Fires Put Washington Indian Shaker Churches in Focus

A mid-July wildfire erased two places tied to generations of worship in Nespelem. The Kaiser Canyon fire destroyed the hand-built 1989 church off Charlie Williams Road and an older house previously used for services. It also burned 22 homes while encircling the community on the Colville Reservation.

The loss comes as participation has declined. Marianne Charley, 71, led worship in Nespelem and Malott; she said both congregations once drew roughly 30 people. Nespelem had only four regular attendees at its final service. Charley lives in Okanogan, about 40 miles from the destroyed church. Another congregation lost its building to wildfire this year at White Swan on the Yakama Reservation.

The faith began near Olympia during the 1880s, before Washington became a state. It blends Indigenous traditions with elements from Catholic and Protestant belief, while remaining separate from the Eastern Shaker denomination. Gatherings extend across three days and feature healing, ritual songs, candles and handbells. Active congregations remain in Coast Salish homelands, including the Muckleshoot, Skokomish and Tulalip reservations, and communities east of the Cascades.

Government rules once punished Native ceremonial activity, and some tribal members were jailed for following the new religion. In 1905, federal officials limited gatherings on the Quileute Indian Reservation to twice weekly, required an open window or door and excluded children from evening services. Church leaders later incorporated, gaining some constitutional protection. Formal incorporation papers were signed in Olympia on Dec. 17, 1910, by I.M. Howell and bishop Mud Bay Sam. Federal restrictions on Indigenous religions remained until 1978.