Once regular revision cycles are complete, federal maps will no longer show the area of Dixon, Montana.
Following years of conversations and a recent motion that unanimously passed the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Council, the unincorporated town of Dixon will be called Sčilíp.
Sčilíp (pronounced "she-sheep") is a Salish word meaning "confluence." It can also be translated to "the place of the wild plums." Located in Sanders County on the Flathead Reservation, Dixon is a census-designated area home to 221 people. There, the Jocko and Flathead rivers converge, and depending on the time of year, one can often find wild plums.
Dixon was named for U.S. Sen. Joseph Dixon, who in 1904 was largely responsible for advancing the Flathead Allotment Act. Signed by President Theodore Roosevelt, the legislation allotted land to individual tribal members, disrupting the communal nature of land ownership. In 1910, officials designated many reservation lands as "surplus," and the Flathead Reservation was officially opened to non-Native settlement -- a move that violated the 1855 Hell Gate Treaty, which designated the Flathead Reservation as a place for "the exclusive use and benefit" of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes. The Allotment Act ultimately contributed to the loss of more than 60% of the Flathead land base. Today, the Flathead Reservation is the only one in Montana home to a majority of non-Native residents.
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Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribal Vice-Chair Tom McDonald called the Allotment Act and its generational consequences "terrible."
"It really tipped over our whole community, our whole way of life," he said. "It was a negative thing. So to have a town named after Joseph Dixon is really offensive to a lot of people in the community."
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McDonald, who brought the name change motion before the council, said the new name aids current Salish language revitalization efforts. He also hopes the change will spur education and reflection among community members and those who visit.
"(Knowing a Native place name) gives you information on how to live in the area, like 'This is the place of the bull trout, or this thing occurs here,'" he explained. "It gives you information on how to know your landscape better and how to live there. That's one of the best things about this."
Tribal leaders, McDonald added, are in talks with the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Postal Service about adopting the new name.
The move comes at a time of name changes nationally. The Department of the Interior in 2022 renamed more than 600 sites, replacing derogatory names with ones that instead reflect community values. The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have been renaming places on their homelands for decades. More than 30 years ago, the tribes renamed Mount Harding (named for President Warren Harding, who advocated for assimilation) to Mount Calowahcan (named for a prominent local family). And two years ago, the tribes collaborated with Missoula leaders to rename Higgins Avenue Bridge Beartracks Bridge.
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Statewide Indigenous Communities Reporter
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