Grandma Muggs at LaShaye’s outdoor forest birthday party 2020
Our off-grid campsite sits on the family property, Chief Baptiste Mathias’s land; this property has been within our family for many years. This land is the largest part of the lakeshore that is untouched, undeveloped and has some cleanest air and purest water. Margaret Mathias is the true heir to all of the lakeshore property extending the Old US Hwy 93 into Dayton, Montana. My grandmother’s mother sold most of the land to put her son through college, who later became the first Native American Engineer for NASA to help engineer the first space shuttle for our country. It was tough for our people to find jobs during those times; unfortunately, my great-grandparents were forced to sell their land very cheaply to survive.
Why Kapapa?
‘Ka papa’ is a Kootenai word and is pronounced with long a. It sounds like “kaw pawpaw,” meaning “my grandfather” or “my grandmother,” depending on the speaker (male or female). The Kootenai language is extraordinarily complex, and the correct way to say “great grandfather” is an entirely different word and most likely too hard for an English speaker to pronounce. Therefore, we will save the language lessons for another day. Chief Baptiste Mathias is my grandmother’s “Ka papa,” and it was always her lifelong dream to start a business on her property. While my grandmother is still alive, my husband, children, and I sought to bring her dreams to fruition. We chose the name “Ka papa” to honor my 89-year-old grandmother. History
Grandma Muggs at LaShaye’s outdoor forest birthday party 2020
Our off-grid campsite sits on the family property, Chief Baptiste Mathias’s land; this property has been within our family for many years. This land is the largest part of the lakeshore that is untouched, undeveloped and has some cleanest air and purest water. Margaret Mathias is the true heir to all of the lakeshore property extending the Old US Hwy 93 into Dayton, Montana. My grandmother’s mother sold most of the land to put her son through college, who later became the first Native American Engineer for NASA to help engineer the first space shuttle for our country. It was tough for our people to find jobs during those times; unfortunately, my great-grandparents were forced to sell their land very cheaply to survive.
Why Kapapa?
‘Ka papa’ is a Kootenai word and is pronounced with long a. It sounds like “kaw pawpaw,” meaning “my grandfather” or “my grandmother,” depending on the speaker (male or female). The Kootenai language is extraordinarily complex, and the correct way to say “great grandfather” is an entirely different word and most likely too hard for an English speaker to pronounce. Therefore, we will save the language lessons for another day. Chief Baptiste Mathias is my grandmother’s “Ka papa,” and it was always her lifelong dream to start a business on her property. While my grandmother is still alive, my husband, children, and I sought to bring her dreams to fruition. We chose the name “Ka papa” to honor my 89-year-old grandmother. 
