Combined, the Bitterroot Salish, the Pend d’Oreille and the Kootenai tribes comprise the
The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes, whose ancestors once roamed over 20 million acres of what is now western Montana, parts of Idaho, British Columbia and Wyoming. The Flathead Reservation was established by the Hellgate Treaty of 1855.
The town of Arlee was named for the Nez Perce Sub-chief, Arlee, who, in October of 1873, led a group of Salish people on a trek from the Bitterroot Valley to the Jocko Agency, later to be known as the Flathead Indian Agency, a few miles north of Arlee.
A census-designated place (CDP), Arlee, presently with a population of around 600, remained only an Indian Agency until the arrival of the Northern Pacific Railroad and the construction of a depot in 1883. From that time it slowly grew, becoming a trading centre for the Jocko Valley, which it remains today.
The major annual event in Arlee is the
Arlee Celebration (Pow Wow), a five day event which takes place every Fourth of July Weekend. The first Pow Wow took place in 1898, later to become an annual event. Today the
Arlee Rodeo has become part of the Pow Wow. Three miles north of Arlee is the
Garden of One Thousand Buddhas, a very impressive display of, well, One Thousand Buddhas. Signage along Highway 93 will guide one to it.
Arlee was named after the Salish leader Arlee. In October 1873, he moved a small group of his people from the Bitterroot Valley, which was designated a “conditional reservation” in the 1855 Hellgate Treaty, to the Jocko Agency (later Flathead Indian Agency) located a few miles north of the current town of Arlee. This forced move stemmed from the efforts of a congressional delegation led by future president James Garfield to negotiate Salish removal from the Bitterroot Valley. The town of Arlee gained importance in 1883 when the Northern Pacific Railroad established a depot there. Two years later, the post office opened its doors in Arlee. Another notable event occurred in 1898 when the first (now annual) Fourth of July powwow was held at Arlee.
From the Montana Place Names Companion
The entry from the American Guide Series book
Montana, A State Guide Book follows.
ARLEE, 96.9 m. (3,094 alt., 450 pop.), was named for Alee (Ind., red night) , the Salish chief (see above). The name is Arlee only in white usage, for the Salish language has no "r." Arlee is a small trading center for the Jocko Valley. Usually there are Indians on its streets; in summer they occasionally have powwows on the river flat at the edge of town.
From Montana, A State Guide Book, Page 299