Tribal member Amy Trice passes away

Amelia “Amy” Trice former chairwoman of the Kootenai Tribe of Idaho passed away on July 21.

Born in 1936 in Bonners Ferry, Trice grew up in Bonners Ferry.

As a young woman she became of member of the Kootenai Tribal Council.

Perhaps, Trice is most known for her courageous efforts in gaining justice for the Kootenai Tribe when she and  members of the tribe declared a nonviolent war on the United States in 1974. 

On Sept. 20, 1974, tribal members set up informational pickets and asked for 10-cent tolls on U.S. Highway 95 at Bonners Ferry.

A standoff followed for several days before Trice led a delegation to Washington, D.C., for talks.

It was the last declaration of war against the United States made by a Native American Tribe, and one of few won by Native Americans.

In August 2010, Trice and the Kootenai Tribe were celebrated in a film documentary on her story called “Idaho’s Forgotten War.”

The film tells the story of how Trice grew up witnessing the suffering of the tribe.  How they had tipis just outside of Bonners Ferry when she was little.  She felt driven to action after a tribal elder froze to death in his unheated home.  That is when she ran for and became chair of the tribal council.

She then led the tribe to conduct the peaceful war that gained attention for her people and birthed remarkable changes for the good of the tribe.

President Ford eventually signed a bill transferring 12.5 acres of federal land to the tiny tribe for a reservation on the Kootenai River on which to build the mission. Eighteen new houses were built, water and sewage systems were improved and a community center was built. Grants were also made available.

“We got a lot of things accomplished,” she told film makers. “Everything slowly started coming together. We got the housing, the hatchery, the clinic and the hotel. We're slowly getting our  land back.”

Trice told the Herald in August of last year how excited she was to see the documentary.

“I'm really looking forward to it," she said. “As a little girl, I never thought I'd grow up to do something so big. I guess God had a purpose for me.”