Kuilix

{{short description|Pend d'Oreilles warrior}} {{Multiple issues| {{More citations needed|date=August 2024}} {{No footnotes|date=August 2024}} }} frame|right|Kuilix in the 1846 battle against the Crow tribe, drawn by Father Nicholas Point. His caption read; "A woman warrior's swift about-face left the enemy stupefied." '''Kuilix''' (meaning "Red Shirt" or "Red One"), also known as '''Kuiliy''', '''Mary Quille''', and '''Marie Quilax''', was a woman of the Kalispel or Pend d'Oreilles in Montana. She was the leader of a team of warriors who rescued other warriors while fighting the Blackfeet in 1842.

Father Nicholas Point, a Jesuit priest who witnessed the battle, wrote: <blockquote>The first Pend Oreille to dash out at the enemy was a woman named Kuilix, 'The Red One,' ... Her bravery surprised the warriors who were humiliated and indignant because it was a woman who had led the charge, and so they threw themselves into the breach where nature's shelter had protected the enemy. The Blackfeet immediately shot four shots almost at point-blank range; yet not a single Pend d'Oreille went down. Four of the enemy—some claim it was only two—managed to escape death by hiding in the thickets, but the rest were massacred on the spot.</blockquote>

Kuilix also took part in battle against the Crow tribe in 1846. Father Point also described this incident: <blockquote>The famous Kuilix ... accompanied by a few braves and armed with an axe, gave chase to a whole squadron of Crows. When they got back to camp, she said to her companions, 'I thought that those big talkers were men, but I was wrong. Truly, they are not worth pursuing.'</blockquote>

Women of both the Pend d'Oreille and the related Flathead tribe traditionally took an active role in warfare, frequently entering into a battle. They also joined ritual dances dressed as warriors.

==See also== *Kaúxuma Núpika

==Sources== *Will Roscoe. [https://willsworld.org/kuilix Kuilix, Pend d'Oreille Warrior Woman], from ''Changing Ones: Third and Fourth Genders in Native North America'', Palgrave/St. Martin's Press, 1998

Category:Year of birth unknown Category:Year of death missing Category:Military personnel from Montana Category:Native American women in warfare Category:Women in 19th-century warfare Category:Interior Salish people Category:19th-century Native American women