Jun 26, 2024
sx̣ʷeʔlí spq̓niʔs, means The Camas Month.
History and information on what happened during The Camas Month:
Camas were examined to see if it was the correct time to dig them. Camas were not dug if they were blooming, but after it bloomed. Some elders said that camas could be dug when there was frost on the ground in the late Fall when food was scarce.
Sometimes Camas, after it is roasted was made into little cakes and dried. These cakes were called “Stt̓ałú”.
During this time of the month the summer buffalo hunts began. The Bitterroot Salish are joined by the Kalispel, Pend Oreille, Spokane, Coeur d’Alene, Nez Perce and other neighboring tribes to travel to the East and return approximately a month later.
A lot of the people who didn’t go on the buffalo hunts and were digging camas would loan a horse or two to the hunters in hopes of getting a share of the buffalo when they returned and in trade would share camas with them.