Heart of the Bitterroot keeps Salish history alive

ARLEE — “Salish women. Strong women. … Our ancestors died and became roots that reached the sun, became the faces of deer.” This poetic opening lures the listener to silence, to a relaxed hearing of the tales told by Salish women in story and song, in their own voices.
“Heart of the Bitterroot” is a newly released CD of Salish and Pend d’Oreille women’s stories and songs. The CD is a project of Julie Cajune and Npustin, an Arlee–based indigenous arts organization. The stories on the CD were collected from local women and tribal history. They are re-written by Jennifer Greene, and recited by Joanne Bigcrane. The booklet within the CD tells the fuller tales.
The CD mixes sounds of the natural world into the stories, so that birds sing as a story ends. The stories are bold and morbid, interspersed with songs to lift ones spirits.
In one tale, children’s voices fade out, followed by the story of a woman willing to kill for the ones she loves.
“No woman raises her son to die,” Kwilqs says, “But I have killed the sons of other women.”
Kwilqs was a strong Salish warrior alive in the 1800s. She was a prominent community member, and is remembered here.
Another family history states, “Truth and love and family are sure to guide like stars on moonless nights.”
Throughout the tales, Gary Stroutsos’ flute weaves, stepping around words, adding to the soul of each piece.
Local women’s voices sing while crickets, hawk and songbirds dance softly behind the speakers.
These are tales that are recent history. There is the story of Sinshe, mother of two boys left with the Blackrobes when her husband Ignace Lamoose took them to St. Louis, trying to get the Fathers to come west. When her husband is killed, the mother goes in search of her sons.
“I walked into a land of foreigners,” Sinshe’s tale says, “and I had the strength of a mountain cat. My love for my boys is strong, and I would always come for them.”
The overall theme of the disc could be summed up in a line from the story of Pretty Flower: “I know that compassion lives and stories heal. I see myself as proof.”
Julie Cajune’s ambitious project “Heart of the Bitterroot: Voices of Salish and Pend d’Oreille Women” is available for purchase at Hangin’ Art Gallery.