduced their numbers. Wars with other Plains tribes had also pushed them off the Great Plains.

In 1841, Jesuit priests opened St. Mary's Mission. It was in the Bitterroot Valley. This mission became a religious and social center for the tribe. It was also Montana's first lasting white settlement. As Charlo grew up, his people faced many challenges. They needed to make alliances with tribes to the west. They also had to protect their buffalo hunting rights. And they worked to keep peace with the growing number of white settlers.

Charlo married a woman named Margaret. They had three children: Martin, Ann Felix, and Victor.

The Hellgate Treaty's Impact

In 1855, the Hellgate treaty was signed. This treaty greatly shaped Charlo's life. It was made between the Salish, Pend d'Oreilles, and Kootenai tribes and the U.S. government. The treaty set up the Flathead Indian Reservation. It also planned for a possible second reservation in the Bitterroot Valley.

The treaty said the Bitterroot Valley would be surveyed. Then, the president would decide which valley was "better adapted" for the Flathead tribe. It also promised to keep white settlers out of the Bitterroot Valley. This was supposed to happen until the survey was done.

This treaty made the Salish tribe's legal claim to the Bitterroot Valley weaker. A Jesuit priest named Father Adrian Hoecken watched the treaty talks. He felt the treaty was not fair. He wrote that the tribes did not understand most of it. The translator was not very good. The U.S. Congress did not approve the treaty until 1859. This left the Salish people unsure of their future. When the treaty was finally approved, the government failed to follow most of its promises. They never fully surveyed the valley. Also, the Civil War distracted the government. They forgot about the question of a Bitterroot Valley reservation. They also failed to keep white settlers out of the Bitterroot Valley, as promised.

Charlo Becomes Chief

Charlo became chief in August 1870. This happened after his father, Victor, passed away. Charlo continued his father's peaceful approach. But he also kept defending his people's claim to the Bitterroot Valley. He stood against the claims of white settlers.

In 1871, President Ulysses S. Grant ordered the Salish to leave the valley. In 1872, Congressman James A. Garfield came to carry out the order. The land dispute almost led to a fight with soldiers. But Charlo and other Salish leaders used their diplomacy. They calmed the situation.

Garfield worked out an agreement. Part of the tribe would move to the Flathead Reservation. The rest could stay in the Bitterroot Valley. But they would have to become "land-holding U.S. citizens." Charlo refused to sign this agreement. He faced military threats. To get a signature, government officials recognized Arlee as chief. Charlo's signature was then faked on the published agreement. Arlee led part of the tribe to the Flathead Reservation in 1873. Charlo still refused to leave. He never forgave or spoke to Arlee again. Most of the Salish people stayed with Charlo in the Bitterroot. Some received special land titles for farms in the valley. These titles meant the land could not be taken away. The Salish still saw themselves as an independent tribe. But the government saw them as U.S. citizens who had left their tribal ways.

In 1876, Montana newspapers printed a speech by Charlo. It showed his deep sadness and feeling of betrayal. He felt this way towards the white settlers and the U.S. government. Part of his speech said:

"Since our ancestors first saw the white men, more than seventy winters have passed... We were happy when they first came. We thought they brought light. But now they come like the evening dusk. They are not like the morning dawn. They come like a day that has ended. Night enters our future with them...

When they were poor, we fed them. We cared for them. We were their friends. We showed them the safe river crossings and mountain paths in our lands.

But they have filled graves with our bones... Their path is destruction. They spoil what the Great Spirit made beautiful and clean in this country...

Their laws never gave us a single plant, or a tree, or a duck, or a bird, or a fish...

How often do they come? They come as long as they live. They take more and more. And they make dirty what they leave behind."

Moving to the Flathead Reservation

Charlo successfully defended his people's claim to the Bitterroot Valley. This was possible as long as they could hunt buffalo east of the Continental Divide. But the buffalo herds were destroyed in the 1870s and 1880s. This ruined the Salish economy. It forced them to grow more crops and raise more animals. A terrible drought in 1889 caused the people to almost starve.

As the tribe's situation became desperate, Charlo started thinking about the U.S. government's offer. This was an offer of land on the Flathead Reservation. At the same time, Congress passed a law. It allowed the sale of Salish land in the Bitterroot. The money from these sales would go to the Salish owners. Or the government would spend it for them. Then, the people would move to the Flathead Reservation.

Negotiating the Move

In October 1889, retired general Henry B. Carrington came to Montana. He was there to talk with Charlo. He wanted to convince Charlo to sign an agreement. This agreement would allow the sale of Charlo's land in the Bitterroot. Charlo's signature would show that the Bitterroot Salish were willing to leave their homeland. They would move to the Flathead.

