Ethics and the

    Columbia River Treaty


    Righting Historic Wrongs

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     Shelly Boyd


Both my parents are Lakes/ snʕ̓ ayc̓ kstx; my father descends from the Edward family (Chief Edward). My mother’s people descend from Sepitc̓ a (also known as “Julia of the Lakes” or Julia Provost). I grew up in Kewa (near Inchelium) where my Tupa (Great Grandmother) led our family. My Tupa was a fluent speaker of the language and encouraged me to get a formal education but to always remember our people and our traditional ways. Lakes people have linages they are proud of which reflects our continuity with the land and culture.

My BA is from Eastern Washington University where I studied communications and Indian Studies I also have a Masters degree from Gonzaga University in Education. I spent nearly 20 years working with the Inchelium School District on the Colville Reservation and The Medicine Wheel Academy of Spokane, working with Native youth.

In 2007, I began my language journey where I dedicated myself to my own fluency in the snʕ̓ ayc̓ kstx/Sinixt (Salish) language. I took four years of my life and worked with fluent speakers from Inchelium and Canada as well as studied archived recordings of my own Great Grandmother and other elders from our community including Pete Seymour, Dora Desautel, Mataline Desautel, Martin Louie and Tom Louie, I committed to putting the same amount of work into my fluency as I would a Ph.D (I believe the Ph.D would have been easier) but it was one of the best decisions I made in my life. In 2011 I was a founding member in the creation of the Inchelium Language and Culture Association (ILCA) a non-profit with the mission to revitalize our language and culture.

Last October I accepted the position as Arrow Lakes Facilitator and Coordinator for the Colville Tribe. In this position I feel I have the opportunity to assist in nurturing those connections and sharing the very important history and culture of our people. It’s important to know who you are, your past, present and future, and history, language and culture, which is the heart of who we snʕ̓ ayc̓ kstx are as people.


Email:   ShellyBoyd@comcast.net