Vernon Finley, Kootenai Culture Committee
Vernon was born and raised on the Flathead Reservation. He grew up close to his grandparents who he gives credit to for much of his cultural worldview. Vernon went to Catholic Boarding School for the first two grades and public school for the remainder of his academic career. He graduated from Polson High School, The University of Montana, Oklahoma City University, and The University of Georgia with a high school diploma, Bachelor of Arts in Elementary Education, Master of Education degree and a Doctor of Education degree, respectively. He works with the Kootenai Culture Committee on Kootenai Language Preservation efforts as well as doing language and cultural presentations for schools and other organizations. He lives in Polson, Montana with his wife, Elaine Frank, and two children, Jerome and Olivia.

Tony Incashola, Salish-Pend d'Oreille Culture Committee
Tony recalls that "in later years my family did a lot of camping along the river, the Flathead River, all up and down from what they call Horseshoe Bend south all the way down to Dixon; that was kind of the area that my family always went to hunt and camp in the fall. We did our hunting and fishing or whatever is necessary." Tony has served as Director of the Salish-Pend d’Oreille Culture Committee since 1995. Before that, he served as Assistant Director, and in other capacities. As Director, Tony oversees all Culture Committee operations, from the production of books to language work, from archiving oral histories, photos, and songs to the holding of ceremonial events and wakes in the tribal Longhouse. A fluent speaker, Tony is the nephew of Pete Beaverhead, and was raised in part by his grandparents, Polassie Incashola and Agnes Woodcock Incashola, in St. Ignatius, where he lives today.