Carrington tried to earn Charlo's trust. He visited Charlo's farm before talks began. He gave Charlo gifts like cigars and food. When the talks started in Stevensville, Montana, Carrington showed the original 1872 Garfield agreement. This proved Charlo had never signed it.

Even with Carrington's efforts, Charlo first refused to move. Charlo brought up the government's broken promises from the Hellgate treaty. He asked for that treaty to be followed exactly. But Carrington did not answer this request. Charlo stressed that he and his people had stayed friendly to white people. This was true even with all the broken promises. Carrington argued that Charlo needed to move to the Flathead. He said it would stop young Salish men from causing trouble and not helping the community. Charlo promised to think about Carrington's offer all night. Later that day, some young Salish men started a fight. Charlo had to stop it. He punished those who caused trouble.

The next day was Sunday, November 3. Charlo went to Mass. Afterward, he went to Carrington's office in Stevensville. There, he spoke about the poverty of his people. He especially mentioned very old men and women who could not help themselves. He said the young men would not help them. He also said that "the young men would hunt and sell their game for strong drinks, and he could not stop it." He added that "they followed bad white men and took what they wanted to eat, without working."

After this speech, Charlo signed the agreement. He said, "The Great Spirit told me last night, 'Trust the white Chief.' Charlot loves his people! Charlot will change and do right! Charlot will sign the paper. Then, the white chief can write down what Charlot wants."

In return for Charlo agreeing to move, Carrington made promises. The Salish would get food help until they moved. Their burial places near St. Mary's Mission would be safe. The people would get good cabins on the Flathead Reservation. They could choose their own land. Every family with children would get a cow. And Charlo would receive new wagons and Arlee's farm.

The Journey to the Reservation

Carrington promised Charlo he would return in the spring of 1890. He would arrange the land sales and the move. But Congress did not provide money for the move until July 1, 1891. Charlo and his people expected to move in 1890. So, they did not plant crops on their Bitterroot farms that spring. Even if they wanted to, the 1889 drought had left them too poor to buy seeds. The government had promised help, but it only gave them very little food. By the winter of 1890, Charlo's people had to trade their horses, tools, and even stoves. They did this just to feed themselves.

When Carrington finally returned on July 29, 1891, Charlo insisted. He said he would "talk no business, until [the] people are fed."

Selling Salish land in the Bitterroot took longer than Carrington had promised. After a meeting on October 11, 1891, the Salish decided to move anyway. Their farms were still unsold. Charlo gave the news to Carrington that afternoon:

I could not sleep at first, last night. I remembered my father Victor. His people expected me to do what he would approve, for their good. I told everyone to gather in the morning. As soon as the sun was up, we would say prayers to the Great Spirit. That made me feel better, and I could go to sleep. Then, the Great Spirit gave me these thoughts. "Charlot, go with your people. They will starve, or freeze here. Nobody will buy your land if you stay. Go and pick out good land and build houses before winter. Do not listen to lies that bad people tell you." So I come, to say, we will all go, and go together. We don't want any soldiers with us, or any other white men except White Chief [Carrington] and Joe McLaren.

Charlo planned the march himself. He insisted it happen without white soldiers. However, Salish stories say that troops were present during the move. On October 15, 1891, Charlo called his people to gather. After praying, they announced they would go. Charlo did not look back. Older people later remembered the journey as a sad march. It took three days to travel sixty miles. They arrived at the Jocko Agency. Agent Peter Ronan welcomed them with a feast. After a twenty-year struggle, Charlo had made sure his people survived. But it meant losing their independence.

Life on the Reservation

After arriving at the Flathead Indian Reservation, Charlo spent much time seeking promises to be kept. Carrington had promised Charlo the farm of Arlee. But Arlee had given it to his granddaughter. Instead, Charlo accepted the Jocko Agency farm. The Salish had been promised help with fencing and plowing their new farms. Each family with children had been promised a cow. But even though agent Peter Ronan asked for money to keep these promises, it was never given.

Charlo also expected his people to receive food until they got money from their Bitterroot land sales. But when Ronan ran out of beef for the food, the government was slow to provide more. Charlo felt betrayed by these broken promises. According to Ronan, "I have no complaint to make against Chief Charlot—he is a fair and pleasant man, but he believes promises should be kept."

In 1904, Montana's Congressman Joseph M. Dixon proposed a law. It would open the Flathead Reservation for new settlers. Charlo fought against opening the reservation until his death in 1910.

Charlo's Death and Legacy

Charlo died on January 10, 1910. His son Victor became chief after him. The town of Charlo, Montana, and Chief Charlo Elementary School in Missoula, Montana, are named after him.