Hellgate Treaty – 1855
Most Missoulians give little thought to the Hellgate Treaty signed at Council Grove west of Missoula in 1855. It’s significance was, and still is, not well understood by the average student of local history and what little information that was available on the subject didn’t help much. How important the subject is depends on your understanding of how Missoula came about, and more especially, how the settlement of the Bitter Root came about. On a scale of 1 to 10 measuring the importance of events occurring in Missoula, the signing of the treaty should rank at 1, or at the top of any list. The rollout of especially significant events statewide should always include the treaty and this is finally becoming acknowledged in a general way, as it should be. The topic embraces everything that brilliant stories are likely to have – including political intrigue, heroism, unflinching loyalties and friendships, betrayal, and death and war. A good source on this topic is “In the Name of the Salish & Kootenai Nation” – edited by Robert Bigart and Clarence Woodcock, published in 1996.
A copy of the treaty can be found at the website below:
https://www.washingtonhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/hellgateTreaty.pdf