Is the creek in front of you called Hangman or Latah Creek? It depends on who you ask.

Spokane is steeped in Native American history, the name itself derived from the Spokan tribe, and many roads, creeks, and wildlife names also provide evidence of this native history.

The creek appears on the The area officially listed as Latah Creek with Spokane’s county commissioners and the Federal government is known locally by a name that bears witness to a particularly brutal time in Washington’s past.

Lewis and Clark learned about the creek from native informants and placed it on their map as the "Lau-taw River." The name derives from a Nez Perce word meaning roughly "place to fish," a tribute to the salmon that once swam up its reached. In 1858 Colonel George Wright recorded the creek name as Ned-Whauld or Lahtoo--though the actions he took on its banks would change the name for many.

In 1858 Wright hanged, without trial, the Yakima Chief Qualchan and several other Indians at a spot a few miles south of here. Locals began to call the creek Hangman Creek soon thereafter.

In 1899 the name was changed back to Latah Creek by a Federal Act but local people and mapmakers continued to list the area as both Latah and Hangman. Even when the Spokane county commissioners in 1997 declared all maps to now list the area as Latah, Federal USGS maps continued to show both names. This historic dual place name continues to elicit various opinions – while some people believe Latah should be used to honor the original name, some others, including many tribal members, believe that ‘Hangman’ should stay to remind people of the 1858 atrocities.

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Hangman Creek is one of the Spokane River’s largest tributaries and is surrounded by lush meadows and farmland. It once provided local tribes with food sources such as trout, salmon and freshwater mussels, as well as reeds used to make sleeping mats and lodges.

In April 1924, the Spokane Daily Chronicle reported finding a bathing pool used previously by local tribes by the creek between Eleventh and Twelfth Avenues. These pools were dug just to the side of the streams and creeks, allowed to fill with water and shored up with stones. They were then covered with hides and hot stones were added to the makeshift baths. Once inside the bath, you’d be completely hidden to enjoy the warm water. Today, you’d be hard-pressed to find any evidence of these natural spas - the creek itself has changed and eroded over time with both natural and man-made intervention.

In the 1930’s, as part of the Civilian Conservation Corp, (or CCC,) crews of workers including several Coeur D’Alene tribal members dug drainage ditches and straightened parts of the creek in an effort to improve agriculture. Today, those improvements have made parts of the creek so muddy that fish, including the native Redband Trout, cannot survive. The straightened streams also prevent the water from draining back as they should and instead the water rushes on eroding the banks and dislodging more mud downstream.

But all is not lost - with careful cultivation of vegetation along the banks, the creek can be restored and even become a fishing spot once more. The Coeur D’Alene tribes have begun just that on an upper stretch of the creek using federal habitat restoration money.

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Like most of the landscape in Eastern Washington, the South Hill Bluffs in Spokane reveal the incredible influence of Lake Missoula’s ice dam that broke apart and surged through the area around 20,000 years ago. The layers of clay, silt, and rock, can be seen in the ridges of the Bluffs all along the valley.

Today, evidence of the flood waters can also be seen in fossilized vegetation as well as present day flora throughout the Bluffs. Native wildflowers include sunflowers, buttercups and yellow bells, as well as plants that provided rich sources of food to the local tribes in the form of roots, berries, herbs and seeds. Arrowleaf balsamroot, biscuitroot and bunchgrass are still seen in abundance along the trails that wind through the Bluffs from High Drive downwards.

Though the Spokane Tribe members that once used these resources were forcibly dispossessed and relocated by the federal government in the late 19th century, many Spokanes still visit and live in the area. The plants and flowers now provide food and shelter for various animals and birds. Just recently, Black bear scat was found along one of the trails and there is also occasional evidence of coyotes as well as the more familiar sightings of raccoons, skunks and porcupines. As more people use the trails, whether hiking or biking, it’s important to maintain a balance that allows dog walkers and nature lovers to peacefully coexist with native wildlife.

The Friends of the Bluffs help preserve this balance by keeping the trails clearly marked, cutting back overhanging or encroaching vegetation, and preserving the surrounding habitat.

For more (including 2 images), view the original article.

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