Over a Century of Moving to the Drum
Salish Indian Celebrations on the Flathead Indian Reservation
Johnny Arlee
Published by the Salish Kootenai College Press, Pablo, Montana, 1998
The Fourth of July Celebration at Arlee, Montana, on the Flathead Indian Reservation had evolved and grown
for over a century. Also called a powwow or war dance, the Salish Indian Celebration is an expression of
Salish community and hospitality.
In this book, Johnny Arlee, a Salish teacher and spiritual advisor, shares what the elders taught him
about the early Salish Indian celebrations at Arlee. He also discusses some of the changes he remembers
in Arlee Celebrations.
Rex C. Haight, an amateur photographer from Missoula, Montana, takes us on a photographic tour of the
Arlee Fourth of July Celebration of about 1940.
The last section features interviews with Salish elders and young people about their memories of the
Arlee Celebration and its importance to the Salish Indian people in the 1990s.
Johnny Arlee is a Salish Indian cultural and spiritual advisor. He lives in Arlee, Montana, on the Flathead
Indian Reservation with his wife Joan Arlee from Seabird Island Reserve, British Columbia, Canada.
Born in 1940 at St.Ignatius, Montana, Johnny was raised by his great-grandparents, Eneas and Isabella Granjo
in Arlee, Montana. From them he learned to speak the Salish language as his first language and learned
about hunting, crafts, and traditional Salish life.
Since September 1996, he has been an instructor for the Salish Kootenai College Salish Cultural Leadership Program.
This program allows Salish students to learn Salish traditions by working with elders in an apprenticeship setting.
(The text above comes from the back of the book)