Confessions at Nespelem

Excerpt from Fr. Edward Griva's journal "Questions for Confession in the Kalispel Language"

Excerpt from Fr. Edward Griva's "Questions for Confession in the Kalispel Language".

Page from Fr. Edward Griva's journal "Questions for Confession in the Kalispel Language"

Excerpt from Fr. Edward Griva's "Questions for Confession in the Kalispel Language"

A major interaction between Jesuit Missionary, Father Edward Griva, and the plateau peoples of Nespelem was his hearing of native's confessions. Father Edward Griva wrote a journal of questions for confession to carry with him when he visited the native tribes. The journal was written in the Kalispel language with English translations. Each tribe had their own individual dialects differing significantly from each other which made them difficult to learn.

Nespelem, located in the northern part of the Colville Reservation in Washington State, spoke a different dialect of Salish than the Kalispel language Fr. Griva's confession journal was written in. Though there would have potentially been a few tribe members that spoke the Kalispel language at Nespelem, we can assume Griva would have used a similar journal in hearing native confessions at Nespelem.