A Conversation about Fish
by Francis Cullooyah, Kalispel Tribe Cultural Department
“The fish were here long before the people were. They were always a big part of our food. When I was young, there were twelve or so of us kids who roamed around together. We would terrorize my grandmother’s garden, and when she chased us off, we went fishing in one of the creeks--Cee Cee Ah, Skookum, sometimes across to Tacoma... We never left garbage behind like people do now. There wasn’t such a thing back then anyway. We packed in a line, hook, and sinker, and then cut a stick for a pole when we got there. There were brook trout, but they were small, so we didn’t bother with them. Our main food was the cutthroat. Sometimes we’d cook them right there, but often we took them back to our elders. Then there started being less fish in the creeks. Maybe it was us who fished them out...or maybe it was all the other changes that were happening then. So after that we only fished from the river. We ate all the fish, even the non-game fish like suckers. There was always someone who welcomed whatever fish we caught.”
