This Indigenous Peoples’ Day, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT) and the Séliš-Ql?ispé Culture Committee will join Missoula County, the City of Missoula, the Montana Department of Transportation and others to officially name and dedicate Beartracks Bridge on Higgins Avenue. All community members are invited to join us for this special event.

With an understanding that Missoula has always been at the heart of the overlapping territories of the Séliš and Ql?ispé, Missoula County, led by Commissioner Dave Strohmaier, worked with the CSKT Tribal Council and Culture Committee over the past few years to name the reconstructed bridge in honor of the valley’s original inhabitants. Tribal members selected the new name, Beartracks Bridge, as a tribute to the Vanderburgs, a prominent and highly respected Salish family. Learn more about the Bear Tracks family here.

The official commemoration of this new name, slated for 12:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 10, will start on the south end of the bridge and feature an opening prayer and song, various speakers, and unveiling of new interpretive signage explaining the bridge’s namesake. CSKT elders and other tribal members will then take part in a procession across the bridge, following the same route their ancestors took when the U.S. government forcibly removed them from their historical territory in 1891. The celebration will conclude with a powwow at 2:30 p.m. in Caras Park featuring drum circles, dancers, food trucks, tribal vendors, educational materials and more.

Missoula County, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, the Séliš-Ql?ispé Culture Committee and the City of Missoula invite all community members to this momentous event. Free and open to all.

Thank you to the following sponsors of this event:

Confederated Salish & Kootenai Tribes
Séliš-Ql?ispé Culture Committee
Missoula County
City of Missoula
Sound Creations
Partnership Health Center
Destination Missoula
Tourism Business Improvement District
Missoula Downtown Foundation