SĆILÍP — There's a community in Sanders County that is just minutes away from the CSKT Bison Range, the Mission Mountains and the Lower Flathead and Jocko rivers.
But the name of the town didn't reference any of its natural landmarks — until now.
The town name of Dixon was a reminder of the past for CSKT Tribal member Victor A. Charlo.
The community was named after Congressman Joseph Dixon, who passed the Flathead Allotment Act in 1904 which would eventually be responsible for the dismantling of the CSKT tribal land.
“And he was the one who started the whole thing as far as I understand. And that really makes me mad,” Charlo said.
Charlo told MTN that settlers began to move to the Flathead Reservation wiping out the trade system which natives used as currency.
“They sold their land for a little bit of money and that must’ve been really hard for Native Americans. And as settlers moved in, more territory was seized and three decades later the tribe would lose over half a million acres.”
“I mean, the history's there. It's, Dixon wasn't a good person to the tribes that at any time. He really opened up the land for non-members to come in and pretty much steal it from us. I don't know how we can take pride in saying that's where we're from." - Sćilíp resident Nadeen Elispe’ Dumontier
This is why members of the community advocated for the town formally known as Dixon to be changed to Sćilíp, which means confluence — a reference to the Lower Flathead River and the Jocko River coming together.
Danielle Matt, a council representative for Sćilíp, spearheaded the motion to change the name.
“I'm actually really excited for it. It's been an adventure getting there," Dumontier told MTN.
Matt says community and council members tried to change the name before, and in November 2024 the motion passed among council leaders.
This is a moment in history for residents.
“This name change to Sćilíp, I am behind it, 100 percent," one resident said.
CSKT tribal members are hoping to bring the economy back to the area with the recent name change.
